INTERNET SERVICES

[ditzyfitzy]

I am coming to The Villages to rent during Nov and Dec. The owner does not have Internet service. I can use my laptop with dial up service...but, the closest dial up number is in Ocala. Is that long distance from TV?

The owner said she would consider GETTING high speed internet service if she could get free installation and then disconnect it w/o obligation to a contract. Is there anything that is reasonable there that I could look in to? Cable or DSL with the phone company?
Any telephone numbers that you could give to me would also be appreciated.

Thanks,
Lynn & Sweetie Pie

[villages07]

Ocala is probably long distance; there are some free wifi hot spots (Panera) that you could use. There is also a computer center at Savannah.... I think, as a guest, you would have access to this but I'm not sure.

There is also wifi at regional rec centers, but, it is somehow tied into Villages resident ID numbers...so, I'm not sure if you would access these as a guest. There's also signals floating through the air of residents who have unsecured wireless networks at home.

My guess is that 2 months of DSL or Comcast cable would be costly. There are a number of inconvenient but available alternatives.

[handieman]

HI ?? I assume your lynn and whatever your holding in the water is sweetie pie??

Your question feeds right into my idea of a stronger wireless hotspot. I wish someone of our computer persons had some knowledge to get something going. As for me, I, piggy backing someones signal in my neighborhood. At first I had difficulty receiving this weak signal but a trip to computer store provided me with an "ad on" antenna that works fine. This one ported right into my USP port and came with its own software Radio shack has a "cantenna" that is super good at long distance reception if you have a notebook with an external antenna input. Good luck
Handie :joke:

[kar guy]

ONE OF MY CONCERNS, AND I DO HAVE MANY, IS A GOOD HIGH SPEED INTERNET. IT SOUNDS LIKE I MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY FINDING ONE. IF YOU FIND A GOOD ONE LET ME KNOW. THE KAR GUY

[Hancle704]

:welcome:
Hi:
Since you did not mention name of your ISP it may just be that you haven't considered the free version of AOL temporarily. AOL has access numbers in Leesburg and they are local calls from The Villages.

[kar guy]

THANK YOU. WHEN I GET SITUATED I WILL LOOK THAT UP.

[ditzyfitzy]

Hi-
My ISP is my local cable company---when I looked on their website for dial up cities...they had a number for Ocala. I'll have to ask about Leesburg or TV. My thinking is that the answer will be NO. So, people who DO HAVE Internet service down there at TV--who do they use as an ISP?
I can deal with dial up for a month.....
I used to pay for AOL service...is it free now?
Lynn ???

[ditzyfitzy]

PS=
This is the number that they have listed for Ocala....can someone check to see if it is a local call from TV? Ocala Florida (352) 387-2220
Thanks,
Lynn

[villages07]

Just tried it...that number is long distance for me.

What's been discussed is temporary internet service for your 2 month stay.

For permanent residents, it's comcast cable ISP or DSL through Embarq (local phone company). You'll see lots of threads on this topic in TOTV.

[ditzyfitzy]

Thanks so much for trying!
I am going to call COMCAST and the other one that you mentioned tomorrow and see if they offer anything that doesn't require a contract.

That way--the owner can just put it in for 2 months--and then disconnect.
OR, maybe she will think about having it permanently --if it will bring her more renters.

I can't believe that I just switched all of my services to cable.....because it would save me money. I never thought about them not having dial up service available in TV. I used to be with Ameritech...and I bet that they had a local number for dial-up....

Thanks again,
Lynn

[ditzyfitzy]

Another favor---
I don't know Florida at all....could ANY of these cities be a local call from THE VILLAGES?
Thanks.


