Rural VA Internet (Richmond, Reston: for sale, power lines, how much)

[jballa]

A few months back, I purchased a house near Naola, VA.... right in the middle of nothing. I Love It! but I have encountered a major problem, my options of internet I have found so far include Satellite for $500 installation and ~$70/month OR plain old dial-up. I mostly use it for music (legally of course), and myspace since most modern companies block both of those making high speed necessary at home.

I've heard of Dominion VA Power experimenting with DSL on power lines east of Rt. 29, but that does not include me. I also know that neighboring Big Island, VA and parts on Monroe, VA already have the high speed phone DSL available.

I'm wondering if anyone knows anywhere I can locate high speed other than satellite, which is still too high priced for my use. I've been told by certain companies that if I wait another year or so, I may have it available... rediculous!

[Electron]

The acronym, SOL comes to mind. Sorry. I had the same thang when I relocated outside of Richmond. I'm too cheap to fork over 60-70 bucks for the satellite, so I usually change my oil, shower, or mow the grass between page loading through dial up.

[jballa]

Its not the $70/month that hurts me so bad, it's the $500 install that just seems rediculous. I'm guessing that noone has any ideas, and I'm going to have to deal with it.

[mf12283]

$500 installation fee? Are you kidding? What companies do satellite internet? I know Direct TV does it with Direc Way (I think) but I didn't know how much it cost to set it up.

[DavidS827]

I think DirecWay is now called HughesNet. It looks like their fees may have come down a bit. Here's a link to a promo I found. http://www.get-direcway.com/promotions2.htm

[jballa]

Has anyone attempted to use Wisp (Wireless ISP)? Wifi is still more urban oriented, but it seems that a certain mountain view allows narrow band radio waves to be beamed to your house. It supposively isn't affected by the weather, and has a transfer rate around 700 kbps (bout the same as cable). Its very secure and is around $50/month I THINK.

Sounds fantastic, has anyone tried it?

[Happy_Bucklander]

I have satellite, and have had it for two years now. I found a provider via e-bay out of Colorado - think their office may be in North Carolina now, but I'm not sure - and the equipment was cheap or free and I did the installation myself. It was a good deal. I don't know if they are still there. I signed a contract for $60 a month for two years. I get about 250kb, opposed to the 28kb

I'm about to sign up for Luminary Online - a WISP out of Reston. If they pan out (up to 768kb, supposedly), I'll have a satellite system for sale cheap.

What do you know about Dominion and their BPL rollout?

[jballa]

My father is a computer specialist who does a lot of hardware repair. He's only encountered 1 person so far in central/SW VA who has the BPL, but that person was very happy with the service in his test area. Then again, there were far less people on his rural network than will be in NoVA. I've had some professional experience with Dominion through my company and ODU (and power bills) and they are a class act among utilities so I wouldn't worry about doing buisiness with them.

My problem is that I have AEP, who only operates coal burners & hydro Dams... so BPL is long out of my future, unless Dominion makes a big purchase.

I know a Wisp is Avail. in my area, I can see the tower, but I'm having problems locating the company. Send me a PM about your satellite equip. and I'll do some footwork to make sure it'll work with Hughes & DirecTV.