Those that know (and/or live in) the immediate area will already be aware of the crappy internet speed we get locally. For houses that are less than 20 years old, the connection opportunities are very limited. The bad news, looking forward, is there’s no opportunity to have a fibre optic connection installed here either… ever!, as all the big players have confirmed they’ve no plans to expand in this direction.
So, the traditional option is to stick with broadband-by-phone-line and ‘enjoy’ speeds of around 0.5-1.0 Mb/sec (that’s sloooooow!)
In August last year, I got so fed up with it, I started to look at alternatives, and via a Google search found ToowayDirect. They provide broadband by satellite, and although the service isn’t good for first-person shoot ‘em ups, and t’s more expensive than traditional methods, it’s great for all other types of broadband usage. I decided to go with them and a week or so later, we were up and running.
Almost six months on and the service has been perfect – we’ve had only one outage – and the speeds are just so consistent. None of this ‘it’ll get slower as more people use it’ malarkey, just a reliable signal all day and everyday!
As a bit of a treat to myself, I decided to upgrade the speed package. We started off on the ‘8Mb/sec’ on installation, moved to 12Mb/sec shortly afterwards, and yesterday I went for their 16Mb/sec package. I carried out a few speed checks first thing this morning and the results looked impressive – in fact during one test, the results showed 20.5 Mb/sec!
..and check out the UPload speed too – I’m pretty sure even ‘fibre’ doesn’t offer those sorts of speeds. Especially useful if you design websites (I do!) 😉
A very happy bunny this end! 👍👍
I got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be the perfect combination to contribute a few words to the online community. But I’m no Samuel Pepys! If you’re looking for deep and meaningful comments on a variety of subjects, then you’ve arrived at the wrong site! I only pen for pleasure! On average, my posts appear about twice per month, covering family & friends, cinema visits, eating out, holiday experiences and techy stuff. Oh, and as this is my hobby, there are no sponsored links nor adverts here – it’s all done with love!
I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and occasionally, even helpful!
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