Gaming Internet In Rural Area

Intimidator88

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Ok so I just recently moved to another area in my state and now that im finally settled I went looking for cable and internet. Well tv channels were pretty easy just got dish network and its great but I have looked around at just about everything for internet and no luck at all! Got close with century link they sent me a modem then when I went to activate it they said they couldn't service my area.......

So close yet no cigar so now I am wondering if there's anything meant for rural area?? Im mainly looking to play xbox live and that's pretty much it so I don't think satellite internet is in the picture. Also I've heard I could use my phone to tether internet and be able to play xbox live that way and I've even heard its stable too! Any truth to this?? Or am I just screwed out of online gaming till more services open up to areas like mine?
 

Mazor

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Did you look into mobile internet?

Can't speak for your area of course, here we have over 90% of the country (Sweden has approximately the same area as California) covered though.
 

FAST6191

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For most people wanting decent speed rural internet I usually point them towards long distance communications and tap a friend in a nearby town with decent internet- microwave transmission and the like.
Initial outlay is quite a bit (and if you do it properly you might need licenses) versus a $50 router you normally grab but it is probably your best bet for anything capable of XBL (the trouble with games and VOIP/live video is less bandwidth and more ping). If you are willing to chat up a few farmers you can also run a wire/fiber optics through a field/water drainage ditch.

The register did a nice little series on some of the stuff if you are wanting to read a bit more http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/03/not_spot_no_longer/ (this was the last entry but the first two are linked at the bottom of the page).

Mobile internet (of which tethering a phone to something is the same as) gets quite expensive for anything bandwidth intensive- I am far too lazy right now to go in for some proper phone provider searches around your parts but 10 gigs is usually considered a generous limit for such people with 5 gigs being closer to what is normally offered.
 

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Using a smartphone to tether internet is exactly the same as mobile internet. It depends on the quality of signal to the nearest telecom tower, and if it's equiped for GPRS (3G) and HSDPA (3.5G) communications. I've heard the UK has 90% coverage for 3G, and something like 60% coverage for HSDPA. HSPA+ (3.75G) is being rolled out in 20 countries, but I've heard much about it and doubt it'll be available in rural areas.

I can't speak for W7, BB and iOS phones, but with Android 2.2 it's just a matter of setting up the tethering service. You can either use it as a WiFi access point and share the internet service that way, or tether via USB (haven't tried that on 2.2 yet). I don't know if Xbox 360 can accept USB tethering either.

The downside to mobile internet is that 3G is somewhat slow (~200-500Kbs, although others can get around 11-14Mbs) and prone to signal dropouts. Also 360 online multiplayer is also time-dependant, so I wouldn't trust mobile internet to play Call of Duty (for example). It may work, but you'll most likely experience plenty of problems with latency and signal stability. EDIT: I forgot about bandwidth. FAST covered that anyway in his post.
 

Mazor

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FAST6191 said:
10 gigs is usually considered a generous limit for such people with 5 gigs being closer to what is normally offered.

Out of curiosity, is this actually accurate (for the market in the UK)?

I was on an unlimited 7mbit (3mbit was the actual rate I received, I used it mainly on an island close to shore but ~90 miles away from the nearest big city) Tele2 3G connection three years ago which costed no more than 150SEK (~25USD) a month.
 

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In the UK, it depends on the provider and the contract. With my T-Mobile phone contract, I get unlimited internet but the "fair usage" policy limits me to 500MB of "streaming" (basically videos) or downloading (direct downloads). For mobile broadband, it says the following:
QUOTE said:
Fair use policy – Mobile Broadband

We're the only operator to offer you a fixed price for surfing and emailing on your phone with no limits and no extra charges.

* Never pay more than your monthly fixed price
* You can always surf and email with no limits
* Perfect for getting online when you're out and about

Is there an allowance?
You can surf and email as much as you want.

Your price plan has a 500MB or 1GB allowance (depending on the plan you select) for streaming videos, uploading and downloading files. If you hit this limit during the month, you won't be able to do this stuff again until the next month.

Aside from these "unlimited" deals, bandwidth limits range from 3GB to 10GB (that I've seen) with an option of paying for "boosters" (if they don't automatically charge for going over the limit). I'm seeing that less and less in the UK market in favour of "unlimited" deals like the above.
 

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