wireless network in rural alberta homes?
Aug 28th 2007 | 3:39 am
#16
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 591
From: Stony Plain, AB
Re: wireless network in rural alberta homes?
Hi - we have high-speed internet. Had it set up 3 years ago - cost $800 for the initial equipment (think it's half that now) (there's a tripod and radio on the roof and some other electronic gubbins/box/plug thing by the computer).
They had to run cabling down to the room we use for the main PC. We then connected a router and I wander the house with my laptop connecting wirelessly just as I did in the UK. There is also a monthly cost of $35 I think.
We get much better quality from the PC than we do from the phoneline. Quite often the phone line refuses to let us call out or is engaged when we try to call the provider. Don't really rate Telus. I don't think we'd do high speed over the phone line (like we did in UK) here unless I was right in town, I just don't think it would be reliable enough for us.
As I think is discussed in another post, there are radio towers going up all over the place in the rural areas of AB - and the internet providers stick their radios up there- along with the mobile phone people etc.
The only problems we've had have been dropped connections cos we had incompatible telephones with the router (they both used the same frequencies so when the phone rang, the connection was lost - new router now, different frequency, no problem), weak signals in the late spring/summer cos the trees had grown too high and had too many leaves on them for the signal to get through! (they upgraded our radio for free to one that goes through obstacles and now it's fine). Oh yeah, and power surges frying our router and once the radio - many electrical storms and we're up quite high so a bit of a target - we've also got a surge protector power bar now which helps a lot.
They had to run cabling down to the room we use for the main PC. We then connected a router and I wander the house with my laptop connecting wirelessly just as I did in the UK. There is also a monthly cost of $35 I think.
We get much better quality from the PC than we do from the phoneline. Quite often the phone line refuses to let us call out or is engaged when we try to call the provider. Don't really rate Telus. I don't think we'd do high speed over the phone line (like we did in UK) here unless I was right in town, I just don't think it would be reliable enough for us.
As I think is discussed in another post, there are radio towers going up all over the place in the rural areas of AB - and the internet providers stick their radios up there- along with the mobile phone people etc.
The only problems we've had have been dropped connections cos we had incompatible telephones with the router (they both used the same frequencies so when the phone rang, the connection was lost - new router now, different frequency, no problem), weak signals in the late spring/summer cos the trees had grown too high and had too many leaves on them for the signal to get through! (they upgraded our radio for free to one that goes through obstacles and now it's fine). Oh yeah, and power surges frying our router and once the radio - many electrical storms and we're up quite high so a bit of a target - we've also got a surge protector power bar now which helps a lot.
Aug 28th 2007 | 3:41 am
#17
Thread Starter
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 558
From: Cochrane Alberta
Re: wireless network in rural alberta homes?
Hi - we have high-speed internet. Had it set up 3 years ago - cost $800 for the initial equipment (think it's half that now) (there's a tripod and radio on the roof and some other electronic gubbins/box/plug thing by the computer).
They had to run cabling down to the room we use for the main PC. We then connected a router and I wander the house with my laptop connecting wirelessly just as I did in the UK. There is also a monthly cost of $35 I think.
We get much better quality from the PC than we do from the phoneline. Quite often the phone line refuses to let us call out or is engaged when we try to call the provider. Don't really rate Telus. I don't think we'd do high speed over the phone line (like we did in UK) here unless I was right in town, I just don't think it would be reliable enough for us.
As I think is discussed in another post, there are radio towers going up all over the place in the rural areas of AB - and the internet providers stick their radios up there- along with the mobile phone people etc.
The only problems we've had have been dropped connections cos we had incompatible telephones with the router (they both used the same frequencies so when the phone rang, the connection was lost - new router now, different frequency, no problem), weak signals in the late spring/summer cos the trees had grown too high and had too many leaves on them for the signal to get through! (they upgraded our radio for free to one that goes through obstacles and now it's fine). Oh yeah, and power surges frying our router and once the radio - many electrical storms and we're up quite high so a bit of a target - we've also got a surge protector power bar now which helps a lot.
They had to run cabling down to the room we use for the main PC. We then connected a router and I wander the house with my laptop connecting wirelessly just as I did in the UK. There is also a monthly cost of $35 I think.
We get much better quality from the PC than we do from the phoneline. Quite often the phone line refuses to let us call out or is engaged when we try to call the provider. Don't really rate Telus. I don't think we'd do high speed over the phone line (like we did in UK) here unless I was right in town, I just don't think it would be reliable enough for us.
As I think is discussed in another post, there are radio towers going up all over the place in the rural areas of AB - and the internet providers stick their radios up there- along with the mobile phone people etc.
The only problems we've had have been dropped connections cos we had incompatible telephones with the router (they both used the same frequencies so when the phone rang, the connection was lost - new router now, different frequency, no problem), weak signals in the late spring/summer cos the trees had grown too high and had too many leaves on them for the signal to get through! (they upgraded our radio for free to one that goes through obstacles and now it's fine). Oh yeah, and power surges frying our router and once the radio - many electrical storms and we're up quite high so a bit of a target - we've also got a surge protector power bar now which helps a lot.
thanks
Aug 28th 2007 | 4:02 am
#18
BE Enthusiast
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 591
From: Stony Plain, AB
Re: wireless network in rural alberta homes?
It was with cruzinternet.com but they got bought up by a company and changed to platinumcommunications I think! (sorry hubby not in and he tends to deal with them). But we are the west of Edmonton and there are different providers in each area - they are not provincial-wide services. We found out who was operating in our area by looking at for signs posted around the place and also double checking with our regional county offices who actually had a list of approved suppliers on their website. So you could look into that with you county offices as a first stop. 
Make sure you get a 90 mghz radio cos that's the one that goes through leaves
Make sure you get a 90 mghz radio cos that's the one that goes through leaves
