Our ISP sucks

[Hawks]

Some background. We have been using this ISP for some time, however they were recently purchased and the quality has gone way downhill (we now have random times of no internet as well). It's wifi (according to their website, it's microwave), we have an antenna on the house and get the signal from a station about three miles away. This is our only option besides dial-up, as we are in the 'last mile' of Verizon's FiOS stuff (I'm fairly sure it's FiOS. Not really relevant, because we can't get it.)

 

Anyway, any suggestions on things I might try to find a better ISP (given that we're in the boonies, and I'm pretty sure it's this or satellite) for a comparable price? We pay $50 a month atm and get this:

 

We pay $50 a month for asymmetrical 'monthly residential service' that carries this disclaimer: Actual speeds for asymmetrical service are not guaranteed. Typical upload speeds should vary between 512Kbps to 1Mbps. Many factors effect upload and download speed, including without limitation, the number of workstations using a single connection and the website/network being communicated with. (for $65 it's up to 5Mbps, but my mom won't let my dad spend that much on the internet :P )

 

For reference, we have two computers in the house connected and a Wii. The Wii idles connected to the internet as do the computers if they are on.

 

We have random periods of no service, and I'm pretty sure it hasn't been on our end ever. How can I best track the periods of no-service and stuff? Is there some kind of app I can use to log when the computer's connected and when it's not?

[Kaida23]

If that's the best you can get for $50 a month, and it's that erratic, you might almost be better off getting dial-up and a dedicated phone line. It might be cheaper too. :P

 

Honestly, I'm surprised that cable or DSL isn't available in your area. When I moved to where I am now, Bell told me the DSL wouldn't work because it was too far from a relay station but it worked just fine.

[jasignhagj]

660kbps is far better than the 56 you get with dial up. You could look into getting a 3G or 4G access point, but those cost a lot and are often capped at stupidly low amounts (512mb or 1gb), plus you can only use them on one computer at a time. Do you have a data cap? Because if not, $65 for 5mbps isn't that bad.

 

I'd turn the wii off when it's not in use, I find even having an ipod or console idle on wifi cuts speeds dramatically.

[indy500fan]

That's roughly the speeds that many of our wireless broadband customers see for the ISP where I work. The last mile is extremely expensive to build, much cheaper to just do it wireless. The problem is, wireless sucks a lot of the time. The unlicensed 900Mhz wireless broadband is probably what you have, and it will have to accept all interference, with no real good way to prevent it. Line of site to the tower is the most important aspect, but on 900 you don't need to be completely clear. The farther out you are, the worse it will be too. Many things will cause it to stop working. In the summer around here the corn fields (which hold lots of moisture and evaporates during the day) cause a ton of problems. In the winter ice will cause trouble. In the spring/summer lightning causes tons of trouble.

 

There's not much you can do. Call them and see if they will come out and take a look at it, to try and see if they can get a better signal any way. They might charge though.

[Sbrideau]

660kbps is far better than the 56 you get with dial up. You could look into getting a 3G or 4G access point, but those cost a lot and are often capped at stupidly low amounts (512mb or 1gb), plus you can only use them on one computer at a time. Do you have a data cap? Because if not, $65 for 5mbps isn't that bad.

 

I'd turn the wii off when it's not in use, I find even having an ipod or console idle on wifi cuts speeds dramatically.

 

I think OP is paying ridiculous prices. I was getting 25Mb/s for $64/month. Although I'm somewhere where optic fiber is available, and that I am getting it soon.

[jasignhagj]

Canada>USA for internet pricing. I get about 8 down 1 up unlimited for $40 here.

 

As long as you can stream 1080p video, I'd consider no cap more important than speed anyways. Of course it depends how many people use the internet at once, and if it's going to be unreliable it's not even worth it.

[indy500fan]

Prices can vary a ton of just a short distance out here in the country where there aren't many options. For example we have fiber customers who can get 40/20 for $30 a month, and right across the street we don't have fiber but do have our wireless which costs around $45 a month for 1/256k.

[Hawks]

Canada>USA for internet pricing. I get about 8 down 1 up unlimited for $40 here.

 

As long as you can stream 1080p video, I'd consider no cap more important than speed anyways. Of course it depends how many people use the internet at once, and if it's going to be unreliable it's not even worth it.

 

I can't stream 1080p. I can hardly stream 320p with nobody else on it.