Rural Broadband for Videoconferencing etc? (1 Viewer)

kinsleyboy

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Hi All,
My son & family are likely to be moving home in the near future and need broadband suitable for videoconferencing and voice over internet protocol so that daughter-in-law can work from home. At the moment they have BT Infinity but the new property will be more remote and won't have that option for a few years yet.
Does anyone know anybody that has a working solution to this problem please?

From reviews I've seen it doesn't seem that satellite internet is a reliable solution.

Thanks in anticipation,
Martin:Smile:
 

Jim

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Were in the sticks in Wales, we are 6clicks from the exchange so Landline BB is about .5 (half) a meg. Mostly were on three mobile broadband which gives us 1 to 3 mef depending on the weather. What speeds to you need for the VC?
 

DuxDeluxe

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We get 3mb absolute max here and no issues at all with videoconferencing. That is using Arkadin. Works surprisingly well:thumb:

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kinsleyboy

kinsleyboy

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Hi Jim,
Thanks for your interest.
As far as I can ascertain the videoconferencing is like tv streaming and needs to be as fast as possible for this but the problem with using satellite broadband for this is the latency or delay in the signals to & from the satellite.

Your mobile set up is something that my son is looking at but we're not sure if it would be fast enough for their needs.

Thanks
Martin:Smile:
 
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kinsleyboy

kinsleyboy

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We get 3mb absolute max here and no issues at all with videoconferencing. That is using Arkadin. Works surprisingly well:thumb:

Hi DuxdeLux,
Thanks for your reply.

Is that Arkadin in the UK?

Thanks,
Martin:Smile:
 
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Hi Jim,
Thanks for your interest.
As far as I can ascertain the videoconferencing is like tv streaming and needs to be as fast as possible for this but the problem with using satellite broadband for this is the latency or delay in the signals to & from the satellite.

Your mobile set up is something that my son is looking at but we're not sure if it would be fast enough for their needs.

Thanks
Martin:Smile:

If you pop the new postcode into Samknows, it'll show what options you have from the local exchange, or whether any cable connections are available
http://www.samknows.com/exchange_search

Issues with Satellite connections.
1. Expensive
2. Can be effected badly by adverse weather
3. As you've already identified, high latency - which with video conferencing, could lead to pixilation and drops out

Have you checked out any mobile broadband coverage checkers ?

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DuxDeluxe

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Hi DuxdeLux,
Thanks for your reply.

Is that Arkadin in the UK?

Thanks,
Martin:Smile:

I've got an Arkadin account but for the Vidyeo (sic) I log into our Swiss version, but no different really. I have used my account in the past for video from home and don't recall any issues

Sorry - yes, UK account
 

DBK

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If you know where they are going to move try to speak to anyone who lives there and see what sort of broadband they can get. For example can they watch BBC iPlayer in HD?

Alternatively, if there is no one living there or they think the hight of technology is a new spade go there with a smart mobile and tether it to a laptop or tablet and see what sort of speeds you can get. There are sites which can give you figures. Or for simplicity the iPlayer test is a guide. The problem is you need to know which network is best for that location.

You need to try it at different times of the day as the local network can get overloaded, for example when the kids come home from school and all start bookfacing or whatever it is they do in their bedrooms.

Of course if the house they are going to already has a number BT should be able to test it, with the agreement of the current owners. I wouldn't be totally confident of the result but it should be a guide. From my own experience of moving to the country don't trust anyone's estimate based on the address. They will be overoptimistic.

As to what speeds you need try speaking with videoconferencing suppliers. I don't think basic systems need a lot but the quality of the video will obviously suffer. I used it decades ago when data speeds down phone lines were measured in kilobytes but you each had to wave an arm at the beginning of the meeting and say your name so the other side knew which blurred figure was you!

At the other end of the scale is a semicircular table with a giant video screen along the diameter showing a matching semicircular table where the other side are sitting. It looks as if you are all sitting round the same circular table.
 
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DuxDeluxe

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Yes, some of our participants are a bit blurry - usually the poor sods on business trips dialling in at some ungodly hour. None of us can escape the monthly management video conference....... :Sad:

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TheBig1

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rural broadband supply in this country is a disgrace. millions of pounds of investment was promised by the last government but dropped to save money by dodgy dave and his gang. almost unbelievably bt ran a contest to find the worst rural blackspot with the winner getting cabled up. the rest may get connected one day but theres no plans to invest in infrastructure. its got so bad that some villages have clubbed together and are laying cables themselves

sadly your son has found one of the many drawbacks of living and telecommuting in a rural setting
 
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The disgrace is the way councils have spent the rural broadband money. The councils got a wad of cash from central government, they then when to BT, the only provider, and said what can you do? BT said for that cash we can enable FTTC (Fibre To The Cabinet) at all your rural exchanges. The council here said great, here's the cash.

So our exchange and others are now enabled. But enabling the exchange is only half the job, it needs to get the fibre out to the cabinets. But there aren't any cabinets in our area as we are all connected by copper direct to the exchange. In the case of village where I live thats over 5kms, too far for fast broadband. Other villages and hamlets are the same.

