My rural co-op phone company offers DSL to all subscribers. It can be done. Call once a week and hopefully you will talk to a different person each time. Don't tell them you asked about DSL before. I think you will get it.

hmmmm.....I don't think we have a co-op phone service. I'll double check that.

What do people do? Do the satellite tv people provide DSL? Right now, we just do the old rabbit ears antenna, so we are clueless about satellite info!

We can't believe that we will have a brand new house, and no DSL! Especially since the phone company keeps saying we are so "close" whatever that means....ugh!

Due to technical limitations DSL is limited to a maximum of 18,000feet(3.4 miles) from the DSL CO(central office).

In urban areas the phone companies build multiply central offices to support the DSL network, but for rural operations there simply is not enough population density subscriber base within the operating range of a CO to support the cost of operating a CO site.

For a better understanding of how the DSL system works check out this website:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/dsl.htm/printable

ok...now I'm starting to get confused. I've been trying to research my options on the internet.

All we know for sure is we don't want the old pokey dial up internet service. Now I find on the internet that cable companies offer something called high speed broadband. How does that compare with the old slow dial up and DSL? And where do the satellite companies fit in with all of this?

Good grief! Is it really this hard? All we want is internet that is fast, reliable, and can handle downloads for DH work, and email!

Thanks for "listening!"

I have a friend in a simlar position-- if he'd built 100 feet either north or south, he'd have had access to DSL. As it was, he accidently, coincedently choose about the only spot on his land where he COULDN'T get service.

But a 2 food discrepancy sounds like it could be a meassuring error. Since the process of installation isn't all that complex, I'd do my darndest to get them to come out and give it a try. It may well be a little slower than it would be if you were nearer the switching gear, but it my area we are offered different prices for different speeds, with a clear disclaimer that the speeds are best case scenarios. Those nearest the switches will meet or occasionally exceed their price levels, the rest of us will not...

I'm no expert, but I'll tell you what I've learned so far in building our (in process) new house (also in a rural area.)

Satellite service can offer you high-speed Internet. I believe it is a tad slower than DSL or cable, but the average user will never notice the difference. However, if you work from home (as both my husband and I do) satellite can be limiting. It offers the high speed by dividing the bandwidth such that downloads are much faster (broader bandwidth) than uploads, since most people browse the Internet rather than upload large files. I download more than I upload, but my husband needs to do both.

DSL and cable both support broadband for either upload or download. Unfortunately, our site is far enough from anything urban that there is no question of DSL. We have the same problem as you concerning cable -- the company that has the franchise for our area has cable service on either side of us, but not within reach of us, and they have no plans of extending their service, either. Ironically, they currently provide our broadband service!

We looked into purchasing a T-1 line from the phone company, but the price ($7K/month) is simply impossible. (T-1 is about as fast as you can get, but is way beyond what any sane individual house would need or be able to use!) So, we'll have to manage with satellite until either DSL or wireless broadband extends out to us.

If you have a cable franchise that covers your new area, that's probably your best bet. If not, then satellite may be the only way for you to go. As I said, speeds will satisfy anyone who doesn't need to upload large files.

If you host a website on your own, I'm not sure satellite would do it for you. But you can always buy website hosting from your Internet Provider.

As for how complicated it is -- welcome to rural areas. Sounds like this is your first taste of non-urban living? A city girl myself, I found it quite a shock. It has its good sides, though. :-)

Good luck

weary

DSL is hit or miss. It all depends on the distance to your Central Office and the type of wire - it needs to be a very good copper connection.

If yo live in a rural area (like I am moving to) and cable or other boradband is not an option, you might look into Wildblue which is a 2 way satellite internet service. I just got the service and it looks decent. It is not as fast as cable or DSL - but it beats the heck out of dial up.

Note that Wildblue received some pretty bad press after it first started since they leased the satellite transponders and had quality issues. They now own their own satellites and the service is much better.

If I had the choice of wired braadband service - I would definately go that route. But if you have no other choice - Wildblue might be a good option to consider.

Thanks everyone for all of your help! This is really driving us crazy....

I'm adding to my list of "wants" that we want to be able to be online and talk on the phone at the same time....

Actually, I was raised "in the country," but the area we are in is suburbia outside a fairly large city....I think we must be in some kind of crazy black hole!

Keep the suggestions coming! We aren't going down without a fight!

I'm struggling with rural choices and these CNET websites have been some help:

To find out what's available to you:

Internet Access

To compare options:

Find the best broadband service

Claire

We just recently got DSL available where I live, and it's not available yet in most of our county. At first it was only available in town within a couple miles of the phone company office. Now they have set up a remote booster thing at the end of our road (I don't know what the technology actually is). It was one of the first ones they did outside of town. We are about five miles away from it, and they said it would be iffy whether we would get a connection here. However, they were willing to try it, and it worked. We haven't had any problems with it, except it kind of interferes with our telephone connection. (The phone works, but sometimes it's hard to hear.)

