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Broadband beyond the wire

I'd quite like to get broadband at the workshop but the workshop is a fair way from the nearest cabinet and the cost of getting a phone line installed would be pretty astronomical.

So let's cross ADSL off the list of practical options.

What does that leave?

Well I could get one of those USB-type cellular modems, and in fact I did use one a few years back with great success so there's no problem with coverage or the technology.

However, the cost -- well that's a whole different (and expensive) story.

You're looking at big-money for cellular data and I figure that, even with conservative use, I'd be having to stump up $200 a month or more -- which is a ridiculous amount of cash.

So I took a look at the other options...

Well the other "option" actually.

Vodafone have a "rural broadband" offering which looks pretty reasonable.

For $110 a month I'd get 15GB (a figure I could live with) plus a virtual phone line for voice calls.

Woohoo... that sounds pretty damned good actually.

Until you look at the fine print.

Now my workshop is made from steel and corrugated iron so I'd need to either spend $600 plus a 24-month contract commitment or $850 (on a month-to-month contract) for installation.

What the?

That's a lot of dosh!

That's a "first-year" operating cost of nearly $2,200 (assuming I don't commit to a 24-month contract) and all I can say is "OMG! I only want to access the internet - not buy the entire global network" :-)

Looking a little more closely it seems to become apparent that there must be a massive margin in cellular data.

On the "rural broadband" plan, the difference between a 5GB plan and a 15GB one is a paltry $10 a month -- that's $1 GB.

However, if you buy one of those "vodem" USB cellular modems you will pay an astonishing $20/GB.

Excuse me? Why the massively more expensive rate for "mobile" versus "rural"?

I did check out Telecom but their offerings are just as crap and they don't even seem to offer an equivalent to the Vodafone wireless "rural broadband" service.

So I was thinking of a DIY solution but unfortunately the house where I'm living has no direct line-of-sight to the workshop (there's a lot of "hill" in the way) so I can't even set up a point-to-point WiFi link.

Ah well, unless Telecom/Vodafone want to talk to me about some kind of contra deal -- broadband is not going to be a feature of the workshop.

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