More than a few people have purchased land in the country with big plans for setting up a homestead, only to realize they won't be able to access the Internet. While some people don't care about that, if you're reading this post then odds are you'll want to keep getting online. So what will you do if you ever move somewhere with no Internet?
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In this video by An American Homestead, they talk about four ways to get access to the Internet while living in rural areas. Which option works best for you will probably depend on where exactly your land is. Here are the four options:
1. DSL Service
It's not fast as cable Internet, but it works. Just check with your phone company and see if they have any options. Oftentimes with DSL, you can get a plan with unlimited data.
2. Satellite Internet
As technology improves, satellite Internet is getting better and better. Still, there are going to be some latency issues, but as long as you're not streaming lots of movies or playing online games, it shouldn't be a problem.
3. Cell Service Providers
Most cell phone companies can provide fast Internet in rural areas. However, they have data caps and purchasing more can get very expensive. But as with satellite Internet, if you're not streaming or gaming and just using the Internet occasionally, you should be okay.
4. High Gain Antennas
If you're close to a cell tower, you can get very fast Internet with the right equipment. A high gain antenna allows you to tap into a nearby cell tower and get blazing fast Internet. The downside is that you have to be close to a cell tower.
Watch the video by An American Homestead below to learn more about these internet options in rural areas.
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A setup I’ve experimented with is a point-to-point bridge Ethernet extender. I had good internet speeds, my parents were outside the service area and relegated to dialup. Since I could see their roof from mine, I set up rooftop grounded antennas and attached Ubiquity wireless bridge hardware on each, pointed them at each other, and set them up to talk. This allowed my parents to piggyback off of my data connection.
If you have or can get line of sight to a town within 5 miles that has good connectivity, this can work. Befriend a homeowner in that town, and offer to pay for the fastest data connection available, if you can set up a tower on his roof or yard and use it for data. It’s also possible to make a deal with a business, talk to the owner.
This method takes some networking savvy and ability to wheel and deal, but you can get town data rates at town prices this way. Cell and satellite data plans get expensive very quickly!
My life and genes have dictated that I NATURALLY live a ‘prepper’s’ lifestyle since day-dot; and I’m currently living in suburbia on the basis being advocated. Non-waste of ANYTHING, self-sufficient in most things (including different forms of energy, etc.). Between my life and instincts I’ve lived in very useful, not too remote off-grid ‘bush-blocks’ for decades.
Any info.-exchange is always welcome, but I’m mostly interested in BEING IN CONTACT with other reliable people for all the obvious reasons. (Another being that I’m at the age where physical exertion is becoming more limited.)
I’m in Australia (Melbourne) and would LOVE to see an easy-to-access/subscribe-to website that would accommodate info-exchange/partnership opportunities and perhaps the sale/swap of physical things like building-materials/tools/seeds/etc. However, I’m NOT a 5yo computer-nerd/(geek??) so would only be able to get involved if one of the aforementiond formulated such a website. (And could perhaps charge a small fee for getting buyers/sellers/etc. together.)
Another option, given the absurd prices of even very basic properties (and other relevant things) would be to include a subscriber’s page where people could initiate property-cost-sharing connections.
Don’t understand why NO interested parties has long-since put it all together. (As was the case in a 50-year-ago ‘Back-to-the-Earth’ publication called ‘Grass Roots’. Connecting interested parties was a huge success, and some of them are still flourishing (two generations later!) today.
Will be interested to see what you think/do.
Cheers
WTF is this “Your comment is awaiting moderation.” bullshit??! (which has just popped up)
I, as does ANY self-respecting person, resent the idea of censorship; particularly by remote strangers about whom I have NO knowledge; and if my comment relies upon this sort crap I want it discarded from your site. (Which I will discard from MY mail-box.)
If I don’t moderate the comments, then bots will fill up the comment section with spam. What else am I supposed to do?
Any ideas for senior citizens who live alone and over 800 miles from their children who love in another state? Thanks.