Internet Service Providers
 

Hello again. As we prep for our move to the lakes, though it might take us a few months, I can't stop planning and prepping. Trying to do utilities research. I hope to get decent internet service and through that, cut the cable/phone cords. Can you point me in the direction of service providers? (assuming there is more than one) for the Alton Bay area? Thanks. (What a great service this forum is):)

cable
 

I moved to Alton from Pa. last year. All I can find is Metrocast, or a dish. A cable monopoly, 60 % more $ than I had:(
I tried a dish years ago, and went back to cable b/cuz windy,rain etc
wasn't pretty.

It depends
 

It really depends on where in the Lakes Region you plan on moving. Availability can go from nothing to wireless broadband (AT&T, Verizon), DSL (Fairpoint), cable, or satellite/dish.

Orion: Alton Bay.

ha ha
 

I guess my speed reading caught me again.

Looks like Metrocast is pretty good down there per this thread:
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ad.php?t=17359

The cable provider is chosen by the town elected selectmen.
Usually a 15 year contract.
(There are exceptions, of course)

There is no cable competition and that is exactly what the cable companies want. The cable lobbyists pay massive amounts of money to lobby the US Congress and the State Houses to keep it this way.

Some communities have taken over the cable service as a municipal service.
But that has had mixed reviews.

Metrocast, the cable provider, will likely get you the fastest service at the highest price.

TDS, the telephone provider, offers DSL at most locations, they were advertising fiber, check with them, this would likely be your most cost efficective solution if it is available at your particular address.

Cell companies, are ok for the light/occasional user, don't try cutting the cord and relying on this. (my opinion). You are lucky to arrive after the new Alton Bay cell tower is up and running :)

That is about all the providers, I am aware of, in that area

wifi is correct as to Alton Bay options and in noting that cell internet service is not a cut the cable option for heavy use, too expensive for streaming video.

We use Metrocast at home in West Alton with a video/internet/phone (VIP) package. http://www.metrocast.com/bundles.cfm Service has been very good but not cheep. Now that we have a Roku https://www.roku.com/ and a Netflix account we are going to cut the video portion of the package to basic service. We now use the cable for mostly local news and stream mostly everything else.

If you get just high speed internet via either cable or DSL, you can be well entertained by streaming video alone. What you won't get is most live TV unless your new place is on real high ground and you can get limited OTA broadcast TV. (several threads on that in the past year or two). You now can live stream some limited stuff, such as the channel 9 news.

MGWillia - Just bought a Condo up there myself and went through the same process as you.

(1) Metrocast has a Monopoly as a service provider

(2) I did not find the rates outrageous as some indicate here -- compared to our Comcast in MA

(3) There are three options of Internet Service -- get the middle grade - what they call "High Speed"

(4) unlike most others - there is very little (but some) savings by going with their Triple Play option (TV, Data, Phone)-- as ours is a secondary residence we opted out of phone and just use cells

(4) We have had it up an running and have experienced no issues (contrary to what I was led to believe) the unfortunate part is that Metrocast is a "copper" based infrastructure (not fiber backbone)

(5) don't fret over this detail of your move, with Metrocast they HAVE to come out to the house to install, it is not a "flip of the switch" at the CO like most other services. Sit back and wait till your here to get this done -- they are quite readily available for service/installation calls


.

I've been very pleased with the TDS option...check it out! TDS is the private phone company for Alton. (No Verizon or AT&T) check here for their prices and packages http://www.tdstelecom.com/

Friday morning ramblings
 

To see which providers are in your town, check out the provider map from the NH Broadband Mapping and Planning Program. For example, Alton can be found at the link: iwantbroadbandnh.org/townprofile/alton

DSL used to be a pretty bad choice if you have multiple heavy users in the house, but Fairpoint has been upgrading its service recently. Many areas in the lakes region are now able to get up to 15 Mbps, but the actual rate depends on the distance from remote head-end (where the fiber stops and the copper begins), as before.

