NGC internet service

[drdwb]

Since we have so many gifted IT people here and lots of old guys surfing the net when not riding their bikes I’d like to ask a question about internet service providers. We live in a rural area of Minnesota, about 3 miles from the nearest cables, we had a local wireless provider but it is limited speed, which means movies are constantly buffered depending on usage, So we switched to Exide Satellite which is fast at 12-15 mbps so we could watch movies, but it costs $120.00 a month and is limited time , we can watch about 3-4 movies a month and than everything slows down.

Here’s the question I’m hearing about a service Blazing Hog Internet from Houston, they use excess cellular service from ATT& T Mobile and provide 19-25 MBPS Unlimited for $100.00 a month.  And you can take it anywhere with you.
Has anyone used or know people using this service?
Thanks

[Wayne Orwig]

Is that MBPS, or mbps, there is a difference.

I don't know much about it, but I've heard that some of those services are using AT&T and claim to AT&T that they are running a single tablet. AT&T is cracking down on those services and shutting them down.

So, not saying that this is one of those bogus services, And I don't think it would be at $100 a month. But if it is, AT&T may shut you down in a month or so.

Also, take the speed number with a grain of salt so to speak. There are a lot of things that influence the actual speed you will get. And being rural, means that they likely don't have the best capacity to connect the tower to.

[80CX100]

     I've been on rural internet with satellite for far too long, but it is what it is.

     I don't know what they call it in your area, but locally what is referred to as Line of Sight (Transmission Tower Site) or LTE wireless internet is much better and the hot ticket for quality, speed and price, but unfortunately I'm in the shadow of the Carp Ridge, so I'm stuck with my satellite dish. 

     good luck with it

     Kelly

[Lannis]

     I've been on rural internet with satellite for far too long, but it is what it is.

     I don't know what they call it in your area, but locally what is referred to as Line of Sight (Transmission Tower Site) or LTE wireless internet is much better and the hot ticket for quality, speed and price, but unfortunately I'm in the shadow of the Carp Ridge, so I'm stuck with my satellite dish. 

     good luck with it

     Kelly

Same for me - Exede/Viasat satellite, although I must say that the 25 GB cap at full speed, and then slower, works for all the Netflix stuff we want (which isn't much).   

The line-of-sight microwave dudes have full fiber-optic-speed coverage, but you have to be able to get an antenna far enough into the air to SEE a tower.   I'd need an 80 foot tower, so no.

ATT offers 4G cell-signal conversion (via a modem) to Wifi, which would work for me although not as fast as hard-wired cable, but we have no ATT signal.   And our Verizon signal was at least amplifiable for about 6 months, then quit, so for the moment, even our phones are on Viasat satellite.

Lannis

[acogoff]

     My local phone company (also in minnesota) got in on a federal grant to provide broadband service to rural Minn about 2 years ago. They ran fibre optic right to my house and my driveway is 7/10 of a mile long. Now get 10mgb download and upload speed for $35 a month plus my regular land line is another $30. I would ask your phone company where they were when the grants were being given out. Maybe they did not qualify for some reason or another or were asleep at the switch.

[drdwb]

 I would ask your phone company where they were when the grants were being given out. Maybe they did not qualify for some reason or another or were asleep at the switch.


I have been told by local satellite/ dish installers that “there were non-compete agreements arranged by providers to maintain their turf” not sure if this is rumor or truth. But we have lived here 33 years, the increase of permanent residents has doubled yet the cable stops about 3 miles from our house, despite petitions and frequent calls for service. 

We lose Viasat/ Exide  satellite service with rain and snow storms but weather doesn’t seem to effect the cell  service at our house.

Wayne ...it is suppose to be up to 29 Mbps, we will see what we get, delivery suppose to be this Friday.

The Blazing Hog has 90 day money back offer so we’re going to try it. I’ll pass on what our experience is.

[Lannis]

     My local phone company (also in minnesota) got in on a federal grant to provide broadband service to rural Minn about 2 years ago. They ran fibre optic right to my house and my driveway is 7/10 of a mile long. Now get 10mgb download and upload speed for $35 a month plus my regular land line is another $30. I would ask your phone company where they were when the grants were being given out. Maybe they did not qualify for some reason or another or were asleep at the switch.

They ran the fiber underground to your house from the highway?   

That's a pretty good deal if they did.   We're on an REA co-op electric service, and they've got no option like that ...

Of course, there's no cable or FO on our public road yet, so it may be a while ...

Lannis

[acogoff]

They ran the fiber underground to your house from the highway?   

