Is it possible to string 2 internet connections to 1?

[Twijn]

My current Internet connection is from AT&T. We have about a 6 Mbps down connection - if we're lucky. The connection will regularly drop down to 1 half of the expected connection, or even 1 sixth of the connection. This speed is fairly clearly not good enough for a family of 4, who may have about 10 devices connected at a single time.

The math is pretty simple. 6/10 is about .6 Mbps for each connection. This is simply not enough.

And this is the best we can have. The one most recommended to us for our area is Charter, 60 mbps. The issue is that the cable ends at our neighbors house - about 1000 feet away. The charter sales team claims it costs about $60 per foot, therefore $60,000 to our house for Internet. I do not think I have to explain on why this will not be getting paid for by us.

This leaves us with few options. Either, somehow convince Charter to extend their lines to our yard, which is very unlikely. Or, potentially we could string 2 connections together.

I know that satellite Internet is infamous for it's downtime and slow ping. But, would it be possible to combine this with my current connection? So that I could use the AT&T connection as a backup, but regularly use the satellite connection for transfer of larger files?

I have no idea if this is possible, but it may (or may not ) be way better with his instead of our current setup.

 

[greens]

It is essentially not possible. I mean it is possible, but it isn't used to speed things up like your looking for, more of a redundancy thing.

It is entirely possible to have two services in one home, and split your access between users.
That would essentially have the same effect.

4G LTE might be a better option, but the data metering is a killer.

 

[Herc08]

I do have one solution instead of paying for saellite and hardware. How is your cell phone connnection with AT&T or T-Mobile? Not saying to tether, but another option.

However, you can use one or the other, but it's not automatic like WiFi/Ethernet. Since they are both wired, you would have change out Ethernet cables.

 

[Twijn]

So it would not speed it up at all?

Our house struggles sometimes with phone service - does 4g lte use different things than the phone towers?

 

[Herc08]

It is essentially not possible. I mean it is possible, but it isn't used to speed things up like your looking for, more of a redundancy thing.

It is entirely possible to have two services in one home, and split your access between users.
That would essentially have the same effect.

4G LTE might be a better option, but the data metering is a killer.

This was my idea, but not in the sense that you are thinking. It's a company that offers TRULY unlimited, no capped data. I can confirm this because I was in the same boat. My neighbors had 45Mbps, and I was stuck with 8mbps satellite (not paying $500 for that). But for $150-250 (depending on the provider you choose), it is truly unlimited. I hooked up the hotspot to my router, and I was able to get 30mbps on all my devices. Not the best it was an option until I moved. The company is www.unlimitedville.com - trust me, they are legit. It's a bit expensive, but I am sure you can understand why. Something to look into.

 

[Herc08]

So it would not speed it up at all?

Our house struggles sometimes with phone service - does 4g lte use different things than the phone towers?

They use the towers, but it's on another stream, like how cable internet does. How many bars do you get? If you have a 4G LTE device, try to download the Speedtest app, or go to fast.com

 

[dark_lord69]

I've got a solution for you...
Walk over to your neighbor, let him know the bandwidth issues and explain the situation. Ask if he would mind your family using his wireless and offer to pay him a monthly amount for it.

Then all you gotta do is use your router to setup a wifi bridge to his connection.

If he says no...
http://lifehacker.com/5873407/how-to-crack-a-wi-fi-networks-wpa-password-with-reaver

What about the distance? If your neighbor is too far away for normal wifi signal that's ok, this can all still work but you'll need to setup a line-of-sight solution.
https://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/how-to-build-a-wifi-biquad-dish-antenna/

The bottom line is that I would get to be good friends with my neighbor.

 

[jsmithepa]

AT&T + Sat: Am not familiar how Sat does the upload these days. And I don't know what you mean by "back up" broad bands are 24x7, you have it, is paid and available. I've seen router with 2 WAN ports, but that's all I have, wish I can tell you "I used this box precisely and this is how it works..." but no 🙁 up to you to research further.

 

[jsmithepa]

If he says no...
http://lifehacker.com/5873407/how-to-crack-a-wi-fi-networks-wpa-password-with-reaver.

You are not seriously suggesting he taps into his neighbor's WIFI without permission.

 

[Solandri]

Linking two (or more) DSL lines together to improve speed is called bonding. DSL companies do it all the time for business customers. It's possible to do it yourself without the DSL company's help, but it requires a server in your house which splits up the traffic over your multiple DSL lines, and another server on the Internet (usually a VPS) which acts as the outlet for your bonded line. On the VPS you'll be paying for both incoming and outgoing bandwdith, so it can add up to a considerable extra expense. It's a lot easier to arrange for your DSL company to set it up for you. Unfortunately you'll pay out the nose for it since you'll be paying for multiple lines and business service.

The problem with satellite service is that it only provides the downlink. It's coupled with DSL for the uplink (uploads). This isn't a problem if you mostly download stuff. But if you do things like upload websites to a web server, send large email attachments for work, etc. you're still going to be stuck with DSL speeds. The older services used geosynchronous satellites (adds about 1/3 to 1/2 second latency), but some of the newer ones use satellites in lower orbits so latency is not as bad.

4G is great if you're close to a tower. But most of the services limit you to ridiculously small monthly caps like 20 GB/mo. The max I've see is 100 GB/mo, which I would chew through in about a week. Latency is not as high as with satellites, but the problem is it varies a lot. This can be nearly as bad for games as high latency.

Talking to your neighbor up the street and asking to share their cable Internet is the best approach. Technically it probably violates Charter's terms of service, but you could always offer to upgrade them to a business cable Internet service if you want a clear conscience. Just buy a couple Ubiquiti Nanostation Ms, and set up a wireless link from their house to yours. (And most of the cost of extending the line is in the fees the company has to pay the city and county for permits to install the line, not the physical cable and labor. We went through a similar think at my workplace and they quoted us $18k to extend their cable across the street - $4k for the cable and installation, $14k for permits. Though to be fair, I imagine a lot of that permit fee is for lawyers to prepare the paperwork and file it, not what the government actually charges as a filing fee.)

If your neighbors all hate you and refuse to help, you can try checking to see if there's a McDonalds or Starbucks within line of sight of your roof. If there is, you can mount a directional antenna on your roof and use it to tap into their free WiFi.

 

[bill001g]

What would likely be perfectly fine with charter would be if you paid for a second account terminated at your neighbors house. You could then use wireless point to point to extend the signal to your house. You could offer to pay for both your connection and the neighbors connection as the price to rent space in his house to mount your modem and wireless radios. He would get free internet and you would in effect get internet for only 2 times the cost rather than pay for mobile broadband. The wireless bridge systems from ubiquiti or engenius are under $150.