Moving to or staying in a rural area these days has lots of good points. Crime, noise, and pollution are low, and the country offers wide open spaces to raise a family or enjoy your retirement. However, there are a few problems with living the boondocks, including getting connected in ways that the rest of the world find easy and natural. You will have trouble getting cable service and phone service if youre in what is known as the last mile; the last mile is basically the area where the service providers dont offer their services because of how spread out the homes are. It just isnt cost effective for them.
If you cant get a cable line run to your home, you might think that your only Internet connection option is to use dial-up. This is slow and cumbersome, and you may feel that youre better off having no Internet access at all than you are having this type of access. However, you can actually get some good Internet solutions for todays technology that will allow you to have excellent connections no matter how far out in the middle of nowhere you are. Here are three such solutions to consider today.
Internet can actually be run through telephone lines without tying up those lines and without being as slow as older dial-up connections. This type of connection uses your existing phone line and gives you quite a bit of bandwidth. It is not, however, as fast as cable based Internet access, but it can offer you high speed for a low price. If you are building a home in the country and are considering leaving out the phone lines because of how few people use landlines any more, then you may not be able to get this type of Internet access for your home.
Another option is to get satellite Internet. This type of access is literally available anywhere, and it can get you connected in the middle of nowhere. Satellite Internet is fast, but its also a very expensive technology. You have to have special equipment to use it, and the monthly fees can be double or triple those of regular Internet access that people who live in town use.
Finally, you have the option of mobile Internet access. This affordable, fast Internet is available in many rural areas these days. However, you need to carefully consider a coverage map before investing in this type of access, since it may not yet be available in your area. Like satellite Internet, this type of access does take special equipment. However, the equipment involved isnt too expensive, and the monthly fees arent much different from those incurred when youre dealing with a regular broadband Internet connection.
These three solutions are available in most rural areas. If youre in the last mile, dont despair that you wont be able to get Internet access at all. Instead, check out your options, and figure out which ones will work best for your needs and particular situation.