So who benefits from spending all that money, besides BT, well those who live within about a km of the exchange, the ones that have had decent ADSL speeds all along. The rest, about three quarters of us, have received sweet FA!

The BT and council rural broadband motto is "to those that have it shall be given".
 

Jim

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That seems to be the case. For those who already have 10meg speeds, let's spend a fortune on getting them 20meg or even a 100. While all the time ignoring those millions with nowt.:Doh:

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We seem to be able to run any YouTube video or I Player videos and sky downloads through ordinary broadband.

I see in the far end of our village they are fitting in Fibre cables to green road side cabinets , so it`s near by.

Why would I need to buy fibre power if what I have now works fine, unless it`s the same price :thumb:
 
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We seem to be able to run any YouTube video or I Player videos and sky downloads through ordinary broadband.

I see in the far end of our village they are fitting in Fibre cables to green road side cabinets , so it`s near by.

Why would I need to buy fibre power if what I have now works fine, unless it`s the same price :thumb:

it will probably be quite a bit cheaper - as it is 'on-net'
 
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A good site for checking broadband speeds is www.speedtest.net.

I've just checked ours with BT Infinity & the download was 67 & upload 29. That is almost perfect for Skype video-conferencing that I think is more demanding than iPlayer. Speed varies with room & time of day. Tried a Now tv box from Sky for a live football match & that was frustrating with occasional freezes, listening live from Radio Derby was in front of what I was seeing-so I was warned of the thrashing in advance! :Eeek: It was the Rams away to Leicester!!!


I think with that site it will check any postcode although not certain.

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Jan 24, 2010
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depending where they are moving too, there are solutions other than traditional fixed line or mobile

such as http://wireless.abinternet.co.uk/ABInternet/

A number of villages in our area have got wireless broadband set up, and quite a lot (most in fact) was got from funding of £1k per house from the welsh government and local councils also chipping in, just the other side of the border in England (the barran lands as we like to call them from Gods side of the border::bigsmile:) councils are funding a lot of the work through the rural broadband funds.

unfortunatley for us - were not in range of any local ones...or just out of the line of sight...so get a max of 2m...but

I work from home doing video conf calls, online meetings etc etc - and it all runs fine (should do really given its that kind of stuff that the company i work for supplies!!) over a couple of meg - just dont have high quality video running and expect a slightly lower voice quality and no probs:thumb:
 
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kinsleyboy

kinsleyboy

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depending where they are moving too, there are solutions other than traditional fixed line or mobile

such as http://wireless.abinternet.co.uk/ABInternet/

A number of villages in our area have got wireless broadband set up, and quite a lot (most in fact) was got from funding of £1k per house from the welsh government and local councils also chipping in, just the other side of the border in England (the barran lands as we like to call them from Gods side of the border::bigsmile:) councils are funding a lot of the work through the rural broadband funds.

unfortunatley for us - were not in range of any local ones...or just out of the line of sight...so get a max of 2m...but

I work from home doing video conf calls, online meetings etc etc - and it all runs fine (should do really given its that kind of stuff that the company i work for supplies!!) over a couple of meg - just dont have high quality video running and expect a slightly lower voice quality and no probs:thumb:

Where they are going they will pretty much be on their own so I can't see that your example quoted above will be an option for them. I think this is going to be a difficult one to overcome!.:Sad:
Thanks for your suggestion though.
Martin

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TheBig1

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Hi All,
My son & family are likely to be moving home in the near future and need broadband suitable for videoconferencing and voice over internet protocol so that daughter-in-law can work from home. At the moment they have BT Infinity but the new property will be more remote and won't have that option for a few years yet.
Does anyone know anybody that has a working solution to this problem please?

From reviews I've seen it doesn't seem that satellite internet is a reliable solution.

Thanks in anticipation,
Martin:Smile:

When I was talking( berating ) Bt last week

Renew Bt contract I was told they charge for VoIP
The same as a phone call
Never used such service ( VoIP)
So I would never find out
Just thought I'd throw it in so you're not caught

:thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
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I get free calls anyway with my BT contract, so no point in using VoIP, since Skype to Skype is free for calls or video calls. Get free calls on my mobile as well.

Always use Skype for calls abroad that cost pennies to a landline with a bit more to a mobile.

I do wonder about satellite bandwidth & speed for video calls-remember staying on a site near Angouleme where they had satellite wifi took me an hour to download the Sunday Times to my iPad. Although sat next to the lake with a lager in the sunshine it was not too bad!
 
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kinsleyboy

kinsleyboy

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theres an exchange in bromyard

take a look here and put in the post code to search for info on the exact property. i just ran a check on one for sale in bromyard....estimated 6meg but expect half that
http://www.uswitch.com/broadband/postcode_checker/?gclid=CMXtjcyQqbwCFU_KtAodsA8AlA

Thanks TheBig1, using your suggested site it says they can expect 2meg!.
I know that the property is a long way from the exchange so I'm not surprised at the low figure!.

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