A little help finding high speed internet in Inman please? (2009, to live in)

[Omicron]

Hmmmm... appears as if you have no choice of typeface here. Oh well.
I live in California. I have a friend in Inman, Kansas. I wanted to give her a high speed internet connection where she lives for her birthday (over a month ago) and couldn't find any ISP that would do that. Still can't find one. I won't tell the whole boring story of my quest. Bottom line is I still can't find a high speed ISP in 67546.
Now I know there are businesses in Inman, they must be able to have high speed. If they can do it, she should be able to do it. I'll spring for a repeater if I have to. This is 2009, dialup is unacceptable. If I want to show her pictures, I have to throw them up on one of my websites so she can navigate them on there. This is getting beyond old. I work 58-70 hours a week, so physically going there is not an option for me.
She lives about 5 miles west of highway 61, roughly west of Groveland. Clue: she lives next to a dirt road. She calls it the middle of nowhere and, for the most part, she loves it. I've never been there.

Can anyone help me out and point me toward an ISP there? Wireless is acceptable. Verizon swore up and down they could do it at first, then backed away and said they couldn't.
Thanks for any help......
-Omicron

[Modron]

sattelite uplink with a cell phone company? does she have a cell phone?

[quesera]

My immediate thought is HughesNet, but start up is very expensive... unless it's changed recently. Does your friend have cable tv service, or is she on satellite service? If she has cable, does her cable provider also provide internet?

[quesera]

Kansas Inet
Inman, KS
(620) 585-2701

This is the only internet provider information posted in the online yellow pages. Good luck!

[Omicron]

Yes, she has a cell phone, a Tracfone. Not much chance of connecting from there. There is no TV cable available where she lives. I'm thinking she's lucky to have a phone line there. She says there is a "waiting list" to get high speed from the phone company. Harrumph.
Thing is, at this point I'm not concerned about what it costs, I just want to win this one. We live in the most advanced country in the world, I'd like to thing in the 21st century I'd be able to get her this service at whatever cost.
So you think if I get her a "standard" cell phone service, we'd be able to fix her up? Tracfone is great, you just pay 20 bucks every 3 months, but no extra stuff is available there. I'll spring for the cell service. Anybody able to tell me what cell service can do that? I'll do what it takes.
Hey thanks a lot for responding, everyone. Maybe we can have a happy ending to this. I like to make her smile.

[alwaystraveling25]

Originally Posted by Omicron

This is 2009, dialup is unacceptable.
-Omicron

I used to live in Kansas, and trust me, she lives in a very rural area. Even though it is the year 2009, rural areas do not often have cable internet available. I have relatives that live in Northern Michigan, and it's only been since 2000 that they have touch-tone dialing. The only way they receive higher-speed internet is through a satellite.

I'm afraid your options might be limited for your friend. Alltel is the only major service provider (that I found) that offers coverage in her area. It would be 59.99 for her to use a computer access card by them to access the internet...it should be faster then dial-up. Of course, you (or her) would have to sign a 2 Year Contract with an activation fee and an Early Termination Fee, just like you were signing up for a new cell phone that was not pre-paid.

Here is a map of their coverage: Alltel Zip Check

So those, I think, are your only options: Satelite Uplink/Download or using a cell-phone and paying a good premium to use that.

Good Luck! I know you probably feel frustrated, but in rural areas your options are extremely limited...I feel her frustation whenever I visit my relatives in Northern Michigan!