i'm tired of dial-up modem. what are my options?

[**ICEMAN**]

i am tired of a dial up connection. what are my options and the cost involved ?

i have no access to cable out here where i live. i do have direct tv and seen the directwave internet connection but the up front cost of nearly $600 sounds too high for what it is. any other options out there? i would like to keep AOL as my isp to keep from changing my address and because i like their features. i use one phone line and have a internet answering machine . i want to up and download "FAST" and free up my phone without spending mega bucks.

 

[JSmith]

There are ways to get phone line internet and still be able to use the phone also without cross connection. Talk to the phone co. Call and talk to internet provider services.

 

[Rams-n-Hogs]

Iceman,



I have the Directway one-way service. Dial-up and satellite back to PC. It downloads about 1 meg per minute, (sometimes faster), which is pretty fast. You can get a second phone line from the phone co. I don't have that cause I have a cell-phone anyway. Helps to eliminate all the annoying sales pitches, cause my phone line is busy a lot. Anyway, cost 49. 99 a month. Purchased the system at Best Buy for around 150, if I remember right, and installed it myself. The reason the 2-way is so expensive is because the FCC says you need a licensed installer to install a transmitting device. I have AOL also. If you bring your own access, (such as Direcway), it's only 14. 95 a month, instead of 23. 90 a month. The internet answering machine will still work as long as you are logged in to AOL. It won't work using IE by itself, though, because of Direcway's firewall.

Let me know if you have any more questions.





Jim

 

[Sticks]

DSL!!!



I got mine through EarthLink. They will have to check to see if it is available in your area. You would have to set up an account with them, but you don't have to use it. The service does not care which e-mail address you have, or Internet browser.



Uses the phone line, in a broad band, but does not interfere with regular phone service. When we initially got it, I was actually able to use both the DSL, and the dial up modem at the same time. Thus I can be on line, and send or receive a fax through the computer.

 

[**ICEMAN**]

thanks for the info.

i believe i am going to try directway and use aol as my isp.

 

[DHayden]

Iceman DSL is your best option but if cable is not available where you live, chances are DSL won't be either. I just checked a few weeks ago and Direct tv was having a special on their two way sat. systems including installation for $99. Definitely worth checking out. Monthly service was $49 so it's about the same as DSL per month. Do a search for DSL deals and this offer should come up under Direct tv. Good luck, I will never have dial up again... if I have a choice.

 

[Hammer]

Don. .

With how far out in the woods you live and the length of distance from the main road and the lacking of homes out there a cable connection will probably never happen. Over here in non-populated areas like yours they will not run a cable line till there is enough customers to make it worth your while.



You'll only probably have a few options like I said before. DSL service if your not to far away from the switch and it available there in a provider. Satellite connection or the Directway as Rams-n-Hogs said. I checked with my buddy and his satellite deal and he informed me he uses the Directway deal and likes it,not thru his satellite as I stated before.



For a quick check for a DSL provider in your area go to this website and run a search. They were listed by PC Mag as one of the best for finding a dsl provider and its what I used first to look mine over and decide if the connections speeds were up to what they claimed.



www.dslreports.com



Hope this helps and make that back get better. May see ya this later this week. Got the programs you want burned and ready... . Andy

 

[Dane]

Iceman,

Keep your ears open for a new DSL technology by a company named "Pronto" Their technology allows us "out in the woods" folks to enjoy DSL speeds at it's finest even with our very old and very long twisted pair telephone wires. After many years of "sorry DSL is not available in your area" I got a call from the telephone company telling me DSL was now available. I did the install myself and it



In the meantime, if you can find DirecPc one way equipment it is a good stop gap and cheap till you get DSL. It's easy to install if you've ever installed and tuned a sat dish before and the speed will make your dialup look very sloooowww.. .

 

[Sticks]

FYI



When we first got DSL here at home, the "internal lines" were not adequate for the DSL transmission. We had to re-wire the phone lines in the house... twice. If you run into this problem, install 1 gigabyte category 5e line speed wire or faster. Same price as the 1 megabyte speed at Home Depot. I learned the hard way. I did not figure out the difference until after we got done the first time.

 

[Shovelhead]

The feed from the service drop to the hub and all 4 computers in my house are running on CAT5E.



SSSSSSmokin'

 

[**ICEMAN**]

thanks for your help.

i placed a order for the directway 2 way system on thursday at 1pm. installer called at 5pm and will be installing saturday afternoon

it wont run with windows 98,,it needs to be 98 2nd edition or better/newer. i'm thinking of upgrading to XP.

i also need more than 60. 0 mb of ram and the way i understand it ,,it is just a simple card change to upgrade.

 

[Sticks]

Originally posted by **ICEMAN**

thanks for your help.

i placed a order for the directway 2 way system on thursday at 1pm. installer called at 5pm and will be installing saturday afternoon

it wont run with windows 98,,it needs to be 98 2nd edition or better/newer. i'm thinking of upgrading to XP.

i also need more than 60. 0 mb of ram and the way i understand it ,,it is just a simple card change to upgrade.

If you have a choice, you may want to consider using Win 2000 pro rather than XP. XP still has a few issues and has too many functions either turned off or hidden. My wife is a manager on a help desk for Qwest. Windows NT or 2000 Pro are the best choices.



Just a recommendation.

 

[speedracer]

Is the directway 2way system technically any more difficult to set up than the satellite tv receiver? Is the only reason a licensed installer is required is to satisfy FCC regulations, or does it require a higher level of technical expertise? What I'm wondering, is if I got directway 2way service installed, could I then (practically speaking) take it with me in my rv or truck when I go on the road?

 

[Rams-n-Hogs]

The sat dish itself sets up just like Directv, with the exception of one extra adjustment. Fairly simple. I don't think you can use it in an RV, though, from what I've read about it. Not to mention it uses two separate external satellite modems. I'm not sure it would be too practical for on the road, even if you could set it up from the FCC's point of view.



Jim

 

[**ICEMAN**]

speedracer,,you can read about directway here http://www.direcway.com/

installer reqiured on two way systems by FCC.



sticks,,i already bought xp. only problem is some of the programs i have installed wont run because they were for 95 or 98. one of them being my modem. now i need to get a new modem that is xp compatable because it is needed to initilize the the directway and then it can be unhooked.

 

[Steve G]

I've been using Direcpc (now Direcway) for 3 years and I have been very happy with them. If you have Directv you can get DirecDuo that uses one dish for both. I'm still using the old system, upload via phone lines and download thru dish. Since I don't upload much except email, this has worked for me. I may go to the two-way system in the future but the dish is larger than my current one and I'm not for sure I want to put a larger one on the chimney. I think you'll be happy with Direcway.



Steve

 

[Rams-n-Hogs]

**ICEMAN**,



Have you tried re-installing the modem using the compatibility mode in XP?



Jim

 

[**ICEMAN**]

jim,,,no i havent. i am getting ready to try it now. wish me luck !!

 

[**ICEMAN**]

well,,i'm back. xp installed it found my modem and it works fine !! lost printer and scanner though,,it needs updated software to work with xp (my whole system is 5 years old).



now i'm just waiting on directway installer to show up !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chipstien]

I'm surprised that something that works on 98 will not work on XP.