Satellite Internet in Tok or HughesNet Might Save My Ass(ets)

Image via Wikipedia

Just spoke with a rep from HughesNet this week after repeated unanswered calls and messages to Starband. Here’s what I found out:

1. I can get a faster Internet connection via satellite than DSL in Tok. 3 meg download compared to 512k on DSL. That speed, of course, doesn’t include the latency of satellite Internet connections which take getting used to because that pause feels like a lack of speed.

2. I will have to buy a $699 satellite dish to get the service (with a $100 rebate so technically $600).

3. I will probably want the largest commercial account – 1250 MB for $180/month. That is compared to DSL for $195/month for 1/2 the speed but only a $50 deposit and $50 modem cost to get up and running.

Yes, I’m going to invest in the dish. Nothing says “I’m surfing the Net from rural Alaska” better than a satellite dish on top of our house.

Have you had any experience with satellite Internet? Any advice you have to offer?

Rural Internet: Stuck in the Slow Zone

Image via WikipediaA Twitter & SL friend, Becky McCray (@beckymcray), founder of Small Biz Survival, just pointed me to a post on the 37 Signals blog called Rural Internet: Stuck in the Slow Zone.

I still haven’t had a chance to read all of the 159 comments, however, one person did mention Wild Blue as a satellite option. Well, I already checked into Wild Blue, and they don’t service Tok, much less Alaska – according to the rep with whom I spoke.

Then I was struck with this suggestion, and I must admit, it made me want to cry as much as laugh:

Further alternatives:
– Messenger pigeons
– Smoke signals
– Pony Express

I’ve already looked into satellite with Starband, however, after being on hold for 1/2 an hour then leaving a voicemail message, their sales reps have yet to call me back (3 days and counting).

Right now, I have one cellphone with Verizon service so I should call them next although technically they do not service Alaska and run over ACS Alaska towers which don’t work in Tok. I may have to transfer that number to another provider – that means, AP&T, the only local provider in the area as far as I can tell.

My other cellphone – my iPhone – is with AT&T – and one AT&T rep recently told me that yes, they not only service Tok Alaska but actually have a tower there so I could get connected to their Internet card package. More on that in another post.

In the meanwhile, I will scour the 159 messages on the 37 Signals blog post to see if I can find some obscure but effective way of accessing the Internet at a reasonable speed and for a reasonable price. I’m already resigned to the fact that I’m looking at about $200/month. But for only 10 Gigs allowance and 512k transfer speed, it still pains me.

Internet Connectivity in Tok, Alaska

Image via WikipediaI’ve been preparing for my move to Tok, looking into Internet connectivity which is an essential part of my work as well as my life. So far, I’ve found out that the main way to connect to the Internet in Tok is through Alaska Power and Telephone (AP&T). And they only offer DSL.

I spoke with a rep from AP&T and this is what I found out:

I can get the 10 Gig DSL account – 512k transfer speed – for $199.95/month ($2400 a year). Each additional Gig over is $30.

Or I can get a 24 Gig DSL account – same transfer speed – for $469.95/month.

For comparison, I currently have GCI in Anchorage – their Extreme package – For $69.99/month. This comes with a 3 MB transfer speed and a 20 Gig allowance.

I asked the guy at GCI about my average usage. It broke down as follows:

July 08 – 17 Gigs
Aug 08 – 11 Gigs
Sep 08 – 11 Gigs
Oct 08 – 21 Gigs – and the overage of 2.5 Gigs cost me about $12.78
Nov 08 – 9 Gigs before mid-November

I have to rethink what I do on the Internet each day to try to keep my bandwidth activity to 10 Gigs. Based on my monthly average, this means immediately cutting out my Second Life usage – which comes to about 2-3 hours per week but clearly requires high bandwidth. This means giving up my Second Life TV shows and events – cutting out one of my favorite parts of my work.

“I’m very impressed with your bandwidth usage. What do you do?” asked the rep at AP&T.

When I told him about my Second Life projects, he laughed.

“There’s a guy in Tok who’s on Second Life,” he said and promised to give the guy my avatar name next time he called in for tech support.

Someone else in Tok is on Second Life? I hope to meet him and find out some anecdotal information about how Second Life works in Tok, how much he uses it and how much he is paying.

I’m also looking into AT&T coverage in Tok. Will report back on that soon.