  SoHeroVT
@aol.com | [general] Before leaping, anyone have experience in VT, up-stat
Is there anyone in Vermont or up-state NY with recent experience with WildBlue? I'm doing my homework on satellite internet and recognize its limits, but am hoping to find someone with experience in my geographic area. |
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 alhanson
join:2006-01-29 Barneveld, WI
| Re: [general] Before leaping, anyone have experience in VT, up-
SoHeroYT, You are an anonymous user! Some anonymous posters have run a denial of service attack against this form in the last few days. If you are sincere in your request for information then join the Forum and post your questions again. Because registered users have options to ignore posts by anons, or any other user. I suspect the registered users that can help you can even see your post.
al |
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 Spice300 Premium join:2006-01-10
edit: April 22nd, @04:59PM
| reply to SoHeroVT Don't let alhanson intimidate you. This forum allows anonymous posters, and you are welcome.
Vermont and up-state NY would likely use beam 116, Syracuse gateway and the satellite Wildblue-1. There are not any reports of beam 116 being full meaning speeds should be near advertised. However, the price for the Value Pack in some areas of Vermont is $54.95 / month (the usual price is $49.95 / month) indicating a popular beam. Go to Wildblue and enter your ZIP code in the box labeled service availability to see what prices they are offering for your area.
The key to success with Wildblue is to get a good installation. Avoid purchasing the system directly from Wildblue because their customer support is awful. If there is one selling Wildblue in your area, an NRTC (National Rural Telecommunication Cooperative) is probably the best choice. -- Value Pack, beam 31, Riverside gateway |
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 LongTrailRuf
join:2008-03-11 Montpelier, VT
| reply to SoHeroVT South Hero--
I'm in the Washington County and have subscribed since last summer. Cable ends 0.25 miles away and wireless is just a promise so satellite is my only choice.
Expect slow response due to heavy system usage 6-10pm. Prepare to climb the roof after a heavy snowstorm to clean the dish. Don't expect any support for a router, multiple computers in you house, or anything but a Microsoft operating system.
WB speed beats dialup for my usage (reading the morning newspaper and some blogs with a moderate amount of imagery). It's not much more expensive than dialup if you consider you avoid telephone usage charges ($25/month) and an ISP ($10/month). Remember to amortize the $250-300 modem purchase over a reasonable expectation of how long you will actually use WB before switching to Verizon DSL or wireless if they become available and are competitive.
LTR |
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  Mr Annon
join:2008-03-04
| Not in Vermont, but have had WB since 08/06 and Have used SUSE Linux and multiple computers/router without difficulty. Whereas it is true that there is no official support for anything more than one computer and MS, they (WB) do not need to know this if you are not reselling the bandwidth to others.
If you understand what you are doing but encounter a Hardware failure (my TRIA failed in the first 4mos) when asked which OS you are running simply say XP. Put up with the nonsense questions about viruses and reboots and constant recycling the Modem (Once off and back on should be always have been tried any way) until they authorize a service call.
Good installation is a must, do not accept a roof mount unless there is no other option. A strong metal pole anchored in concrete is the best way to ensure stability.
Good luck if you go with WB! As a option to Dialup it has many advantages. |
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  SoHeroVT
@aol.com | reply to SoHeroVT Thanks to everyone for your helpful information. If I decide to subscribe to WildBlue I will definitely register for and participate in this forum. Jackie in VT |
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  shoe1
join:2007-09-28 Colfax, CA
| reply to SoHeroVT If I were you I would pay the cable company to string that last .25 miles, if you could get your niegboors to show that would sign up with if they string it out there than the cable company would probab;y give you a discount or even free...Wildblue is not really a choice when it comes to internet your going to end up pay huge amount for the cheap system when you could have used it toward a system that would easy beat Wildble no matter what time it is.. |
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