DirecTV partners with several satellite Internet providers.

With a smartphone you can use it as a "hot spot" and connect any WiFi enabled device - tablet, laptop, desktop - to the Internet. And there are tablets like an iPad that have a built in cellular connection. The biggest drawback is cost because it's pretty easy to burn through data and forget about streaming many videos. The days of truly "unlimited" data are gone, cell companies will give youX gigs of high speed data and then turn down the speed considerably. Obviously the other solution is satellite.

You and you friend need to figure out what she wants to do with a computer and estimate how much data she's likely to use in a given month. From there, determine the most cost effective option.

As others have said, the service choices are probably limited to two - using a mobile phone carrier (if reception is adequate) or satellite. Either choice will provide very limited capacity (compared to a DSL or cable connection) and it will be insufficient to stream music on a regular basis and probably won't allow streaming TV or movies at all.

I appreciate the input. I'd considered recommending a smartphone and Wi-Fi only I-Pad Air to save $130 and a monthly cell fee but knew that would probably get too complicated in turning the hot spot on and off and monitoring data usage. She's got all the DTV channels so I think she can avoid the temptation to stream videos. Also, surely they'll get cable Internet in a couple of years, you think?!

Many rural areas do not have access to cable Internet because these
Internet providers could not make money from the small number of
potential customers. If the customer base increased then perhaps the ISP would consider making an investment and install cable.

Zep516 knows all too well my story. I live in a puny little farm town in the middle of nowhere. For me it was either dial up or satellite. I chose satellite and it is not cheap, but I do have one of the best packages they offer (12mbps-25GB) since I need to be able to download large files at the drop of a hat. Do be careful with those cell plans. I my area some are useless as I and my daughter found out. Just make sure to do your research on what is available. The best way is to ask others in the area what they have.

Internets down again, remember Donna..... I don't think that web page loaded all the way. Lets have lunch come back and perhaps the page will be loaded then.

Not all cell plans are created equal. What you get can vary wildly between carriers, and being able to successfully use your cell as a hotspot is highly dependent on the carrier. My carrier is T-Mobile, and costs about $100/month for two lines; I believe one line goes for about $70. Each phone has a separate 6GB data plan, and T-Mobile customers get the "Binge On" feature, which allows for unlimited music and video streaming apart from the data plan. While I have a fast ISP service at home from my cable company, and have my phone on wifi when I'm there, I also use my phone heavily for data when not sitting at home. Also, whenever I travel, I use my iPhone and my iPad tethered to my phone and have yet to burn through my plan despite heavy use for days at a time. If your friend has access to T-Mobile where she is going to live, this could solve her access problems.

T-Mobile Binge On

I will second kudzu9 100% as i have the same, albeit only one line.

Good luck finding a decent T-Mobile connection out in the sticks but ya never know...

@zep,

Yep! A front rolled in last night. I am surprised I haven't lost my connection yet, though I may have over night and never realized it. Continual heavy sprinkle now, so I better get done what I can just in case......

Did I tell you about the wind storm we had here in late June that blew my dish out of alignment? Was able to get a connection but it was sporadic and very weak. Lucky for me that I am considered a good customer. I get 1 free house call a year that would have cost me $100 for the tech to come by to realign the dish. Too bad I had to use it for that. There are instructions found on the internet on how to do it yourself, but you're not going to catch me up on the roof.

What was that 4G thing you tried by placing on the window sill to boost the connection? It didn't work did it? Remember my first cell phone? Can't remember who the carrier was but in order to get a signal I had to step out on the front porch and hold it high in the air, and because my carrier did not have an antenna near I had to use others and the roaming costs were sending me into bankruptcy. Some times cheap is not the best way to go. If you want good service out here in the middle of nowhere you have to pay for it. When I retire, I am moving closer to town and will certainly look into what is available before that move is decided upon. I never would have thought that an internet\TV\phone connection is what would make me decide where I wanted to live. To think I was worried about property taxes, cost of gas. utilities, etc. :rolleyes:

mike-

Maybe. Out in the sticks you could have trouble with any wireless carrier...or not. You never know until you check.. And various carriers are putting up more towers every day.

If you're thinking/hoping cable will be installed in your area, don't hold your breath. I had cable TV (no internet) in a rural area, but they went out of business some yrs ago -- they couldn't compete w/satellite TV. So the cable situation in some rural areas is actually regressing, not progressing. Fiber optics (FIOS), I've been told, will never be installed in my rural area.

Telephone land-lines, including FIOS, are gradually becoming obsolete and will eventually be phased out at least in more remote rural areas, being replaced by satellite dishes and cell-towers.

Aputernut would MOVE ASAP LOL

I used a cellular iPad as a hot spot until I got cable internet. 2 GB per month was enough except when my thireysomething daughter came to visit. I found I had to increase the data every few days because my carrier would send me a message saying that I 95%. She didn't stream anything, but just used it for web browsing, primarily to find things to do.

I considered satellite service, but then I found that my local cable company DID service my area so I use it now, but at great expense.

I'm now rethinking this, because the 10GB/mo data my cell company charged was an added $40/mo while the cable company charges $120/mo (for their triple-play package). Fortunately, they have a "seasonal" service available which is only $25/mo for up to 6 mo per year. That service throttles the internet speed and limits my TV to basic only, but that's OK.

Anyone have any experience with a "cantenna"? Someone has recommended this as an option. It's a cell signal booster that's mounted outside their home and wired into a router. He's using it with a Verizon data plan.

http://www.cantenna.com/

Those types of devices can help in some instances, but that particular one gets mixed reviews:

Cantenna