Forum Discussion
Business vs residential service
Thanks for the detailed info GabeU. In my current case there are no options for cell or wired service right now but that should improve over the next 6-12 months with the local service provider having received federal grants for fiber service in my area. I do understand it is the technology limitations and I'm guessing there are a lot of Hughsnet customers around me causing evening service to really slow to almost unusable speeds. It appears that business service does prioritize daytime performance but with the bonus and anytime data limits, it is of limited benefit for sustained access. I've also looked into StarLink but I do not have enough open sky to make that work. For now this will suffice.
Thanks.
I agree with you that the evening congestion is likely what's tanking your speeds. As for fiber, my state received federal funds to bring fiber to all the areas that have no terrestrial internet access. It is a SLOW process. They've been working on it in my area for at least 3 years now. The only thing left is for the fiber company to dig the micro-trenches that will bring the fiber to the homes, and then do the connections. I contacted the provider to ask when they were expecting to actually do all this, and they said it would take until the end of 2025. The original estimate, stated in the first letter we got from the company, was also a year (end of 2023).
I still plan to keep Hughesnet as a backup, but would like to also have terrestrial internet. All this to say that the wait for your fiber service might be longer than they say it will be. I hope it takes only a year for you, but be prepared to wait longer.
I can relate. My date for service has changed at least 4 time over the past 2 years but I'm getting more hopeful. There have been sections up my street on the utility poles where the fiber cable has been installed and the ground/road has been marked where the buried runs are. The section from my house to the street is up on utility poles so maybe easier to get connected once service is started. Right now I've been given a November date which I don't believe but maybe.
Everything is done here, except for the micro-trenches and dropping the line to the house. Absolutely everything else is done; the electric company worked very diligently, but the fiber ISP is taking its sweet time. I hope your November date is correct! Here things are moving very slowly for two of the areas. Everyone else already has fiber service. It was also practically impossible to get information from these companies. I ended up contacted the electric company, and someone involved in the fiber project there was very kind to provide information, plus evidence that their part of the project was done and now it was up to the fiber ISP. After getting no replies from them for over a year, I eventually heard from them and they said they expected to be done with everything by the end of 2025. I'll believe it when I see it. 🤣🤣🤣
I have to wonder how reliable they are, which is one of the several reasons I'm holding on to Hughesnet for a while (provided I can actually have both the satellite and fiber at the house; I don't know if that's possible). Hughesnet (IME) has been reliable and responsive.
Hope you see the work completed soon. Its great that the federal gov't provides money to local providers to install/upgrade substandard service but the limited profit potential from rural service due to the low density of customers and any competition kind of eliminates any incentive to providers to work fast.