Anyway, I agree that you should pursue it. Ask anyone who will listen what can be done to make it work. If you can't get it at first, I'm sure they will expand it eventually.

Our last house was right in the middle of town and we could not get DSL. They came, installed it, then when it didn't work, they determined that we were 18 ft past the distance limit. They had never thought to check beforehand because we were on a main street in a busy town.

Anyhow, we now have cable modem service. As much as I despise the cable company, I do LOVE my cable broadband. It is faster than DSL and has nothing to do with the phone, meaning you can surf and talk at the same time. I could never imagine going back to dial-up.

We are salivating to get FIOS though - that is something new that the phone company is offering - I think it is fiber optic cables or something. My husband (who's the geek in the family) tells me it is much faster than our cable modem and once they get the legal issues sorted out, they will also provide TV service. This will allow us to kick Comcast to the curb, which is all I need to hear to make me happy. (Did I mention that I despise the cable company? LOL!) Supposedly, it will be availabe in our area in the first quarter of 2008....I hope they're not delayed!

We had the same problem until I dug deeper. I was not going to take NO for an answer when my two neighbors had DSL. One neighbor was persistent long enough several years ago to finally get connected. He had a difficult time as well until he found the right person. I believe he found this person while the phone lines at the street were being worked on one day.
He offered us the name and # of the local technician who was able to order the connection for him. One quick phone call and were able to connect too. I must say that my many calls to customer service were no help at all. Sometimes you need to go to a local source to get what you need.
Hope this info will help you. Good Luck.

We are rural and do not have cable tv, let alone cable internet. We do however have dsl. Go figure.

If you cannot get dsl, and if cable internet is not available, consider cellular. Verizonwireless had an internet package we were considering once. Again, you have to be in the right area for this, so it may not be available either.

The capacity of DSL falls as the lines get longer (or even older).
I have seen a couple installations that barely delivered 39kbps, and still at DSL prices.
You need to watch out carefully what you pay for and what you get.
The TELCOs put enough weasel words in the service agreement ('speed not guaranteed', etc') to get them off the hook.
DSL modems search for capacity when they synchronize, up to the rated speed they are commanded to.
If they cannot find enough capacity they simply deliver what they can find.

We are also building in a rural area with no DSL or cable internet availability. After researching, we chose Hughes Satellite Broadband service. It is faster than the Wild Blue Satellite service. We opted for the fastest residential upload/download speed that they offered and we have three laptops at once using the internet on a regular basis. We have had the service since July and haven't had any problems.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hughes Broadband

Sometimes there are line taps and things that add to the measured footage that they can remove. When you move in might give them a call and tell them you have line noise on your phone. Maybe they'll shorten the run by rerouting the line or removing one of those 'line taps.

We are in the same position as mavs fan. We decided to go with Hughesnet too...probably have dial up as emergency backup...if they will even run the phone line all the way down there. *L* The cable company said because the power lines run off the opposite cross street we'll have to wait, likely a few years..ahh, so close but yet, so far!! I even tried to pay them for it!! The lady laughed, said to keep bothering the techs. Maybe someone will take pity & run you a 5,000 ft temp line down the road.
:)
KAT

We're in the same boat. We'll have to do satellite or whatever service a dish network offers, as I think most do these days. Cable TV isn't run out to us either. AT&T laid a new huge line across the street from us this summer but DSL is'nt available through it, but the promise of it is there, although that may be years and years down the road.

Our old house also had no DSL service because we were too far away from the central office. We also had no cable service. What we used was a microwave internet service. Check your yellow pages for internet service companies and see if any offer microwave connections. The only time we had problems were in bad storms because the connection is sent through the air. I think the cost was around $49 for 4 computers and around $39 for 1-2.

Even though our new house is further in the boonies, we were able to get DSL service because the central office is less than 750 feet away. Hooray!

We thought we were in the same position (no cable, no DSL), but talked to some people in the area and found out that Embarq (a Sprint company) is targeting rural areas and just started putting in DSL service for our area. It's fantastic! I'd try Embarq's site to see if you can get it and if not, ask around. Maybe someone will know what will work in your area. Good luck!

i had a long answer typed out and this stupid site crashed my browser.

call ALL local internet providers inyour phone book. see if they have wireless internet available for you. or get satellite.

DSL actually works better over long distance on old lines, siince the copper is a larger guage. also many times new lines won't show as qualifying for a week or longer, until teh database at the telco updates.

Do you have a cable company that serves your area? You can get internet service from satellite, cable or phone, not just DSL Try your local cable company...

You don't say who your phone company is. If it's at&t, then the maps that their CSRs see are not always accurate, even when they type in an address.

Go here and register an ID: http://www.dslreports.com/

The go here:
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sbcdirect
... and post a [pre-qual] question IF you ARE at&t. They will check -- takes a few days -- and will also know how many line taps are on the line. You will not be able to read any other posts in that forum -- only your own.

