Rural broadband

[SMOKEU]

A mate of mine lives out in the countryside and wants broadband. He used to have Telecom ADSL at that address. He's thinking of moving to an Orcon Genius plan like this one here. The computer is running Linux, so will this modem/router work on Linux? Are there any better deals out there? He doesn't want a land line phone connection, just a basic internet plan for moderate web browsing and a simple WiFi network, but since this one works out cheaper than Telecom and it comes with a phone and WiFi I was considering the Orcon plan.

[BOGAR]

You could try http://www.farmside.co.nz/
The rates are ok but the system works best where there is not so good cell coverage and a good view of the satellite.
Just a thought.

[nathanwhite]

Running Linux doesn't change how the router interacts with the computer as all OS's follow the same protocols. As long as the router is set up properly (which nowadays is pretty much just plug everything in) then it'll all work nice and smoothly.

Some versions of Linux however (I'm looking at you, Ubuntu) don't ship with any proprietary drivers. When doing a clean install on my laptop for example I have to redownload the graphics card and wireless drivers to get them going. Standard wired network connections work fine out of the box though.

[SMOKEU]

Running Linux doesn't change how the router interacts with the computer as all OS's follow the same protocols. As long as the router is set up properly (which nowadays is pretty much just plug everything in) then it'll all work nice and smoothly.

Some versions of Linux however (I'm looking at you, Ubuntu) don't ship with any proprietary drivers. When doing a clean install on my laptop for example I have to redownload the graphics card and wireless drivers to get them going. Standard wired network connections work fine out of the box though.

Sweet, I've used Linux Mint and Ubuntu before and it's always been "plug and play", just plug the ethernet cable in and it works straight away.

For ADSL, is it required to have a phone line connection? All the wiring is already there to connect a phone, but since my mate has a mobile phone plan he doesn't want a land line connection unless he has to.

[Gremlin]

DSL requires a copper phone line, unless you have wireless (satellite options) or other options. As you know, you don't require a phone number, but you do require the physical line.

As Nathan says, generally (there are some exceptions - which you never know until you're up to your head in weird problems) modems and computer OS's are completely separate and independent, following established protocols for interoperability.

[Ronin]

You could try http://www.farmside.co.nz/
The rates are ok but the system works best where there is not so good cell coverage and a good view of the satellite.
Just a thought.

For the love of God NO!

[Ronin]

Sweet, I've used Linux Mint and Ubuntu before and it's always been "plug and play", just plug the ethernet cable in and it works straight away.

For ADSL, is it required to have a phone line connection? All the wiring is already there to connect a phone, but since my mate has a mobile phone plan he doesn't want a land line connection unless he has to.

A lot of ISP's now offer what they call "Naked DSL". For this they use the Copper phone line but you have no phone service.

[SMOKEU]

Is there any ISP in particular that you guys recommend? Looking for between 10 - 20GB per month. Also, should I look for an ISP which supplies a modem with built in 802.11, or just go with whatever modem the ISP supplies and just buy a router to connect to it? Hopefully I won't be a networking n00b for too long, I'm starting a networking course at polytech later this year.

[Ronin]

Is there any ISP in particular that you guys recommend? Looking for between 10 - 20GB per month. Also, should I look for an ISP which supplies a modem with built in 802.11, or just go with whatever modem the ISP supplies and just buy a router to connect to it? Hopefully I won't be a networking n00b for too long, I'm starting a networking course at polytech later this year.

If he goes with slingshot I will rape his mother. Other than that, Telecom or Orcon. Vodafone uses a transparent proxy.

[Gremlin]

Pros and cons to all providers, and you'll never really know which one is better unless you've actually got them installed. Telecom is probably the standard, and aren't really all that bad. Also makes your life easier around provisioning and troubleshooting.

Also, some providers will charge around $20 extra per month, for rural.

PM me with his address if you like, and I should be able to give you some indication of what speeds he could expect (maximum) and whether service is actually available.

[YellowDog]

I moved rural recently. Its all Chorus wiring and whomever you go with, it will still be a Telecom copper. I transferred my Telstra service out here and it was pretty damn good for rural. My wife's employer then provided a second line for a new Telecom line and broadband, so we had 2 to the house. The new Telecom service was so poor that we had to kick it in to touch. She couldn't run the network apps she needed to do her job. We now we get paid to use our own home service.

Her firm provided a CISCO DSL router, which I believe to be the problem with the poor service. The Telstra cheap and chearful router is soooooo much better and we now receive an $80 per month subsidy for our service that we only pay $75 for

[SMOKEU]

If he goes with slingshot I will rape his mother. Other than that, Telecom or Orcon. Vodafone uses a transparent proxy.

I've seen that Slingshot seems quite cheap, so is it cheap for a reason? Telecom has this modem/router here, and I've had a look at the Telecom plans and unfortunately they all seem to come with a phone line included which is an extra expense I'd like to avoid if possible.

[Gremlin]

YMMV, but usually, yes, Slingshit is cheap for a reason. Anything in the tiny box is easily done, anything else and suddenly you don't exist. Some people report excellent service, others report terrible service.

Telecom being the incumbent is a little more traditional in their services, hence why you're not seeing so much VOIP, as Orcon et al are leveraging their new networks.

[scracha]

For the love of God NO!

Seconded. I stopped recommending farmside a long, long while ago. Their service really has turned to poo. Satellite really is a last resort and when we've exhausted other possibilities then there are far better providers.