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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Gloria Morris wrote:
> Hey, Bev!
>
> I am on WildBlue satellite Internet. Due to the fast download and slow
> upload speeds, I can hear people via Skype. They cannot hear me, however. I
> use my Skype number for messages only. That is surprisingly useful, however,
> and something you might want to consider.

Yeah, and the thing is that I might not know until I actually get hooked 
up as to whether or not Skype will work for me.
WildBlue is not installing in my area.  I keep waiting, because they are 
apparently the cheapest service.


> Cell phone coverage here is spotty at best. On good days, if I stand in one
> particular spot on the second floor of the house, I cannot get a bar of
> signal, but even with no bars, there is some sort of signal, as the
> connection I get is sufficient for a short conversation with some repeating
> for clarity. On bad days, I must get in the car and drive to a location
> where I can get a signal.

Sometimes, sometimes, I can send and receive text messages via my cell, 
but not voice.  My phone will not ring if someone calls, so usually as I 
drive to work, when I get about 4 miles out, I get a flurry of voice 
mail messages...LOL.  It is odd, but I can usually text even with no 
bars, like you.  I can get one bar with a broken and spotty connection 
if I run out to the middle of my front pasture, but mostly I am limited 
by terrain and ridges on all sides.  Even FM radio is thwarted here...AM 
is good at night though.

> There are antennas and boosters you can use if you have any signal at all to
> boost. The equipment and wiring on these (assuming you do your own
> installation) ranges in price from a few hundred to around $1K. What you
> need will depend upon a variety of factors, including strength of the
> available outside signal.

I've seen them, but haven't considered it a viable option due to the 
expense.  Besides, employer paid or not, I don't use my cell enough to 
justify the expense of it. I get 450 minutes and unlimited texts, but I 
use around 60/month and text maybe 40 times.  I'm just not big on 
talking on the phone.

B

--
Many of our greatest American thinkers, men of the caliber of Thomas 
Jefferson, Henry Thoreau, Mark Twain, William James, and John Muir, have 
found the forest an effective stimulus to original thought.
Bob Marshall