Hi. Advice needed, please (Note: city dwellers: feel free to skip this post - it’s sorta specific to rural folks ).
I live in a rural part of the USA, where internet connectivity is pretty bad. Until recently, I could only access the internet by borrowing a T-Mobile 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi hotspot from our local library, but with a maximum (if I’m lucky) download speed of 2.5 Mbps, 500ms+ latency & that connects/disconnects like a yo-yo, buying FS2020 is just not an option - it would be impossible to download the ~170GB initial install, and does not meet the minimum MS-suggested speed for streaming, assuming I even somehow ever got FS2020 installed in the first place.
Neighbors have tried satellite systems (Hughes) for work with terrible results. Fiber, cable & DSL do not exist here.
Now, a service provider called Digital Path is offering plans that include a “Gen8 Rural service”: 50 Mbps Download, 10 Mbps Upload, 500GB/month for $70/month, that I’m guessing uses either a 5G (or 5G extended):
- Single Horn 5 GHZ 90 degree Horn (9dBi), or a
- Hex Horn 5 GHZ (6) 50 Degree Horn(13 dBi)
affixed to your home.
I’m not sure if they could actually deliver a 50 Mbps download speed (I have yet to contact them) - as the closest cell tower is 8,695m (5.40 miles) away, but the direct line-of-sight is awfully close to the ground at points - buildings, trees & terrain could prevent a decent signal. The next closest tower is much higher - with direct line-of-sight, but is 23,146m (14.38 miles) away, which I believe is just too far for a 5G signal.
Now, I’ve been flying MS Flight Simulator since the early 1990’s, was a beta tester on a number of versions, and have only not bought this version because of its dependency on a fast internet connection. I love what see on the various websites dedicated to the game (bugs & issues not withstanding. As a former beta tester, I’m used to that).
My current PC is quite capable of running the game, though I’m willing to shell out
~$400 for a new GPU to boost FPS,
~$100 for a new SSD to exclusively host a new Win11 install on one partition, & FS2020 on another, so keeping FS2020 totally separate from all my other stuff on the PC (i.e. dual-booting)
~$120 for FS2020 Premium Deluxe
~$50 for a wireless router
But before I shell out around $1,000 per year for internet access, I’d like to hear from those of you in rural America.
What is your experience with your service provider? What is your bandwidth, latency, distance to cell-tower, the actual cell-service provider (Digital Path uses T-Mobile here, I think) - if you know all that data - & where did they install the equipment (on the roof, on a pole outside, etc.).
Any issues that I need to know about? If outside, how did they get power to the equipment? What power to device was required (voltage/amps). Is it permanently on ( i.e. a vampire device), or do you have the ability to switch the device off/on as needed - e.g. if you are going away on vacation & so won’t be using the internet at your home while away.
Much as I’d love to fly again with FS2020, $1,000 / year is a pretty steep price to pay for a hobby, and before I contact Digital Path, who no doubt will promise the earth, moon & stars to sign me up, I’d like to hear from those of you who have real-life experience running FS2020 in the backwaters of rural America!
Thanks,
Jon.