When it comes to the cable monopoly, a Selectboard has no power to change providers. They can refuse to renew the contract for television service, but then they would have to find a buyer for the cable plant, or just operate without a contract. It is unlikely that Comcast would buy it! A town sponsored ultra-speed fixed wireless service would be an alternate answer, but it is unlikely we will see that soon. There is little demand, or free enterprise would have already given us alternatives. Perhaps our forum member "wifi" could weigh in on that issue.

Unfortunately, while the internet provides the technology to replace over the air or Cable TV, it will be years before the most popular content (like NFL or HBO) is available to those without a cable TV contract. It is a money issue. The mechanism that shifts the money you spend on TV to what you watch over the internet is the bottleneck. Carriers and content are splitting, and there is little money in neutral bitbanging (transport). Netflix, Hulu and the like are just the beginning of the next battle.

Thanks for all the information. Some of you mentioned over the air broadcast. When I was a boy dad had an antenna on the roof with a rotating channel master. TV wasn't great, but we got several channels. Has the digital age helped?

No. Depending on your location. When they switch from analog to digital broadcast around 2008, I lost all my OTA channels. FCC claims the channels are available with a DTA box. They provided $35 coupon to purchase the box which was $40 at Radio Shack. Unfortunately it did not work and another phone call provide information on a digital antennae. Another $300 later, still no channels. On the third call they determine I need a 90' antenna for best reception. Yeah right, especially when the home owner association then prohibitive towers!

I was forced to use cable as I am out of satellite range. FCC claim this is not necessary. Today I stream my broadcast through the internet to my PC connected to the TV. Only drawback is at 15mbps streaming is spotty as Metrocast claims it depends on the traffic through the lines. My fibre optic engineer buddy claims that is not a true statement, it should be steady.

I hope you are in a position to receive OTA. WMTW out of Portland provide superior weather and news of the North Country while WNTW is oriented South. Kids programs on Saturday are also far superior on WMTW.

Do a search here for past threads on hdtv antenna such as:
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...t=hdtv+antenna
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...t=hdtv+antenna

Digital TV has the advantage of excellent quality at a lower received signal level. However after the transition most or all stations were required to cut transmit power way back. This was to allow for more frequency reuse, necessary to compensate for the old TV VHF low band being given over to other uses. Net result is that digital reception distance is less that the former analog TV range

This is so true. 5 years ago, there were whole towns, like Sandwich that had absolutely no internet, other than dialup. Wireless providers did organize and provided services to many. Fairpoint then, surprisingly, I might add, lived up to its promise to the PUC to service most of the state with DSL. At this point in time, there are only very small scattered pockets of potential customers that can't either get DSL or Cable internet. We have lost lots of customers to DSL or Cable coming to an area because they could either provide faster service, or it was "groovy" to be with a larger provider (forgive my age give away, lol)

Its not cost effective to service a larger area to glean a very few potential customers. My margins barely cover the cost of sending a bill out, to set a reference point.

Metrocast alternative
 

Hello
I am moving to the lake in laconia very soon. I have a few concerns and sadly metrocast is one of them. I know what they call broadband is comical, and has upload speeds closer to a 3g cell phone. I have heard good things about direct TV or dish, but it doesn't fix the Internet problem. I stream just about as much as I watch TV. I don't have Verizon but I have heard that there 4g in laconia is close to 15 up 15 down? So that lead me to this
http://business.verizonwireless.com/...te-router.html
Has anyone tried it? Is it better than metrocast?

Thanks

The next best competition to cable is DSL, give Fairpoint a call, if you are lucky you can get 15/1, without having to worry about exceeding a quota.

So yes, both Verizon and ATT have pretty decent LTE up this way if you're in the right place. But... It's going to cost a fortune to stream video over it at $5 - $10 per gigabyte

Thanks for posting this! This might be just what I need for my home in Gilford where I have no hard wired internet options. I currently use a Verizon jet pack for simple internet / email services, but I need something that will allow for remote viewing access for my security system. The jet pack does not work as verizon will not open ports for access. I'm wondering if this new router which allows direct connect access is the ticket I need.

Thanks,

Dan

Do you think they meter the connection on one of these routers? Would make it pretty useless, especially for a business that they advertise it for.

I would seriously doubt they would provide unlimited LTE in this day and age.