Alternative Internet Provider solutions

[neillarson]

After paying a monthly fee in Chicago of about $650 for Internet, Phone, TV, and 2 Cell Phones, I am ready to cut the cord. We don't watch a lot of TV but we have a handful of them we do. Trying to find out what streaming them from iTunes through the Apple TV that we have combined with Amazon or/and Hulu could provide.

My other issue is that there is no internet provider near me other then Dialup and Satellite. I have no experience with Dish Network Hughes Net but I understand that even though you get acceptable (barely) bandwidth, they meter your use and set a monthly limit. I have heard it is around 5GB. I play WoW, D2, CoD3, MW3 and a couple others and even though it is just my wife and I, we have 3 Macs, 2 iPads and 2 iPhones. I don't think 5GB is going to cut it.

The other option is gong with a Sprint WiFi Hotspot with unlimited data, IF we have decent LTE reception and IF it is reliable.

Anybody have any experience with any of those or an alternative method?

I don't mind paying for a reasonable service.

[JeremyH]

Chicago doesn't have anything except dialup or satellite?

I've been quite happy with the DSL from ATT at my home.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Hughs would be the best option for someone who lived way out in the middle of nowhere and didn't want to deal with chitty dialup. Living in the city...it wouldn't be at the top of my list. We lose our Dish signal every time there is a storm or the wind blows really hard. I don't watch tv much so its not a big deal, but do depend on the internet quite a bit, so that would be supremely annoying.

[neillarson]

Sorry, I was about as clear as mud. I retired on Oct 1st and left Chicago for central Mississippi. I have water service at my property line and AT&T about 100 feet away. That's all. Comcast is about 3 miles away and has no plans to come out my deadens road. I caught the AT&T guy a couple days ago and when I asked about DSL or Uverse, I thought he was going to fall down laughing. My neigh are in their 80s and kind of stare blankly when I ask how they get theirs.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Ah. Hughs it is then. Or, call your local phone company and see what they offer.

We're in a weird little spot with no cable service, but we aren't out in the boonies either. Dialup is the best we can do without adding another dish to the roof, which I refuse to do.

[BigSki]

Originally Posted by neillarson

Comcast is about 3 miles away and has no plans to come out my deadens road.

consider yourself lucky! comcast has gone away in my area because of over priced, limited choices and non-existent customer service.

Is it possible to use a smart phone for an access point and get interwebz & T.V. access?

[neillarson]

I think so. Sprint has a device that has unlimited data and provides a WiFi hotspot to up to 8 devices. Verizon has one that will do 10 but not unlimited data.

Going to check out the Sprint one and see what sprints LTE coverage is at my home site.

[jetboat]

see if "clear" is available in your area. My sister in-law has it and loves it.