11/19/11

Rural High Speed Internet

Why is it so hard to get a good internet connection out in the country?  I live in a rural area where there is no DSL and no cable. The phone and cable companies will not install the broadband lines in an area where there are not enough people to make it profitable.  This is understandable because they might have to put down miles of line to reach just one house.  They would never be able to make back the thousands of dollars it costs to lay miles of cable.

I say this is understandable, but on the other hand, it's a little bit aggravating because in some cases the internet providing communication companies were given subsidies from the government in order to bring fast web access to rural parts of the country.  Instead, they used the money to connect suburban (semi-rural) areas.

What does any of this have to do with aircards?  Well, aircards are one of the ways a person can get around the issue of no decent phone lines or cable.  Anyone that lives within a reasonable distance from a cell phone tower can get internet access with an aircard unless they live in a steep valley or behind a mountain that blocks the line of sight to the tower.

Where we live, 6 miles from the nearest DSL or cable, an aircard is the best way to get online.  Hopefully, as time goes by, our service provider will have 4G in our area.  Then we'll have true high speed internet in a rural area.