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Christopher11

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 10, 2007
707
66
Hey guys. I'm gonna finally set up internet at my dad's house, he lives out in the sticks in Western Massachusetts. I think it likely has to be Spectrum, although I am open to other options. He had AT&T Universe, currently on pause but the infrastructure is there. My question is, is that coaxial cable? So I could connect the Spectrum modem / router and be good to go? I believe it is. Hoping to hear from you pros.
thoughts.
 
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Christopher11

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 10, 2007
707
66
Also, just discovered T Mobile 5G internet is available. They have wireless, 5G routers… i Unlimited data for 50 bucks. However, it’s not avail right now due to volume/ many people on it. You can sign up to switch over to it when available, and until then, $50 for 100GB / month, and 128kbps after that. Any experience with this? Thank you
 

WarmWinterHat

macrumors 68030
Feb 26, 2015
2,960
9,019
I had it for a while, until t-mobile/at&t (on the same tower) did something and my signal was cut by 2/3. It worked great up until that point. You get a NAT ip4 address, but a real ipv6 address.

I called them, talked to techs, talked to engineers, talked to the local engineer in person. No one had any explanation. After all that, it's not available in my area anymore.
 
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Christopher11

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 10, 2007
707
66
Very interesting! Sorry that happened. Is it true you just plug a unit into the wall and it comes in cellular? That would mean less infrastructure and less to go wrong right? Like cable issues.
 

velocityg4

macrumors 604
Dec 19, 2004
7,336
4,726
Georgia
AT&T Uverse is typically either an older system which uses the home telephone lines or has been updated with fiber into the home. Since most areas don't have dual cable providers. This is most likely the case. So, Spectrum would have to run a line to your house. If one isn't already present.

If AT&T is still using the old system. Sometimes referred to as fiber to curb. Spectrum is likely much better. If AT&T has switched to fiber optic into the house. AT&T will be better. You'll know right away what AT&T uses based on the speeds they advertise for your home address. When you search the website.

If prompted. Say you are a new customer not and existing customer. So, you don't have to go through a bunch of BS logins. You just want to see what they are offering. If they aren't offering Gigabit. Your areas hasn't been upgraded yet.

If you end up going with Spectrum. Buy your own modem and router. A little more expensive up front. But it'll be cheaper in the long run. Rather than renting their equipment. Plus you'll have more control over your network. You will want to only use modems on their authorized list for maximum compatibility. You can get whatever router you want. TP-Link Deco are pretty good.
 
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WarmWinterHat

macrumors 68030
Feb 26, 2015
2,960
9,019
Very interesting! Sorry that happened. Is it true you just plug a unit into the wall and it comes in cellular? That would mean less infrastructure and less to go wrong right? Like cable issues.

Yep, that's all you need to do. I had mine plugged into my own router so I could setup my network the way I wanted, but you don't have to..plus it was double (triple, I guess) NATed.
 
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Christopher11

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 10, 2007
707
66
AT&T Uverse is typically either an older system which uses the home telephone lines or has been updated with fiber into the home. Since most areas don't have dual cable providers. This is most likely the case. So, Spectrum would have to run a line to your house. If one isn't already present.

If AT&T is still using the old system. Sometimes referred to as fiber to curb. Spectrum is likely much better. If AT&T has switched to fiber optic into the house. AT&T will be better. You'll know right away what AT&T uses based on the speeds they advertise for your home address. When you search the website.

If prompted. Say you are a new customer not and existing customer. So, you don't have to go through a bunch of BS logins. You just want to see what they are offering. If they aren't offering Gigabit. Your areas hasn't been upgraded yet.

If you end up going with Spectrum. Buy your own modem and router. A little more expensive up front. But it'll be cheaper in the long run. Rather than renting their equipment. Plus you'll have more control over your network. You will want to only use modems on their authorized list for maximum compatibility. You can get whatever router you want. TP-Link Deco are pretty good.
Super useful, thank you. Unfortunately I called AT&T, and they felt they didn’t offer Internet in Hinsdale Massachusetts. That’s odd if they offered the universe. Is that possible?
 

velocityg4

macrumors 604
Dec 19, 2004
7,336
4,726
Georgia
Super useful, thank you. Unfortunately I called AT&T, and they felt they didn’t offer Internet in Hinsdale Massachusetts. That’s odd if they offered the universe. Is that possible?
Probably the streaming TV service of theirs. You’d need an Internet connection for it.
 

velocityg4

macrumors 604
Dec 19, 2004
7,336
4,726
Georgia
I don't understand what you're saying. Need an internet connection for what? Thank you.
UVerse has or had a streaming TV service. I was saying you could get a streaming live TV service through them in areas without their physical ISP service. To explain how UVerse would be available without Internet from them. You'd still need someone for internet to actually use the TV service. But the point is moot as that TV service has been rebranded DirecTV Stream. Which I didn't know.

Anyways, now that I know which town. Spectrum is your best choice for Hinsdale, MA. You mentioned T-Mobile has 100GB before throttling. It's really easy to hit that limit if you watch any videos online. OS upgrades can also use a large chunk of that.

From what I can find. Spectrum doesn't have a hard or soft data cap. Although they are likely to put 1 TB cap in the future. Probably like other providers. Where you get an overage charge or opt to regularly spend extra for truly unlimited.

There's Starlink. But I can't see why anyone would use a generally expensive satellite service when a cable internet service is an option.
 
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Christopher11

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 10, 2007
707
66
Thank you, yeah, it looks like it’s got to be Spectrum. Starlink would be 600 to start
 
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