Internet service ???

patman · 02-05-2011, 12:09 PM

What do you want to do with the internet connection? That's going to make a difference on what you should look for.

If you're going to host a web server at your house, you're going to want a business-level service. That's overkill for a small business though, so you probably don't need more than a residential connection.

If you are going to use broadband, around here that's going to tie you to whatever cable co services your town. Time Warner was mentioned for m'boro, so that's probably your only choice. Internet only with TW in my town is currently $54.95/mo, they discount it $5 if you get even a basic TV package. There are some other larger packages if you are interested in that sort of thing. As mentioned above, make sure there is cable available on your road...AND check out the price of having the wire strung from the road to the house, especially if you have a long driveway.

DSL usually isn't an option because the area is so rural. There's a physical limit to how far away your house can be from the telco's switch, and that usually only covers a few houses around here. Worth a check though.

You said 'wireless', so I'm assuming you mean cell or satellite by that. Satellite has a horrible lag and upload speed, and it's usually fairly expensive as it is aimed at customers have no other choice. Cell is slower than broadband, but sometimes isn't a bad deal especially if you get service at your house, and you were going to get it anyway. Cell sometimes has traffic caps, so you do have to watch out that you don't overspend your data traffic allowance.

I leave the hosting of your website to some hosting service (I use the www.lunarpages.com basic package for $5/mo.) and let them worry about the bandwidth, maintenance, and connectivity stuff. Then I use my local service (TW) to retrieve email from the hosting site, and I'm set.

If you use a hosting service, you can set up your website once, and access it from anywhere...so you don't have to wait for your (eventual) home service to get set up before you work on your website.

02-05-2011, 12:09 PM	#8
patman Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: NH Posts: 380 Thanks: 56 Thanked 156 Times in 78 Posts	What do you want to do with the internet connection? That's going to make a difference on what you should look for. If you're going to host a web server at your house, you're going to want a business-level service. That's overkill for a small business though, so you probably don't need more than a residential connection. If you are going to use broadband, around here that's going to tie you to whatever cable co services your town. Time Warner was mentioned for m'boro, so that's probably your only choice. Internet only with TW in my town is currently $54.95/mo, they discount it $5 if you get even a basic TV package. There are some other larger packages if you are interested in that sort of thing. As mentioned above, make sure there is cable available on your road...AND check out the price of having the wire strung from the road to the house, especially if you have a long driveway. DSL usually isn't an option because the area is so rural. There's a physical limit to how far away your house can be from the telco's switch, and that usually only covers a few houses around here. Worth a check though. You said 'wireless', so I'm assuming you mean cell or satellite by that. Satellite has a horrible lag and upload speed, and it's usually fairly expensive as it is aimed at customers have no other choice. Cell is slower than broadband, but sometimes isn't a bad deal especially if you get service at your house, and you were going to get it anyway. Cell sometimes has traffic caps, so you do have to watch out that you don't overspend your data traffic allowance. I leave the hosting of your website to some hosting service (I use the www.lunarpages.com basic package for $5/mo.) and let them worry about the bandwidth, maintenance, and connectivity stuff. Then I use my local service (TW) to retrieve email from the hosting site, and I'm set. If you use a hosting service, you can set up your website once, and access it from anywhere...so you don't have to wait for your (eventual) home service to get set up before you work on your website.