BajaNomad

Banda Ancha Experience Update

DianaT - 6-24-2010 at 08:00 AM

For anyone considering Banda Ancha, here is my current experience in using it for a few weeks---last trip and current trip.

If you have an alternative ---- use it if your area only has a 2G tower available unless you are longing for the good old days when you had a dial up connection. Actually it is worse in some ways because most websites are built for high speed connections.

With the slow speed, watching any video clip is out of the question----radio is better, except for the dropping signal.

I have a very strong signal here, 5 bars and never a problem with my by cell phone unless the tower is down. But the Banda Ancha drops the signal constantly----often every 3 to 5 minutes.

Someone suggested that the problem with dropping the signal might be with Windows XP--- I downloaded remedies suggested and no help at all.

Two technicians have tried to install the Banda Ancha on my other computer with Windows7----both technicians claim that it is my system that is causing a problem. I have a fairly new Dell computer with Windows7. They get the updates and drivers installed and the software from the internet and as it tries to connect, the connection is stopped by a remote computer.

So, this is just an update for those considering Banda Ancha. Since we do not as of yet have a viable alternative, we will continue to use Banda Ancha-----better than nothing.

However, I still hope to be able to find someone who can get it to work with Windows7 as I am curious as to if that will improve things.

BTW---signal dropped 3 times while typing this---it is worse in the morning for some reason.

monoloco - 6-24-2010 at 08:34 AM

I have Banda ancha and it works a lot better than the T-Mobile 3G webstick that I purchased to use while in the states. This thing is slower than dial up and I'm on the phone with technical support every other day. It has a 30 day warranty so it's going back at the end of the month.

Riom - 6-24-2010 at 08:34 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by DianaT
If you have an alternative ---- use it if your area only has a 2G tower available unless you are longing for the good old days when you had a dial up connection.


I agree that unless you have a 3G tower, the Telcel internet is nearly unusable. Without a 3G tower it drops to GPRS speeds which are hopeless, and I wouldn't even consider using that (it's quicker to drive to an internet cafe).

Is your local tower 3G? Here to the north of San Felipe it's been 3G since last November, and I've been using Telcel Amigo (prepaid) Banda Ancha since then as my main internet connection.

90% of the time it's excellent. I have it connected 24/7 with auto-redial if the line drops, in recent months line drops are rare. I log how long it is between automatic redials, sometimes after 2 hours, but a recent connection was 96 hours uninterupted (and even then the reconnect is usually within 30 seconds).

I use Linux, so I've no idea if your problems are Windows related. You might want to look at whether a keep-alive program of some sort would help (for example, leave "ping 8.8.8.8" running in a terminal window) so that there is some network activity while you type. I haven't found a need for anything like that.

Rob

[Edited on 2010-6-24 by Riom]

DianaT - 6-24-2010 at 10:20 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by monoloco
I have Banda ancha and it works a lot better than the T-Mobile 3G webstick that I purchased to use while in the states. This thing is slower than dial up and I'm on the phone with technical support every other day. It has a 30 day warranty so it's going back at the end of the month.


When you use your Banda Ancha, does your network connection show as a 3G tower? If so, I imagine that is the difference.

RE: T-Mobile. My cell phone in the states is T-Mobile and it has the worst coverage of any I have seen---also since we are near the beach and the border, it drops calls all the time. I just keep it because I have a very old plan that is very cheap.

Quote:
Originally posted by Riom


Is your local tower 3G? Here to the north of San Felipe it's been 3G since last November, and I've been using Telcel Amigo (prepaid) Banda Ancha since then as my main internet connection.



Down here in Bahia Asuncion it is only 2G. The local Tel-Cel workers said they were sure it is 3G, but they don't have a clue. And the network settings show only the one tower and it is 2G. I hope that changes sometime in the hear future.

I have only tried it for a short time in an area where there was a 3G tower and it worked better. But I did not run it long enough to see if it disconnected like it does here.

