Internet in Hawaiian Acres?

[Sue Nomie]

I did the Puna web search for this question. However, all the chatter was in '09. Wonder if anyone has CURRENT info on solving the problem.
Area in question is 4 Road & D Road area. Mahalo in advance.

[ericlp]

got cell phone service? That will be about 70-80 a month for 5 gigs per month. The other option is satellite there is a 30 gig per month for around 140 bucks. You might get luck and get coconut wireless but I from friends in orchidland they pretty much gave up on it for reliability issues ... Hate to bring bad news but well... sadly for most of puna road runner and dsl is not an option.

[Guest]

I live in the Acres - and went with Wild Blue - and yes it’s about 140 a month - and for that I get 25 gigs a month - but with the package I got from midnight to 5AM - there is no usage count.

For all intents it works as best as you will ever find. Intermittently goes out - only for a few seconds in rainy weather - and my nephews did not like it for doing gaming.

But for general internet use - including Netflix - again - it’s the best you will get for now. HD is fine - no lag.

PS - On average - 12M down 2M up

[nanasohana]

We have dsl through hawaiiantelecom back corner of Tikigardens by HA.

[Sue Nomie]

Found Star Band for up in HA. $49. a month no contract. There is a dish thing. 8 gigs a month. Hoping for the best will keep you posted. Does sound too good.

[terracore]

We tinkered around with the various options and found Home Fusion (verizon) to be the choice for us. Besides the 8 GB limitation and slow download speeds (they advertise 1 Mbps but will you ever see that speed?) you will find that the latency of satellite is worse than dial-up. I would only recommend Starband in places where dial-up isn't available. With Home Fusion we regularly get d/l speeds in the 6-12 Mbps range, virtually zero latency (good for gaming), and rarely have seen d/l speeds much higher

[Sue Nomie]

Mahalo terracore. Is the Verizon system the one that costs $49. for the Smart phone, $50 a month for the phone service and $40. a month for the internet? Just wondering if that is the same as Radio Shack was explaining to us. They mentioned having your own "HotSpot" where ever you are. Which tells me it is very portable. I looked on line at the system HomeFusion and there seems to be another piece of equipment needed. Do have this confused? Either way Verizon seems to adding up to the only option here based on your help. Really Thanks.

[terracore]

You can use a verizon phone plan (most phones can create wifi "hot spots" these days) for your home internet but the data usage costs twice as Home Fusion (home fusion is data only, you can't use it as a telephone line).

Home fusion does require the installation of an antenna on the exterior of your house. The antenna and installation were free when we got it under a promotion that included a 2 year contract. Yeah, contracts yuck.

The pricing according to their web site is:

10GB $60
20GB $90
30GB $120

If you decide to go with them use me as a referral and we both get some kind of credit. Just email or PM me.

[bananahead]

I have Hele wireless broadband from MobiPCS at roughly $1.15/day... its not fast but it works for me... I can take it anywhere I get phone reception with my laptop, and most places are faster than at my cabin, even in middle of the Volcano Park or on Mauna Loa

Im on Rd 2 between B-C

Try Big Island Satellite (Rico) ... they are only a slightly more than what I am paying now from what Im told

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save our indigenous and endemic Hawaiian Plants... learn about them, grow them, and plant them on your property, ....instead of all that invasive non-native garbage I see in most yards... aloha

[Sue Nomie]

Just heard of a new one:
Marvin, (the fellow who sells banana plants at Maku'u market on Sunday) is involved in a new
thing called LIGHT YEAR. From what I understand there is no contract and does the smart phone
hot spot thing. We are going to look into it. FYI, he is also up on Hyw 11 on Sat. 12:-3:
at the big Army tent just past the JW Church and now closed restaurant on the mountain side.