If you can't get Wi-Max yet, it's coming soon. Around here we have a viable line of sight broadband (pretty much like digital sattelite tv. Ok, unless you have to chop down a neighbour's tree). There's also Low Earth Orbit satellite with decent uplink now. 'course any wireless is prone to be more weather sensitive than wire or fibre, but you can get a good price and eager service. I'd consider it a good redundant connection, if you really can't bear a few days downtime now and then.
The only wireless provider I've been able to find so far in Baltimore (after poking at the web during one night's insomnia) is http://www.believewireless.com/ which looks like the line-of-sight thingie, not WiMAX ... $30/month for 768k down (& half that up) and static IP looks pretty good next to $30 for normal dialtone plus more for PPP (and most dialup providers appear less tolerant of nailing-up the connection than my current ISP is), or $30 for bare-bones dialtone+DSL with a "no servers/no inbound telnet" policy, or nearly $60 for cable (after the six-month $20 introductory price expires). I'd still need to deal with web space, but an always-on and decently-fast connection with a static address would make spending $10/month for a shell account elsewhere optional.
Afraid to decide while sleep-deprived, but so far it looks pretty damned tempting, and a good deal unless I've overlooked a 'gotcha'.
The FAQ claims it gets better in bad weather. (I think I want to hear that from their customers though.)
A few days downtime is a big deal because email is my primary telecommunications medium, overshadowing the cell phone by a wide margin. Even when I go to Pennsic, I'm not cut off for as many days in a row as I was this time! (Though there I could bear to be, it being a special circumstance/time/environment/mindset.)
Wireless in your 'hood?
Re: Wireless in your 'hood?
Afraid to decide while sleep-deprived, but so far it looks pretty damned tempting, and a good deal unless I've overlooked a 'gotcha'.
The FAQ claims it gets better in bad weather. (I think I want to hear that from their customers though.)
A few days downtime is a big deal because email is my primary telecommunications medium, overshadowing the cell phone by a wide margin. Even when I go to Pennsic, I'm not cut off for as many days in a row as I was this time! (Though there I could bear to be, it being a special circumstance/time/environment/mindset.)