As I have written, I canceled my satellite internet service that I had with Xplornet.  It was OK in the second half of August, the delays were tolerable if not irritating.  It was a bit slow, again due to latency for some of the stuff that I was doing for work, but I could have lived with it.  What I couldn’t live with is apparently it does not work when it is cloudy, never mind a storm.  I am surprised that the technology is that bad, but apparently, it is.  They offered to send a tech out to figure out if there was anything that could be done, but since it works well (as well as can be expected, I suppose) when the skies are clear and then doesn’t work when it is cloudy, well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what’s up.

So, I canceled and they will, at some point, refund my first-month service which was a no-risk trial.  I will lose the $100 I paid the installer, it was for milage (Lethbridge to my place and back) but I can handle that.

I am using Rogers Hub for my internet.  It is fast, I can do everything I need to do without issues.  The only real issue is that it’s expensive.  My current bill is $189.  This months bill, based on the usage will be considerably higher.  I am hopeful that I will be able to use Tough Country Communications, a local internet provider from Pincher Creek.  They offer unlimited data which is what I need.  The speed won’t be quite as fast as LTE, but at least I can stream to my heart’s content and not worry about huge bills.

If that falls through, there is another option that I may take a look at.  AT&T in the US recently is allowing unlimited data for their users even if they are based in Canada.  So, I may buy a phone in the US and get an unlimited plan and try that out.  I’d have to pay upfront for the phone but it might work.  I need to look into how much plans are of course, but I am sure it will be less expensive than what I am paying here.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s not the end of the world regardless.  I am paying far less here than I was in Calgary for almost everything.  Rent, car insurance, heating the house, I am saving money since I switched the dogs to Kirkland brand dog food (from Costco), so even with an internet bill 2 to 3 times what I was paying, I will survive.

That doesn’t mean I won’t complain.  🙂