Ther are other forums there for Verizon and Qwest.

dallasbill, you a member on dslr too? been there for several years now, username davidg.

dallasbill, For that same reason I was told I could not have DSL. I had a feeling that CSR's information was not up to date. They stated that the engineering dept. said I was not within range. My local contact was able to connect us without any problems.
I noticed after we contracted with Dish Network (no cable in the woods) that Direct TV offered Verizon DSL. I figured if they can offer it than it should be available. I was correct.

Years ago I had a Sprint engineer laugh at me when I told him I wanted DSL out at my rural location. I went ahead and put my number in to request DSL at their online site. Six months later Sprint called me and asked if I wanted DSL. DUH! It took me about a nanosecond to say YES!

Now they've upgraded me to 3mbps ultra broadband!

So even if you are told NO today, put your name on the list with your local company - and get your neighbors to, too. The trick is the more people that want it in a certain area, the sooner the company will run the line and put in the new boxes to support the outlying DSL service.

I live in a city of 150,000 people. My subdivision has 120 houses and we do not have DSL. Qwest (our phone provider) does not offer it for our subdivision, and Comcast does not service our subdivision with even cable TV (they have been promising it for 9 years). AT&T and Verizon do not offer DSL to our neighborhood either. We have a small antenna on our house to get high-speed through a local company. Here's a link to explain how ours works.

Here is a link that might be useful: High-speed internet

Well we made sure we could get it before we bought both our lots as it was important work wise. I hope DSL is good as I'm used to cable broad-band that works great for working from home. Our phone co-op also offers wireless at the same speeds as DSL so maybe you can get that through some other company.

"line taps"

Bridged Ts.
When the TELCO wants to 'T' off a line they connect a cable based on what they believe may be required for many years.
They connect every pair in the new line to the old line (sometimes they are evne the same size, but often smaller).

This leaves a lot of open stubs on the side cable.
This plays havoc with DSL by creating reflections and limiting the available channels the DSL modem can choose from.
Add to these are bridge inductors on longer lines to preserve audio quality and the lines are rahter ratty.
This is a common problem in rural areas and very old areas, and has severely limited how many DSL connections can be set up without field work.

Despitet everyone thinking DSL is some wondrous new technology, it is really just FDM with synthesized waveforms at low baud rates per 4 kHz channel. The modem hunts and selects as many 4 kHz channels as it needs to meet the desired throughput.

davidandkasie... yes, been a member there since early 2000. Great place for info!

Try contacting Verizon or Sprint in your area and get a wireless card referred to as "Air Card" they sometimes work in areas where DSL service is not avaliable and you can take it with you anywhere (love mine and get transfer rates of over 1,000kbps - test speed at - http://www.abeltronica.com/velocimetro/pt/?idioma=uk&newlang=uk )
Not easily networkable though if that is something you are trying to do. We got sucked into Hughes Net last year and had to spend almost $1,000 to get installed since there are trees around and they could not mount on the house - Its speed is OK faster than dial up and works 90% of the time (sometimes rain or cloudy days kick it off) Transfer speeds not even near what they tout on TV. I would only get Hughes again as a LAST resort - you have to get an 18 month minimum plan and it really starts to rack up especially if DSL service may be available to you in 6 mos or so. (You can cancel early for a fee.)

The wireless cards are great if you will only be using one computer at a time. I have one for my laptop that I use when traveling and also for our vacation house, but it would not be great to use at home where we often have 4 people all needing to access the internet simutaneously.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but how do you know the "air" network is secure? Isn't that just like logging in at a public place? I am really curious as I am STILL on dial up (at home).

"air" networks are as secure as you make them. the link between you and your provider are secure, otherwise the provider would basically be allowing anyone and every to use their network free of charge. once it gets to your house, if you use a wireless LAN iinthe house, YOU have to secure that side.

You can now buy an adapter that will allow you to network the "air card" - A guy at my husbands work has it and is fairly pleased with it.

We have Verizon FIOS and what a NIGHTMARE. Verizon held us hostage for months without even basic phone service to call 911. We had copper service at the house, but they refused to turn it on. They said they would only provide new accounts with FIOS in our area and several technical folks have to be scheduled to run the optical cable from the pole to the house and then install a new interface panel in the house and run the cable to where the router or computers willl be. It is much quicker than DSL or dial up, but if I had a choice, I'd never deal with Verizon ever again, high speed or not.

The problem when we talk about Verizon is this;
There is Verizon Wireless (everybody knows what that is), and there is Verizon the rural area telephone company (telco). It is the telco that is rolling out FIOS (Fiber optic telephone, data and television).

So, for the original poster, please note that most wi-fi comments about Verizon is about the cellular division.

kurtg, that sucks! I'd be so stoked about getting fiber. What a drag they can't get their act together. It is new, though. I'd try to manage with just a cellular phone until the fiber is in. The prices that I've seen for it look very good.