Thanks for your help----now, how can I convince Carlos to upgrade our tower. :biggrin:

Diane

monoloco - 6-24-2010 at 02:04 PM

Our place in Pescadero is right below a cell phone tower so we get really good reception and it is 3G but we still get disconnected frequently, however the speed is quite a bit faster than what we get on T-mobile's network here in Oregon. Our biggest problem has been dealing with Telcel cutting off our service for stupid reason.

DianaT - 6-24-2010 at 04:18 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by monoloco
Our place in Pescadero is right below a cell phone tower so we get really good reception and it is 3G but we still get disconnected frequently, however the speed is quite a bit faster than what we get on T-mobile's network here in Oregon. Our biggest problem has been dealing with Telcel cutting off our service for stupid reason.


So 3G speeds it up, but it still disconnects often. Strange, that it seems to be the worst early in the morning.

I am still waiting to see when and if I get cut off. My two bandwidth meters are very different.

Thanks

Riom - 6-24-2010 at 06:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DianaT
So 3G speeds it up, but it still disconnects often. Strange, that it seems to be the worst early in the morning.


Depends what you call often. Checking my logs for the past 14 days, the modem disconnects about every two hours on half the days, and a couple of times a day on most of the other days (and one time it was up for four days and nights solid). As it autoredials and reconnects within 30 seconds I rarely notice. There's no pattern to the time of day.
Quote:
Originally posted by DianaT
I am still waiting to see when and if I get cut off. My two bandwidth meters are very different.


The only meter that counts is the one on your account page on the Telcel web site (which, luckily, often undercounts). It would be difficult to use 3GB of data in a month at 2G speeds (but you could burn through it in a few hours at the best 3G speeds). When it runs out, you don't get cut off, until the rest of your Telcel balance has been eaten with "by the kB" data (which doesn't take long as it is very expensive).

DavidE - 6-24-2010 at 07:17 PM

Wacky Banda Ancha. I purchased a l-o-n-g USB entension cord and then hung the usb cartridge near a window that could "see" the cell tower. Noticeably better performance which disagrees TOTALLY with the number of bars showing.

The nearest operative internet cafe to me is a seventy mile round-trip. Doesn't take long to chew through a pile or pesos paying for Magna.

Pescador - 6-24-2010 at 07:55 PM

Am I missing a negative that I do not know about with Hughes Net. I have used it for years in Mexico and have very good connection and service.

DianaT - 6-24-2010 at 08:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Pescador
Am I missing a negative that I do not know about with Hughes Net. I have used it for years in Mexico and have very good connection and service.


No, we considered that but it would be expensive for the equipment and the set up. And we would have to pay monthly.

With the Banda Ancha we have the pay as you go program. We buy a month at a time.

So, we will hope for a 3G tower, and/or in the future we will have a phone pole, someday---but that would also be a monthly charge and we are not here all year.

Neighbor has hughes when they are here, but they are not here very often.

Pescador - 6-25-2010 at 06:16 AM

One of the things that some of the people do at Punta Chivato is go together on a Hughes system and then broadcast the signal wireless. As long as you watch your usage this works very well. I may have an extra antenna that I am taking off of my house in Colorado (won't know until I see how much room I have) and you get the modem when you sign up, so just a thought.

DianaT - 6-25-2010 at 07:20 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Pescador
One of the things that some of the people do at Punta Chivato is go together on a Hughes system and then broadcast the signal wireless. As long as you watch your usage this works very well. I may have an extra antenna that I am taking off of my house in Colorado (won't know until I see how much room I have) and you get the modem when you sign up, so just a thought.


Thanks---our neighbor, of course, take their modem with them as they use it in a couple of other places. But even when they are here, I cannot use their signal unless I am on their front porch---but I know, the wireless could be beefed up.

Our other neighbors are far enough away that even when the local internet cafe had a repeater on one of their houses, I could barely get a signal at the back of my house.

We have, however, discussed some possibilities with those neighbors and will continue to do so. But they are here less than we are. We have such quiet neighbors. :lol:

But, we are always looking for ideas so will keep thinking about it and the way things are developing, we may have more neighbors sooner than later and that will mean more possibilities.

Thanks for the ideas.

Diana