high speed options..

[Widowmaker327]

i live in a rural area and am using a dial up connection (usually 28.8) much to my chagrin , as it seems my parents would pay for a high speed connection if there were any worthwhile options. i can get neither dsl or cable at my current location (ironic, because my last computer,stolen round two months ago, along with another, had a dsl modem, and my current setup has everything i need to share a cable connection with four computers). my only options that i know of are isdn and satellite. i have heard bad things about isdn , though in concept it sounds great. and i have been told that the term 'cloudy days' takes on new meaning for satellite users. any opinions oor any other options i havent thought of (dont say t3 or oc48).any experiences or info on eithere sat orn isdn? im not sure if this topic belongs here, but any help would be greatly apreciated.

[glc]

Is anyone offering IDSL in your area?

[Prader Willi]

I've been told that a problem with satellite connections is that the satellite only downloads info, you still need a phone connection to upload information (this appears to be true in central Ohio--- is this true elsewhere?) Or was I told a myth?

[Widowmaker327]

idont remember much about idsl, except it reminded me in some area of isdn. i dont think ANY dsl type services are offered in my area right now. as an aside the nearest substation is about 48000 feet away, and the nearest area where ground cable is offered is on the other side of a lake from here. i dont know about that no uploads to satellites. i suppose it does make some sense, let's just hope it's not true.

[Charliey]

I think that ISDN is more expencive then other high speed internet, but its more reliable cuz its made for businesses.

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-Charlie

[Xayd]

Yes, we had a few dialup customers at the last ISP I worked for that used DirecTV for access.

You can download with great speed with a satellite setup, but you still have to be dialed into an ISP somewhere for uploads. I fail to see the benefit of having cable download speeds and 56k upload speeds. Not really worth it.

ISDN isn't a bad deal if you can get someone to flat rate your connection fees. Since even ISDN is "new" in some areas and to some people, most ISP's charge outrageous prices for it (we did), if not charging by the hour or by the minute for connection time per month.

If you were lucky enough to find an ISP in your area that would support a multilink, that would be your best bet in my book. Call around and see what you can turn up there. If you're not familiar with it the way it works is you basically use two phone lines and two modems to connect to the same account with your ISP. Windows then "shotguns" the two lines together to double your bandwidth.

Xayd

[SARGE]

Xayd, thinking about experimenting with multilinking (legally this time). I tried it once with ISP and connected at 98, but throughput seemed the same.

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"Don't be so open-minded that your brains fall out"

[Charliey]

Well if the computer you were dialing-up wa set up to be a server, then you could use its internet.

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-Charlie

[Widowmaker327]

thanks guys. i'd have to say that even with the full 56k devoted to uploading that's stil piddly. multilinking , i would only be able to use the other line at certauin times, and were not gwetting ANOTHER one. so scratch satellite. isdn is expensive like 50 dollars a month and installation is around 400 , dont know if that includes the special modem. so sounds likle there arent many other options? thanks for the help guys. now im off to pester my parents.. (hehehe ive already got them to fund the restoration of my 77 el camino..)

oops i forgot sarge your problem may lie with what umm forgot heheh anyway your isp probly was a 56k account. hmm isupose the reason isdn access prices are so high is because you actually dial into the isp.. what if i dialed into someone's computer that had dsl. then i could use any isp right? (forgive me my sheer insanity fo a moment)

[This message has been edited by Widowmaker327 (edited 06-24-2000).]