Cutting the cord–phase ????

Here’s a little update on the “unwiring my home” project. Last week I connected my Verizon air card to my home network. After some tweaking and tinkering I have everything working and I must say…..I am really impressed!!! The best I could get from my old DSL connection was 3X384 since we live way out in the country. Here is the speed test I ran this morning:

WOW! I was not going to ever get anything close to this from ATT and cable is still a faraway dream out where I live.

My IP voice is working  (after some pretty extensive tinkering). I had a long conversation with my brother on Sunday and my retired telephone guy brother said it sounded great. Remote desktop and VPN are working well and of course , web surfing and email are SMOKIN!

So far so good! My only worry at this point is the fact that it is a metered connection and data usage is something I will need to keep an eye on. Overages on Verizon are billed at $15 per G. As of this morning , we have used 3 G of our 5 gig plan…IN 5 DAYS! I am going to have to figure something out about that.

Prejudice…..against low bandwidth

I like to share my personal technology journeys with you. My latest is the switch from wired to wireless internet at my home. I have now gone from beta testing to full blown usage. It kind of sucks.  For most things its adequate but some things you just can’t do. Some web sites that rely heavily on Web 2.0 technology, just won’t load or run right. Back in the covered wagon days of web development (when I first started) we used to test sites on dial up. We even offered sites for people who had low bandwidth connections that cut out a  lot of the frills. Obviously nobody does this anymore.

The problem for me is two fold. 1. I live out in the sticks and my options are limited. 2. My current carrier’s nearest tower is about 5 miles away and that’s too far for a decent data connection. The light at the end of the tunnel may be Verizon. After some research , I found that the tower I can see from my kitchen window (about 1.8 miles) has Verizon on it. According to their website, I am in their 4G coverage area. I have ordered a data stick from them that should be here this week. More to come.

Another interesting tidbit that came to me today is Republic Wireless. Republic is a HYBRID carrier. Hybrid means that they use a device that runs on a 3G network (Sprint) EXCEPT when Wi-Fi is available, then it switches. Republic’s unlimited plan is $19 a month! Unfortunately they have one of those Web 2.0 sites that I mentioned earlier so I have not been able to complete my research. Stay tuned for more information.