Lynn:
Now that I am a little bit more familiar with your particular situation -- obviously -- I would recommend that you forget about cable altogether & look to the dish providers for quality broadcast signals & broadband internet access (unless you can get DSL). Even if you could get cable, you will NEVER get the quality signals that urban folk will get UNLESS the MSO makes some significant investment in rural PA, which is highly unlikely. Any investment, & I stress ANY, would be minimal.
FWIW, I can empathize with you on this issue, although not to the degree that you "suffer." I live smack in the middle of LA (Bel-Air, in the hills above UCLA & Beverly Hills). Obviously a well-heeled area, but still lacking a broadband solution. Presently, SBC/PacBell, via their Project Pronto, is moving full steam ahead to deliver DSL beyond the current 17K ft limit. They "tell me" they will be installing CEVs (Closed Environmental Vaults) no further than 12K ft from subcriber homes that will house remote equipment (I won't go into the technology) that will be fiber-fed from the CO (teleco switching office), which is 7 1/2 miles away from my residence.
The cable situation is another story. The franchised MSO is Adelphia, which recently acquired these lucrative LA Westside assets just under a year ago from Century Communications , which invested absolutely nada in the local plant. To make a long story short, it is utterly appalling of the lack of upgrades in this area (all of the Westside) in light of what MediaOne has done is the less "tony" areas of the City. Call it poor business foresight, IMHO.
I have studied both technologies for two years now, & have followed closely the developments made, or not made, by each of my last mile providers. Despite my hope that I will ultimately have 1.5M bps DSL from PacBell in less than 6 months, it is MY CONCLUSION, that given where I live, 4 miles up in the hills, I will ALWAYS be on the fringe of the network, & therefore ALWAYS on the fringe of novel offerings of broadband technologies since distance will ALWAYS be a factor, no matter how advanced the network is UNLESS fiber runs to the curb, which is highly unlikely.
The foregoing conclusion is limited to TERRESTRIAL networks & is NOT applicable to certain wireless networks, in particular, satellite communications. This is why DBS providers first thrived in rural markets, where terrestrial infrastructure investment is unlikely to happen. I recognize this, & notwithstanding likely DSL connectivity w/i a few months, am strongly considering that when I buy my DirecTV in a few months, that I also provision the equipment, or have the ability to do expand, to accomodate Internet access. By doing so, I will assure myself in the digital future of being on par with everyone else on the network & not necessarily "subordinated" because I am situated on the fringe of a terrestrial network.
If you understand what I am talking about, I think you will focus on "going with the dish," and telling the MSOs to "stick it." As far as broadband Internet access, DirecTV (thru DirecPC) offers only "up to 400K bps." But this is likely to increased as its infrastructure is built out & the demand for broadband Internet via the dish increases. Because if they don't increase it, they will be facing a losing battle in the more urban areas as terrestrial broadband becomes more prevalent, & the realization that broadband limited to 400K bps ain't gonna cut it. It is very easy for a DBS provider to increase the downstream bandwidth from 400K bps to 1.5M bps & larger. It just takes a switch eliminating a broadcast channel or 2. Obviously this is an economic decision, & as Internet commerce grows it will undoubtedly happen.
If you are focusing on T as delivering a fixed wireless solution to you soon, I wouldn't. Again, infrastructure costs are critical, & T's focus will initially be in the more urban areas where its co-axial lines do not reach the target customers. IMHO, rural folks who thrive on communications, broadcast & Internet broadband are in for a difficult & frustrating future & the "rest of the country" goes broadband UNLESS you "cough up" the bucks for the dish.
JMO, & good luck. |
