Fast Internet

[riversnout]

There are several factors which determine the "best" internet service; price, speed, reliability. Who has the best for an off the grid property?

[kalakoa]

Availability is the gating factor.

Satellite: available everywhere, performance varies, need view of the sky, etc.

Cellular: available almost everywhere, "best carrier" varies with location. Expensive.

Telcom DSL: theoretically available in certain areas, but not really. Requires suitable pole within range of the line, "inside wire" to reach your house, ground rod, but no permits necessary.

Cable: usually available wherever the cable runs, but "may" require existing grid power at Spectrum's discretion, plus of course a pole, etc. (The cable itself is permit-exempt.)

Local wifi ISP: good luck with that.

[ericlp]

Well, since 80% of puna lacks high speed internet, it's probably best to state what subdivision you are in, or wanting to be in.

If high speed internet is important to you, than the best as for speed, no data caps and price is cable (road runner AKA spectrum). There are only a few subdivisions that are connected and of those most of them have only part of the subdivision are connected. Like HPP, the further you go towards the ocean, the less likely cable will be available for you.

One thing I'd like to point out is, just because X subdivision has X service, never assume or let anyone tell you... it's just a matter of time, in a few years, your street will be soon connected... Right! Doesn't or hasn't worked that way here for years.

Good Luck with your search!

[terracore]

"it's just a matter of time, in a few years, your street will be soon connected"

I've said this here many times but the noobs may not have seen it- Before we bought our house Hawaii Telcom assured us DSL was currently available at our address. After we moved in we found out "available" meant "theoretically available". The subdivision (Orchidland) had been "full" of subscribers for many years and not only did I have to wait for a subscriber to move or die for me to get service, I had to be the FIRST caller after they were pronounced dead. Or moved.

After several years an FCC grant required them to hook up 500 more subscribers in Orchidland. Those ports are probably full now too.

The moral of the story is that although they assured me internet was available at my address, it was 4-5 years for them to actually provide the service. In the interim we had to use cellular internet at great expense.

[Lee M-S]

Exede satellite internet costs about $65 for 10 gig/month. That's about enough for surfing and email, unless Windows 10 decides to update. Don't expect to download movies or watch youtube. If you go over your limit, you can still get online, but at dial-up speed.

not really high speed, they offer speeds "up to" something or other, meaning it will range from zero to that speed, never any more.

[terracore]

Verizon has the speed- it was a lot faster than our DSL. But what good is all that speed if you can't afford to buy the gigs?

I do understand that Verizon now has an "unlimited" data plan, however I don't know how many GB you get per month before your speed is throttled. It has some quirks in the plan, like some bandwidth isn't measured like video streaming from certain content providers etc.

ETA: Here it is:

Important Plan Information

4G LTE only. After 22 GB/line/mo, we may prioritize your data behind other Verizon customers during network congestion. Not available for machine–to–machine services. Mobile hotspot/tethering reduced to 3G speeds after 10GB/month; domestic data roaming at 2G speeds; int'l data reduced to 2G speeds after 500MB/day. If more than 50% of your talk, text or data usage in a 60–day period is in Canada or Mexico, use of those services in those countries may be removed or limited. Discounts not available.

[leilanidude]

4G LTE only.
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Meaning that in many areas of Puna, where you will only get 3G, the plan is worthless.

[Kapoho Joe]

If you are in an Aloha Broadband 'preferred area' or whatever they call it, that can be great. If too many people are also using Aloha in your area, that can be bad.

Exede satellite is great in that almost everyone has a view of the southern sky. The downside to satellite is the upload speed is usually puny, and the data caps are low.

The last option for off gridders is figuring out if there is a cell tower nearby, and what network is on it. So-called unlimited plans these days are up around a 20GB cap, which isn't bad.

No DSL or cable for you which are the fastest and most reliable connections, but nobody said back to the land was going to be easy!

[PaulW]

"Like HPP, the further you go towards the ocean, the less likely cable will be available for you."

Not so, cable is more likely where there is increased housing density. In HPP all of the oceanfront, as far as I know, has cable, and a few streets behind as well.

[kalakoa]

in many areas of Puna, where you will only get 3G

All permanent Verizon towers (eg, not the COW at Painted Church) are 4G, if you're "only" getting 3G it's a signal strength issue, easily fixed by making your antenna taller and/or outside the tin roof.

(For the paranoid: no need to declare a service address, buy the hardware in the store and take it home. If renting, take it with you when you move -- sometimes this flexibility is worth the higher price.)

HPP all of the oceanfront, as far as I know, has cable

Not useful if Spectrum demands grid power for your installation. Supposedly they will accept off-grid power, I'm not sure if they're looking for "permits" or just a "proper installation" with a serious ground rod, etc.

an Aloha Broadband 'preferred area'

I've seen Aloha installations that were tall enough to require County permits; sometimes Aloha goes offline for days. Pricing is a little on the high side ($50/mo for shared "1-2Mb" not guaranteed?), but in Puna you have to take what you can get.

an FCC grant required them to hook up 500 more subscribers

I was one of those lucky few who called while new ports were being allocated; the "basic" 3Mb DSL is about $41/month with all the taxes and fees, but that includes analog dialtone and a phone number.

(Note that all DSL installs are "basic", once it's working, call back to find out how fast it can go.)