Broadband via radio signal

[val douest]

Our broadband internet connection has always been flaky - it is sometimes down for long periods and neighbours have the same problem.  Apparently the local telephone lines are old and unreliable. We understand that under a programme being rolled out by the department (Hautes Pyrenees) we will soon be able to receive our broadband via a radio signal rather than via the telephone lines.  But no-one seems to be able to tell us at this stage whether we will need extra equipment to be able to use this service, and if so, what.  

Does any one already have broadband through this kind of installation?  If so, any information would be very welcome.

Val

[Just Chris]

Yes, many of us use this. There are two services, WiFi, and wimax. We use wimax - if you do a search on this and other forums you should be able to get a reasonable idea about how it works.

You need a wimax receiever and a contract, both of which will be supplied by whoever provides the service. The two best known suppliers are Numeo (known for it's poor customer service) and Idyle (known for it's slightly less poor customer service).

You will need to pay up front for the equipment (about E150, if my memory serves me well), and monthly for the contract (I think a minimum of 12 months). It's not expensive - less than E30 a month, and you get unlimited use of the service at 2 Mb down, and 512 Kb up, which is comparable to a reasonable ADSL line.

The equipment is a simple receiver/antenna which you mount outside - it's very small and unobtrusive, but is susceptible to terrain, and distance from the transmitter.

Our experience is that when it's good, it's excellent, and when it's bad, the service is non-existent. It does go down occasionally for an hour or two, or a day or two, and in one case a week.

Considering the alternative is either dial-up, or satellite (not good due to bandwidth limitations), wimax is generally pretty reliable and worth the money. WiFi (available in some areas) I've had no experience of.

Chris

[Pierre ZFP]

If you are in an area of good mobile phone coverage you might want to consider a 3G Clé .  Mines from Bouygtel as they have a PAYG package which suited my usage but there are various packages from SFR and Orange.  The advantages are 3.6Mbit/s download, unlimited at weekends (but miserly midweek) and nothing to bolt to your house and no set-up/installation cost, just a dongle and with a laptop, you're mobile too!

 

[val douest]

Many thanks Chris and Pierre for your replies.  We have been promised a meeting in the commune soon to explain just what will be done, so we shall now be better prepared to understand what may be on offer.

Val