Sneedville - high speed Internet access (Kingsport, Finger: apartments, to rent, houses)

[Syndicate]

Hey everyone! I'm looking at moving to Sneedville but require high speed Internet access for my job ( I work from home ). I looked around online but haven't found anything conclusive. Is there high speed Internet access available in Sneedville?

I'm looking to build a homestead so am comfortable with rural areas but would need reliable Internet and power to stay employed

Any info you guys have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks much!

[Jim37680]

You may be able to verify the feasibility of this move using the Connect Tennessee interactive map for the Hancock County vicinity. From what I see you will out of luck if you are very far removed from Sneedville.

Connected Tennessee My ConnectView

I think the incumbent telephone provider (and DSL) in that area is AT&T which has been shedding rural telephone system in recent times rather than maintaining or upgrading. Some systems have been bought by Frontier which operates in some areas down near there.

Charter is shown as the cable operator with broadband in the area close to Sneedville.

The county of Hancock is very rural, rugged, and with low population density. I would not expect much other than slow, expensive satellite broadband for the rural area for years to come.

Other rural counties might provide better access in the backwoods. Johnson County has recently has had extensive broadband build-out by Charter and expanded build-out of DSL by CenturyLink (probably in response to Charter's initiative). The Shady Valley portion of Johnson County is served by Skyline Telephone (based in North Carolina) and they were over-building their system with all fiber to the premises about a year or two ago.

Good luck!

[rccrain]

There is no way to be sure unless you call the local provider and give them your prospective address.

Sneedville, TN - Rates & Packages

[scmtngirl]

Hi Syndicate,

We bought land in rural Hancock County and also require some level of high-speed internet for work. We tried buying a Wilson signal booster kit in order to use our Verizon smart phones as wi-fi hot spots, but that only worked intermittently - we think that it will work better with some fine-tuning, though. We are scheduled to have Exede (WildBlue) satellite internet installed in the next few weeks after we arrive for our final move. I've heard a lot of very bad and some good things about satellite internet, but it's our only option at this point. Surprisingly, my current work in an urban area has very slow DSL, but my husband is used to cable internet. We even looked at getting a T1 line installed, but it was just too expensive at several hundred dollars per month. We don't plan on being able to stream Netflix anymore obviously, but hopefully the satellite internet will work good enough for the small amount of telecommuting work I have lined up. Just thought I'd let you know you're not the only one looking for high speed in this area.

~ Mitsy

[Ridgerunner]

I hope you have more success with Wild Blue than I had. We lived in a ridgetop subdivision near Kingsport with absolutely no obstructions of any sort. In good weather everything was fine, but the signal would go away every time the skies were overcast. After two or three months of intermittent service I paid a hefty cancellation fee to get rid of it. Since then we've had high speed cable access at a little more than half the cost of Wild Blue.

[scmtngirl]

Originally Posted by Ridgerunner

I hope you have more success with Wild Blue than I had. We lived in a ridgetop subdivision near Kingsport with absolutely no obstructions of any sort. In good weather everything was fine, but the signal would go away every time the skies were overcast. After two or three months of intermittent service I paid a hefty cancellation fee to get rid of it. Since then we've had high speed cable access at a little more than half the cost of Wild Blue.

Believe me, we would get cable internet if it were available to us, but it's just not an option. From what I understand, WildBlue launched a new satellite in late 2011 that is supposed to have improved their service drastically. Fingers crossed that this is the case!

[Ridgerunner]

Originally Posted by scmtngirl

Believe me, we would get cable internet if it were available to us, but it's just not an option. From what I understand, WildBlue launched a new satellite in late 2011 that is supposed to have improved their service drastically. Fingers crossed that this is the case!

Then you may have no problem at all. When I was working on the road, I added a second Verizon line along with a device that plugged into my laptop. Anywhere there was a cellphone signal, I could get on line instantly.

[scmtngirl]

Originally Posted by Ridgerunner

Then you may have no problem at all. When I was working on the road, I added a second Verizon line along with a device that plugged into my laptop. Anywhere there was a cellphone signal, I could get on line instantly.

If we have trouble with the satellite internet and I have work lined up that is on a deadline, my backup plan is to actually drive over to the nearest Verizon tower (about 7 miles away), park my SUV nearby, and set up a temporary wi-fi workstation in the back of my car! It would be an outdoor office with a view and a commute that can't be beat.

[Syndicate]

Thanks for the great feedback everyone. The property we have in mind is kinda remote so I imagine we'll be limited to satellite. I'm heading up that way to check it out in early August so I'll keep you posted!

[trapperreynolds]

Hey all,

I am going to hit the road in april and will be in Sneedville in that month. I am wondering if there are apartments/houses available to rent for a single man.
Or if the weather is warm maybe even camping sites to live until something comes available.
My e-mail is:jrreynolds58@comcast.net
cell is 815-440-8068

I am retired and love to fish.