{"id":108,"date":"2022-09-15T00:00:26","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T07:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/?p=108"},"modified":"2022-10-12T17:32:02","modified_gmt":"2022-10-13T00:32:02","slug":"new-internet-options-for-cabin-owners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/index.php\/2022\/09\/15\/new-internet-options-for-cabin-owners\/","title":{"rendered":"New Internet Options for Cabin Owners"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two new Internet options have become available on Mount Lemmon over the past year, providing high speed service to previously unserviceable cabins.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

T-Mobile, the nationwide mobile phone carrier, launched T-Mobile Home Internet (https:\/\/www.t-mobile.com\/home-internet<\/a>) on Mount Lemmon earlier this year.\u00a0 For a flat-rate of $50 per month, tests on the Mountain have demonstrated a consistent 80 megabits of download speed and 7 megabits of upload speed.\u00a0 Service is provided using a small all-in-one indoor device which acts as both radio link and WiFi router.\u00a0 Unfortunately, T-Mobile\u2019s mapping has difficulty finding individual cabins.\u00a0 Using the Post Office\u2019s address as the service address and a Tucson shipping address should bypass this issue.\u00a0 A mobile phone app guides the user through installation.\u00a0 For best performance, the unit should be placed in a window facing Radio Ridge (west of Summerhaven) on the highest floor of your cabin.\u00a0 In my testing, a less suitable location still worked, but with reduced performance.<\/p>\n

\"T-Mobile
T-Mobile Router<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX, the Elon Musk-helmed company intent on landing humans on Mars, has a space-based offering cleverly named StarLink (https:\/\/www.starlink.com\/<\/a>).\u00a0 Unlike the slow and pricey satellite systems of the past (HughesNet, ViaSat, etc.), StarLink offers flat-rate plans, faster speeds and latency comparable to terrestrial systems.\u00a0 Older systems rely on a single satellite in a fixed position in the sky at 22,500 miles from the ground.\u00a0 At this distance, the speed of light dramatically limits the available speed.\u00a0 StarLink uses a constellation of satellites only 350 miles above the Earth.\u00a0 The user devices automatically track satellites as they move across the sky and switches between them as needed.\u00a0 The result is a connection that works for latency-sensitive applications like Zoom video calling.\u00a0 This method does require a clear view of the sky.\u00a0 The more obstructions in your view, the more frequently the connection will drop.\u00a0 Another downside is cost \u2013 $599 for the equipment, and $110 per month for the service.\u00a0 For an extra $25 per month, StarLink will turn allow you to use the equipment away from your cabin \u2013 a boon for Recreational Vehicle owners who want to take their connection on the road.\u00a0 Speeds from Summerhaven were similar to T-Mobile\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\"StarLink
StarLink Antenna<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Simply Bits, which was purchased by Toronto-based Tucows in November, 2021, continues to provide high speed Internet service (https:\/\/www.simplybits.com\/residential\/home<\/a>) over a terrestrial microwave network.\u00a0 Management of the Southern Arizona operation is still based in Tucson, with local technicians performing installations and repairs.\u00a0 Simply Bits\u2019 connections require an unobstructed view of one of their distribution sites and offer residential speeds.\u00a0 While the published speeds offered on Mount Lemmon aren\u2019t as high as those from T-Mobile and StarLink, the latency (the time it takes for traffic to go from your cabin to the public Internet) is lower and the user experience with their 25 megabit download plan is similar to the T-Mobile and StarLink connections.\u00a0 Generally, higher speeds only provide a noticeable benefit during large file downloads, such as operating system updates.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So which connection is best for you?\u00a0 If you have a clear line of sight to a Simply Bits distribution site, their professional installation is by far the easiest choice.\u00a0 If their technician finds that they cannot install at your cabin (usually due to foliage or terrain obstructions), your order is cancelled and you are not billed for their attempt.<\/p>\n

If your cabin is surrounded by dense foliage. T-Mobile is worth a try.\u00a0 Using their 15-day trial period, you can test the service at your cabin.\u00a0 If it doesn\u2019t work reliably, you can ship the equipment back with no financial obligation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Due to its higher cost, clear sky requirement and more complicated self-installation, I consider StarLink to be the provider of last resort \u2013 unless you plan to use it on camping trips.\u00a0 Rumors of a professional installation option haven\u2019t materialized yet, so unless you\u2019re comfortable with climbing on your roof, I would avoid this option for now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two new Internet options have become available on Mount Lemmon over the past year, providing high speed service to previously unserviceable cabins.   T-Mobile, the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mountain-insights","wpcat-6-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111,"href":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108\/revisions\/111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtlemmonhoa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}