Rural Internet Options - HELP

[YamaLube]

Searched and found a few threads, but they were a bit old.

Does anyone on here use Xplorenet? I am worried about performance, and the fact that you basically are locked in for 3 years if you want them to install for free........

How about Platinum? It's speed stated to be a bit slower then Xplorenet, but just wondering.

And lastly, would I be happy using a 3G internet stick on my home computer?

[RecoilS14]

i dunno about the first two, but the 3G stick would probably drive you up the wall out in the country.

[Thaco]

my brother uses wild rose internet, they seem alright, other than the fact that they shut you down for TOS if you use any file sharing.

[im2fst4u]

We just recently moved onto an acreage and we decided to go with Platinum as our provider.
The service is great, the install was without question very professional. Installers were very knowledgeable.
So far (about 5 weeks since we had it installed) it has been flawless. Always on, not once has it given us any issues.
I would highly recommend Platinum for rural (depending on how far you are from their tower).
We are about 3km from the tower, the installer added a parabolic dish to my receiver to give me better reception.
Great company, great service and a great experience.

[YamaLube]

Thanks for the info. How much was set up, contract length, equipment, etc?

What general area do you live?

[GoChris]

If you have good signal, I'm not sure why a new 3G+ stick would be a bad thing. up to 21Mbps down.

[YamaLube]

I just looked at plans for 3G, when you go over your allowable download amount it gets pretty pricey, I am going to go wireless, just have to decide on platinum vs xplorenet.......

[Zero102]

At 3km there is no need for a parabolic dish for wireless internet. A standard panel antenna should be just fine for links up to 10km-12km, after that you need a dish.

I worked for Community Networks, and although the owners are total douchebags they do offer the best service out there for the most affordable price. IIRC their service is called eFirehose.

They don't care about P2P downloads but they do shape your uploads so that you don't hurt other users.