That's a pretty good deal if they did.   We're on an REA co-op electric service, and they've got no option like that ...

Of course, there's no cable or FO on our public road yet, so it may be a while ...

Lannis

    Yes they did and the rumor was the cable diggers contract was 10,000 bucks a mile.  So I figure I got a wonderful deal. $7000 bucks worth.

[Lannis]

    Yes they did and the rumor was the cable diggers contract was 10,000 bucks a mile.  So I figure I got a wonderful deal. $7000 bucks worth.

When we built our house (a mile off the highway) we opted to pay to have the electric and the telephone service run underground so we wouldn't be everlastingly mowing around poles and guy wires.   That was 1987, and it was $1 a foot then ....

Lannis

[acogoff]

     I just did some checking and it was and is a Minnesota Dept. of Commerce program and they have a web page about how to go about it for the phone company. They even have maps who was given grants in 2019.

[John Croucher]

5G Technology is rolling out.  It is high density, high speed cellular-internet transmitter-repeaters. It is the future.  No micro chip under the skin.  Your communication device will be the surrogate. 

Rather than your device pinging off a cellular tower miles away, the 5G units will be mounted everywhere, roof tops, telephone poles, bill boards.  This will allow for better tracking of Users.  This closer tracking will allow for better direct marketing to consumers based on the proximity to businesses.  Facial recognition is a big part of the 5g roll out.  It will allow Businesses and others (law enforcement) to quickly identify who is where and what they are doing.

This 5g Technology has already been rolled out in other parts of the world.  "China is dangling revolutionary 5G technology to the world through its giant telecommunications companies in an effort to make the communications systems of other nations – including the U.S. – dependent on China and subject to Chinese control and surveillance."

5G is coming, it works, it does have its strings attached.

[Lannis]

Rather than your device pinging off a cellular tower miles away, the 5G units will be mounted everywhere, roof tops, telephone poles, bill boards.  This will allow for better tracking of Users.  This closer tracking will allow for better direct marketing to consumers based on the proximity to businesses. 

Considering that we don't even have cell towers in this area yet, I suspect that the "everywhere" will be limited to large cities and high population densities .... We didn't even get wired telephones here where I live until 1950 .... !

Lannis

[twowheeladdict]

Since we have so many gifted IT people here and lots of old guys surfing the net when not riding their bikes I’d like to ask a question about internet service providers. We live in a rural area of Minnesota, about 3 miles from the nearest cables, we had a local wireless provider but it is limited speed, which means movies are constantly buffered depending on usage, So we switched to Exide Satellite which is fast at 12-15 mbps so we could watch movies, but it costs $120.00 a month and is limited time , we can watch about 3-4 movies a month and than everything slows down.

Here’s the question I’m hearing about a service Blazing Hog Internet from Houston, they use excess cellular service from ATT& T Mobile and provide 19-25 MBPS Unlimited for $100.00 a month.  And you can take it anywhere with you.
Has anyone used or know people using this service?
Thanks

$120 a month for internet only?  I wouldn't pay that unless I could deduct it as a business expense.  Around here you could have two smartphones with unlimited data and hotspot capability for less than that.  Then you have all the bases covered. 

We got the cable company to extend the line a mile to the front of our property.  It took showing up at their offices to make it happen.  Phone calls to customer service located in Timbuktu resulted in zilch.  We got cable internet only with pretty much unlimited for under $50 a month. 

[Lannis]

$120 a month for internet only?  I wouldn't pay that unless I could deduct it as a business expense.  Around here you could have two smartphones with unlimited data and hotspot capability for less than that.  Then you have all the bases covered. 

Well, if satellite is the only signal that you can receive, then you pay what you've got to pay if you want the capability.   $86/mo for me, 25GB at about 15 Mbps .....

Lannis

[Wayne Orwig]

IMHO, 5G is a nonsense for people in rural areas.

It probably makes a lot of sense for people in densely populated areas, but for the rest of the planet, it is sort of stupid. In cities, they can put a LOT of antennas on building, pull the fiber lines with a lot of capacity, and provide high speed connections to a lot of people.

But out in the rural areas, the coverage area of those millimeter wave 5G antennas is just too short. As in, an antenna may cover less than 1/2 mile, and we are talking about a person with a driveway over 1/2 mile. And the fibers hauling the data to them, don't exist.

[twowheeladdict]

Well, if satellite is the only signal that you can receive, then you pay what you've got to pay if you want the capability.   $86/mo for me, 25GB at about 15 Mbps .....

Lannis

Yep.