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Internet Access
Dial-Up
Providers - Many
Many Internet Service Providers have "POP's" for local calls from the Red Mountain Ranch area. There are, as in most places, many pricing plans as well,
including free Internet access. Dial-up connection speeds with a 56K modem have been reported to reach 48kps levels with a good phone line.
"OK so you need dial-up service, at least as a backup. But don't pay much for it. There are still some free services such as NetZero and Juno but choices are limited and you suffer restrictions.I have signed up for an interesting service offered by Access-4-Free. You pay a one-time setup charge of $4.95. You get 10 hours of access per month. Thereafter, access is $1 an hour to a maximum
charge of $10. As a backup account, this service promises to meet my needs.
In mid-2001, I thought the best deal might be with AT&T where you got 150 hours for $4.95 per month. All of these services do come with some form of advertising. AT&T has discontinued this $4.95 service.
If you are looking for an account for regular use, check out the lower priced alteratives at Freedom List , an ISP discussion forum. Based upon the reviews, I would be inclined to sign up for AccessForLess at $5.95 per month. The service is operated by the same people that provide Access-4-Free discussed above.You do have to be a bit careful in these matters. Many users, including me got burned after paying a year in advance for another service, ClickClickOnline, that stopped performing. But by signing up for a pay-as-you go service you minimize your downside.
I recommend that you secure and use an e-mail address separate from one which may be supplied by your Internet Service Provider ("ISP"). This way you can
change ISP's without changing your e-mail address. Services like Edson can provide a low cost e-mail service using one if its domains or you can have them manage an address at your own domain. Securing and using your own domain gives you control over your own destiny. It's really quite inexpensive to register your own domain. Use GoDaddy's registraton service and pay only $8.95 to register a .com domain. Then use it with Edson or another service even if only for mail service.GoDaddy offers a package deal with e-mail access
Write to me if you want help with these issues."
- Arthur Heath
High Speed
High-speed or broadband Internet access provides speeds orders of magnitude better than a dial-up connection. There are varied approaches to high-speed service, including cable modems, flavors of DSL, MMDS, and more mobile forms of wireless. Unfortunately, not all these options are available in any given geographical area. Cox Communications offers its @Home service. Sprint is no longer offering its Sprint Broadband service based upon MDDS to new subscribers.. Qwest (formerly USWest) promotes DSL in the Phoenix area but it is not available to residents of Red Mountain Ranch since the phone company "central office" is beyond the three mile limit of DSL technology. While some cell phone service providers offer Internet options, service based upon existing cell technology is currently only at speeds less than a typical dial-up modem rate.
What about getting high-speed service via a satellite dish? Well, it may be possible through Direcwav or Gilat. However,
performance and cost are not competitive with the Cox service and only recommended if you live where there are no other options. Teledesic is working on launching satellite-based Internet service in the future.
"Go for Cox@Home service even if you hate cable companies. Even though Cox increased the price of its high-speed service by $5 per month in December of 2001, the cost is still reasonable considering you can give up a second telephone. You not only get speeds over 30x faster but a constant connnection. Take note of my suggestion above in the dial-up section, though, and get a separate e-mail address. Many Excite@Home subscribers were left not only without Internet service but without their e-mail when the company cut off AT&T subscribers in late November. Excite@Home, the supplier to Cox, ceases operations in February 2002 when Cox plans to deploy its own network, but my guess is that Cox will give subscribers a new e-mail address at that time. What a pain to switch. You won't face this problem if you control your e-mail address separately. Write to me if I can help you avoid this problem
That may be the part that leaves me wanting. Now, if you're like me and want to be connected going at 70 mph in a desert dune buggy you are sort of out of
luck for now. I had hoped to be using Metricom's Ricochet 128kpbs wireless service, but Metricom ran out of funding before it could fully build out its network and ramp up subscribers. Metricom has, along with many other ill-fated dotcoms off to oblivion or worse.
Up until recently, if you just cannot face turning over high-speed service dependence to Cox or just want to go through the motions of trying an
alternate supplier, Sprint Broadband offered an option using fixed wireless technology. You could sign up and have them crawl up on your roof with a 15 foot pole to see if you have a clear signal from the South Mountain transmitter. Some Red Mountain Ranch residents now use the Sprint service. However, Sprint has discontinued any new installations. Bummer. What's a fellow to do for a alternative to Cox. No wonder they raised the price of service by $5 a month." - Arthur Heath
Provider - Cox Communication
http://www.cox.com/coxathome
(602) 277-1000
Cox Communications provides high-speed cable modem Cox@Home service. The @Home service is provided to Cox by Excite@Home. Information about the @Home service, not specific to Cox, can be found at the @Home web site.
Since Red Mountain Ranch residents are already subscribers to Cox Cable TV service, the @Home pricing reflects that discount.
Pricing:
$34.95 per month (with modem purchase)
$49.95 per month ( includes Modem rental)
$40 installation (billed over three months at $13.33 per month)
You can buy the modem for around $150 to avoid the rental
charge. Cox supports DOCSIS enabled modems such as a Toshiba PCX1100. Try CompUSA or call Cox.
"Check out eBay and pricing guide sites like Shopper.com, Streetprices.com, and others. Maybe you can get a good deal on the modem. I think you should be able to find one for under $150." - Arthur Heath
Provider - Sprint Broadband
http://www.sprintbroadband.com
(888) 996-0001
Using Multipoint Micropoint Distribution System ("MDDS"), Sprint Broadband provides fixed point wireless Internet access to a few Red Mountain Ranch residents but
Sprint no longer accepts new subscribers.
Sprint claims that users can normally expect download speeds of 512kbps-1.5Mbps and an upload speed of 256kpbs with a maximum download speed of 5Mbps.
Sprint Broadband installation involves mounting an antenna on your home. To see what it might look like click here. Feasibility depended upon the antenna
being mounted for line-of-site visibility to the Sprint tower mounted on South Mountain. This may not be possible depending upon conditions at your home.
Past inquiries made to Sprint Broadband yielded price
quotes of $39.95 per month plus an investment of about $200 in the high-speed modem Vendors of high-speed Internet access often offer free installation or equipment with longer term contracts.
So forget Sprint for now.
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