Lake City Florida (386) 487-1601
Stuart Florida (772) 320-2220
Fort Pierce Florida (772) 318-2220
Bradenton Florida (941) 238-2220
Brooksville Florida (352) 277-2220
Cocoa Beach Florida (321) 212-2220
Crystal River Florida (352) 417-2220
DeLand Florida (386) 469-2220
Gainesville Florida (352) 248-2220
Haines City Florida (863) 216-1601
Kissimmee Florida (321) 219-2220
Lakeland Florida (863) 937-2220
Melbourne Florida (321) 369-2220
Mount Dora Florida (352) 729-2220
New Port Richey Florida (727) 753-2220
New Symrna Florida (386) 416-2220
North Port Florida (941) 295-1601
Ocala Florida (352) 387-2220
Orlando Florida (407) 367-2220
Palataka Florida (386) 385-1601
Palm Coast Florida (386) 449-2220
Panama City Florida (850) 392-2050
Pensacola Florida (850) 472-2220
Port Charlotte Florida (941) 889-2220
Tallahassee Florida (850) 701-2220

[villages07]

I doubt it.... TV is area code 352 and our local exchanges seem to have pretty limited dialing range. My lawn guy is in summerfield (less than 10 miles north) and it is LD fo me. None of the towns mentioned is very close to TV.

Do you know the exchange of the phone number in the house you will be renting?

i.e. 352-259-xxxx or 352-430-xxxx different exchanges have different ranges.

Good luck... for me, I could never revert back to dialup. I would take my laptop somewhere where there was a signal.

[ditzyfitzy]

Dial up WILL be a pain....BUT, it will be a bigger pain to pick up and go someplace whenever I need to use the computer. I'll only be there for two months---can stand to use dial-up for that limited amount of time.
I don't have the number, yet--for the place that I'll be staying....
Thanks for answering! The owner told me that she put in "Internet Service" for someone once before and that it was about $100 for the two months. THAT is what I'm hoping for!
Lynn

[darbyduff]

My husband and I were just discussing this problem.

I need high speed internet which we have now through our telephone company (Quest). Approx 90.00 per month which includes long distance etc. When we move to TV we know with both of us going in sometimes separate directions (golf, clubs etc) we may need to bite the bullet and get 2 cell phones. (I know what your thinking...YOU DON'T HAVE A CELL PHONE YET???) Anyway, we can't afford to spend $65.00 per month for a cellphone and $90.00 per month for a land line with high speed internet. My husband just told me we can't have both at that price.... What's a person to do??????

[Avista]

Well, I can tell you what we do. For our land phone service, we use Vonage. We pay $15/month for 500 minutes per month of outgoing calls. For a little more, one can get unlimited minutes. Check at Vonage.com. As far a Cells go I use T-Mobile. I pay $36 including taxes for 300 minutes--weekends free. My husband uses a pay as you go cell phone. He pays about $25 every three months. My cell is the primary cell.

One can track the Vonage minutes. I've never gone over the 500 minutes, but if I felt I was going to, I would use my cell a little heavier. I never go over those 300 minutes either. Barb

[darbyduff]

Thanks Barb good to know...But what about high speed internet. I don't want to go back to dial-up.

[villager99]

ocala is a long distance call. in my early days of dialup i used aol out of wildwood or leesburg.
it was the only viable way for me to function as a snowbirder
i'm now settled in tv and use embarq dsl. for an old lifetime promo rate of 19.95/month

[villages07]

Darby... high speed internet options...comcast at about 45 / month or embarq dsl (have a promotion now that says fix cost for life at 25/month. Both have new customer promotions. Hi speed internet will not be a problem.

Cell phones...if you guys only want cell phones for emergency, where are you type of communication, then I would recommend a prepaid cell phone. We use Tracfone...for $100/yr with annual plan you get about 400 minutes (depending on what promotion they are running) and often have deals on phones too. Check their website www.tracfone.com. No monthly fees and I've had no problems getting signals here. For the casual cell phone user, it's the most economical way to go. Wait til you get here to buy one...since the phone activation needs to take place in the area in which you will be based.

[darbyduff]

Talked to Verizon today. Family members have Verizon. For 2 phones, 700 min per month (for 2) no roaming (we want the phone when we are on the road to TV) free weekends and evenings and our Verizon family members call free (no min) and with a Colorado phone number (even in TV) our other family and friends can call at no long distance charge to them....$69.00 and initial costs of $50 for 2 phones. We've never had a cell phone before but I think that sounds pretty good. (What do you all think??????)