If I have 200-300 Mbps download/upload speeds, with little lag, it reduces the risk of being stranded. On the North Bruce Peninsula, our village has poor cellular phone reception. We use our fibre optic connection to keep our phone online. Once we’re in the bush later this year, I will need to make decisions. How much am I willing to pay for this service?
Option #1. Install a tower and place a YAGI (directional) antenna above the tree canopy. Aim it at the Miller Lake transmission tower… ~12 km SW as the crow flies. Buy a serious booster unit and link it up to our home’s intranet. I think Rogers has a home cellular-internet plan of some kind (I’ve seen Bell and Rogers have their own rectangular external antennae bolted to houses out here). Signal booster hardware? Towers? Eeek.
Option #2. Swallow my distaste for Elon Musk and sign up for Starlink satellite ISP. I have plenty of unobstructed skyline near our home (thanks to a septic field, PV ground array, and a carefully placed build site). Link it up to our home’s intranet. Amazon might get into the satellite ISP market so there is another provider. These providers have <1 m parabolic mirrors pointing to the sky.
Option #3. XploreNet, XprloreX. Point-to-Point internet service. At Brinkman’s Corner, there is an Eastlink utility locker. XploreNet might have a similar locker in Dyer’s Bay. I could install a tower and have a line-of-sight connection to one of these service providers. I’ve been careful not to alienate either company, so they might be able to provide us with service. I’ve seen all kinds of proprietary antennae pointing this way and that!
TS and I require such access for our businesses and safety! Once I make a decision, I’ll share it here for my neighbours.
Stay tuned…
BCB&B, neemtree, bdb, and blog 