My interesting internet predicament.

[SrinpyMusicalTechSquirrel]

Living out in the middle of nowhere is kind of annoying, because you have to cheap out because most services don't reach out that far. This applies to my internet, being the cheapest thing in the world. 

We are locked into our internet of 12Mbps and a landline phone for just $86 USD (+tax). At best with just me using it (and the other devices we don't turn off) I'm getting about 16mbps down, 0.46mbps up. Steam at a max downloads at 1.9 - 2.1Mbps, and at worst i've gotten 0.7 down and no up. We still use the landline phone heavily, but we've also been thinking about switching off that plan to something else, both for internet and phone (because screw you CenturyLink), but we are still hardwired for CenturyLink with an awful router. Does anybody in America know a better plan for both internet and phones that's around $86?

[Dillpickle23422]

47 minutes ago, SrinpyMusicalTechSquirrel said:

Living out in the middle of nowhere is kind of annoying, because you have to cheap out because most services don't reach out that far. This applies to my internet, being the cheapest thing in the world. 

We are locked into our internet of 12Mbps and a landline phone for just $86 USD (+tax). At best with just me using it (and the other devices we don't turn off) I'm getting about 16mbps down, 0.46mbps up. Steam at a max downloads at 1.9 - 2.1Mbps, and at worst i've gotten 0.7 down and no up. We still use the landline phone heavily, but we've also been thinking about switching off that plan to something else, both for internet and phone (because screw you CenturyLink), but we are still hardwired for CenturyLink with an awful router. Does anybody in America know a better plan for both internet and phones that's around $86?

I live in the middle of nowhere, too. Is there satellite internet available near you? It sucks too, but it is a bit faster than landline. I think we were getting 35mbps down and like 5ish up on a good day, for around 80 dollars a month. I don't know where you're at, but we were using a satellite internet company called Hughesnet. Biggest issue is that if you're in thick woods you might need to clear an area out for a dish so that it has a chance of getting good reception. We didn't have to do that, since we've got our fields surrounding our house. We did have issues with snow and the dish sometimes, you'd have to go up and brush it off if there was a whole lot on it.

Edit: Screw CentryLink, we tried them and it was just pure hell, customer support basically just didn't exist, and our internet wouldn't work 80 percent of the time.

[Blasty Blosty]

38 minutes ago, SrinpyMusicalTechSquirrel said:

Living out in the middle of nowhere is kind of annoying, because you have to cheap out because most services don't reach out that far. This applies to my internet, being the cheapest thing in the world. 

We are locked into our internet of 12Mbps and a landline phone for just $86 USD (+tax). At best with just me using it (and the other devices we don't turn off) I'm getting about 16mbps down, 0.46mbps up. Steam at a max downloads at 1.9 - 2.1Mbps, and at worst i've gotten 0.7 down and no up. We still use the landline phone heavily, but we've also been thinking about switching off that plan to something else, both for internet and phone (because screw you CenturyLink), but we are still hardwired for CenturyLink with an awful router. Does anybody in America know a better plan for both internet and phones that's around $86?

Would Starlink be an option for you?

[OddOod]

Unless there is a competing company that offers internet service in your area, you're stuck with the nightmare that is satellite internet and all the issues that come with it (cost, data cap, weather sensitivity, massive latency)
As for phones, if you have internet on lock, there are many voip phone services, but they DO rely on being able to use the internet. Oomla is a name I see kicking around the residential voip space

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, SrinpyMusicalTechSquirrel said:

Living out in the middle of nowhere is kind of annoying, because you have to cheap out because most services don't reach out that far. This applies to my internet, being the cheapest thing in the world. 

We are locked into our internet of 12Mbps and a landline phone for just $86 USD (+tax). At best with just me using it (and the other devices we don't turn off) I'm getting about 16mbps down, 0.46mbps up. Steam at a max downloads at 1.9 - 2.1Mbps, and at worst i've gotten 0.7 down and no up. We still use the landline phone heavily, but we've also been thinking about switching off that plan to something else, both for internet and phone (because screw you CenturyLink), but we are still hardwired for CenturyLink with an awful router. Does anybody in America know a better plan for both internet and phones that's around $86?

You live in BFE so your options are limited. Satellite, Cellular and DSL are likely your only options. Outside moving to civilization. 

[NobleGamer]

 

13 hours ago, Donut417 said:

You live in BFE so your options are limited. Satellite, Cellular and DSL are likely your only options. Outside moving to civilization. 

To elaborate on mobile: There's 4G or now 5G home internet options in some areas. Check the websites for major mobile carriers in your area, and if they wait list you then go to a physical store and see if they'll let you try it.

 

Thats how I got to try T-Mobile 5G home internet starting a few years ago in spite of their website waitlisting me, and it was a great backup ISP for me. Now that I live in BFE where my DSL is only 7/1, 5G is my primary ISP at 50/3 on average, but just in the past 2 months its more like 150/5 - And I haven't even hooked it up to an external antenna to try to boost signal.

[SrinpyMusicalTechSquirrel]

Pretty good responses so far, but I'm now aware of the issue of "where are you located". I'll give you a big hint without revealing it: The Great Basin.

[Donut417]

24 minutes ago, SrinpyMusicalTechSquirrel said:

Pretty good responses so far, but I'm now aware of the issue of "where are you located". I'll give you a big hint without revealing it: The Great Basin.

Regardless where you are located in the US, if you live in a rural area you are screwed. DSL, Satellite and LTE/5G are the only options generally. Without knowing specifics of where you are located we can’t determine what providers are in the area. For example I live  near Detroit Metro Airport and the only wired provider that services our address is Comcast. So our only other option is T Mobile cellular internet as they are the only cellular provider who offers home internet to our address. Then there is satellite providers.