[scktsa]

Hello,

We are planning on moving on up to Petoskey and are very excited. I do have to wait about a year and a half until my son graduates from High School.

BUT .... to the point. My husband works from home, as do I to a smaller extent, and it is VITAL that he have dependable Internet service. From everything we are researching that sounds like Charter basically in town, around the point to Alanson and kind of wiggly to near Boyne City. So, we will locate a home in the area most likely to serve our needs.

Question to any locals that can help. What is your experience with Internet dependability? If we can't count on that we will have to move elsewhere (which would really be sad). His job has to take the highest priority.

Thanks to anyone who can share some info.

Candy

[FenderBass]

Charter is it for local broadband cable. If I needed 100% uptime from my service provider I would choose DSL from AT&T, for this you need to be located within 2 or 3 miles of the AT&T CO(Central Office) or repeater. You can get on AT&T's website and see if DSL is available where you will be living in Petoskey. I live in Leelanau County and my experience with Charter isn't the greatest. Your experience in Petoskey might be better. You could always do both Charter and AT&T and use one as a backup. Hopefully a local from Petoskey with Charter will chime in with their experience.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by scktsa

Hello,

We are planning on moving on up to Petoskey and are very excited. I do have to wait about a year and a half until my son graduates from High School.

BUT .... to the point. My husband works from home, as do I to a smaller extent, and it is VITAL that he have dependable Internet service. From everything we are researching that sounds like Charter basically in town, around the point to Alanson and kind of wiggly to near Boyne City. So, we will locate a home in the area most likely to serve our needs.

Question to any locals that can help. What is your experience with Internet dependability? If we can't count on that we will have to move elsewhere (which would really be sad). His job has to take the highest priority.

Thanks to anyone who can share some info.

Candy

If you have AT&T cell phone service, you can use your phone or buy a small mobile hotspot. The new ones are all 4G, which I've found are plenty fast for working from home or remotely (even for pictures, pdfs, downloads, etc).

Take a look at the cell phone service providers like AT&T or Verizon and make sure you aren't in one of their dead spots and you should be fine. Or even if you are in a dead spot, you can get signal boosters or even satellite internet.

[scktsa]

Thanks for the fast and helpful responses, so quickly!

I'm not experienced with all the different types of Internet available but I thought using the cell service providers might be less dependable? My husband is an IT kinda guy (obviously since he does his job from home online). I'm going to run these ideas by him and check their websites (AT&T and Verizon) to see what they have to say. He did tell me that he will need a minimum of 20mps Upload speed and at least 5mps Download for his job. He supports system upgrades, issues etc. We plan to talk to the providers but, sheepishly, I have to say I don't really trust corporations. I'm afraid they will just tell us what we want to hear.

Although the cold in Petoskey doesn't sound exciting, the small town lifestyle and the beauty of the country is inviting. If you add to that I have a grandbaby, son and daughter-in-law, along with my brother currently, who have no plans to go anywhere! My son started a business and it is building nicely and my DIL grew up there. With the cost of living compared to other areas we are considering..... I'd like to work this out.

Thanks again for the input. Off I go to do some more research.

[scktsa]

Just realized it is 20 mbps download and 5 min mbps upload. Don't know how to change or add to message above.

[Nephler]

Charter is your best bet and their coverage is pretty good. That being said, do NOT trust their coverage map on their website or giving an address to a sales person. When I was getting ready to move back here from Alaska I looked at their map and called about service to our current address, both said yes, there is service. Ha, wrong, not even close. We are about 10 miles away from the closest Charter connection. We ended up going with DSL, but after about a year we decided to switch to Sat. internet (Exede) due to DSL being soooo slow.

[nordwulf]

Charter Internet in Boyne City is very reliable. I have it at home and speed is fast and connection is reliable. We changed from a T1 to Charter Business at the company I work for and it has been a good experience in the last 2 years.

When you move, definitely make sure there is Charter because DSL and Sat internet are poor alternatives.

[scktsa]

I am really appreciated the time and info you are all giving.

Nephler that is RIDICULOUS! I see where being careful may not be enough. We need to keep checking all fronts. We do have a National map that SHOWS along the main area near downtown Petoskey, around a bit to Alanson (with what looks like a bit of a hole of non-coverage) and down toward Boyne City might be doable. Guess I mentioned that before.

Wulf67 your input is EXACTLY what I needed. Some real time experience. This gives me hope that we can move there. I really like what I know of Boyne City. Checking it out again in June. My husband is right in line with you on using DSL and Sat.

Thank all!