Big Island DSL....a show of hands? (Kailua, Waimea: 2014, buyer)

[mdand3boys]

Sorry for the late reply - but if someone wants to move here and needs decent internet, and provided that DSL is actually available where you are moving to; order TWO DSL lines to come into the residence.
You then use a router such as the Cisco Ru082 (about $250) which can handle dual DSL inputs and does load balancing. You will not double your speed, but will double your available bandwidth!

Sure, you will pay for 2 connections, but DSL is kinda cheap anyway. You can also do this with cable but since cable speeds are much faster, I don't really see the benefit.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

Sorry for the late reply - but if someone wants to move here and needs decent internet, and provided that DSL is actually available where you are moving to; order TWO DSL lines to come into the residence.
You then use a router such as the Cisco Ru082 (about $250) which can handle dual DSL inputs and does load balancing. You will not double your speed, but will double your available bandwidth!

Sure, you will pay for 2 connections, but DSL is kinda cheap anyway. You can also do this with cable but since cable speeds are much faster, I don't really see the benefit.

That's a great idea for extra speed! Another configuration might be to subscribe to both DSL and Cable Internet (if both are available) and run them into the dual WAN ports for more speed and redundancy in case either the DSL or Cable Internet is down.

[mdand3boys]

Originally Posted by davephan

That's a great idea for extra speed! Another configuration might be to subscribe to both DSL and Cable Internet (if both are available) and run them into the dual WAN ports for more speed and redundancy in case either the DSL or Cable Internet is down.

That certainly would be a big "if".
As far as additional redundancy, since both types run on the same utility poles to your house, and the typical failure point here is a tree falling on the lines... well... However, using satellite as a failover might not be a bad idea, if you do not require a VPN connection.

[Hakware]

you can also use a mikrotik router for load balancing or failover (bout 50 bux or less) I have used them for years in commercial applications and never regretted them. Some of them like the 750 series have multiple ports which can be used to load balance to 3 or 4 different connections. Little bit easier than the cisco IOS language to program too IMHO.

Love the broadband map link. Just lets me know I am a mere 400 yards away from the cable terminator.

[hotzcatz]

No way to put a wireless on the end of the terminal so it would reach to your house? Ask the folks who live at the end of the terminal if you can put a wireless in a box on their property or something? Can a wireless reach 400 yards? Maybe with an antenna? You gotta frequently work outside the box when living on islands.

It took several months, but they did a wire extension at our last house so we'd get service with Time Warner cable.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by Hakware

you can also use a mikrotik router for load balancing or failover (bout 50 bux or less) I have used them for years in commercial applications and never regretted them. Some of them like the 750 series have multiple ports which can be used to load balance to 3 or 4 different connections. Little bit easier than the cisco IOS language to program too IMHO.

Love the broadband map link. Just lets me know I am a mere 400 yards away from the cable terminator.

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

No way to put a wireless on the end of the terminal so it would reach to your house? Ask the folks who live at the end of the terminal if you can put a wireless in a box on their property or something? Can a wireless reach 400 yards? Maybe with an antenna? You gotta frequently work outside the box when living on islands.

It took several months, but they did a wire extension at our last house so we'd get service with Time Warner cable.

I was also thinking of the same solution. Perhaps you could setup a wireless system at your neighbors house. Maybe you could subscribe to the service as a second account at the same address. Then setup autopay so that you would never have situation occur where you forgot to pay, which could annoy your neighbor. Or, maybe you could subsidize their broadband, or compensate the neighbor in some other way, such as giving them some free food or beer from time to time. You can get pretty long range wireless access points, plus you could use directional antennas and a wireless repeater on the edge of your property.

If you can't work out the agreement with someone close enough, maybe you could work out a deal with someone farther away and use a microwave link, which can travel for miles. The microwave link might cost several thousand dollars to setup. But it's a one time cost on top of the monthly Internet cost. Then you could kick back and enjoy decent Internet broadband speed instead of wishing you had better Internet access.

[hotzcatz]

Back in the stone age (prior to cell phones) we did that with telephone service. We were at the end of the phone line, but a lot of folks had CB and ham radios. So folks would phone our house and we'd in turn radio out to their folks to get messages back and forth. Hmm, come to think of it, we were on a party line, too, so I guess that may have been pre-stone age.

Considering the OP was deciding between Ainaloa (which should have cable if not DSL) and Fern Forest (which probably won't have either) I'm guessing he was still at the beginning tire kicking stage of checking out property. I'd not think that someone who was interested in Ainaloa would also be interested in Fern Forest if they were familiar with both "subdivisions".

[mdand3boys]

Yes, you could setup a higher powered wireless. It will cost a few hundred $, not thousands.
You can get several miles of distance as long as you don't have trees and terrain in the way.
I have used this company before, even though their prices are on the high side.

RadioLabs - Radio, Wireless and Beyond -

The key is, you can actually call them and explain what you are trying to accomplish and they will get you a proper setup.

[Celestyn]

Is there any issue getting a high speed connection in the Kailua-Kona area? We stayed in a vacation rental there recently that had very good internet and were told it wouldn't be a problem, but this thread has me a bit concerned. Are all the problems limited to the south of the island?

[PTDreamer]

Great...we are considering Waimea or Kona. Iam skeptical now. anyone have any in put on these areas?