Internet Services can be a huge consideration when buying a home no matter where you’re looking to purchase. When you’re shopping online for real estate, determining what internet speed is available is nearly impossible. When working from home is crucial, homeschooling is common, and simply wanting to watch a movie to relax is important, knowing what internet is available is vital.
Several companies have reached out to us wanting us to add their maps of internet coverage to our website. After we dug into them, we realized they had major flaws in being able to provide what properties have what type of internet. Because of that, we didn’t use them and decided to post this to give you insight as to what to expect.
Here are the types available here in Murphy NC:
- Fiber Optic Internet – Provided by Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corp., this is the fastest option with no data caps. The base package is around $40 per month and download speeds tend to be 15-40 Mbps. Other packages are available. Finding homes with Fiber Optic is a gem – they are not common because our area is spread out and the cost of building the infrastructure is high. Thanks to a federal grant many years ago, the system was built out and is much larger than it once was. If you find a home with fiber optic, this is a huge plus.
- SkyTek Internet (now River Street) – this is a local company that offers point-to-point internet and is largely found in homes that are higher up in elevation with views or unobstructed views to their repeaters. It works through Blue Ridge’s Fiber Internet Service and covers folks who don’t have fiber directly available at their home. It also has no data caps and plans start around $40 per month as well but are slower speeds than fiber. They do have higher-level packages that come close to the speeds of fiber and can be around $70 per month. This is what I personally have at my home and have been very satisfied with their service. The customer service is great, the owners are very good, hard-working folks, and I love that we support a local business in the process. They can do a site visit to any property and tell you whether service is available.
- Cable Internet – Provided by Murphy Cable, they offer TV services and internet with no data caps. They have excellent speeds in our experience and do a good job. Their region is largely confined to being close to town so properties that are far out are unlikely to have this option available. They’re cost-effective and speeds are quite fast. Their speeds can vary widely based on distance from their stations so you are best to contact them IF cable TV is available at the property to see what you can expect from their services.
- DSL – Provided by Frontier Communications and/or AT&T depending on where you are in Cherokee County, DSL generally offers 3 MBPS download and up to 512 KBPS upload speed with no data caps. It can stream YouTube and other services but does tend to buffer especially in times of high usage. It is important to note they are out of ports in many parts of the county so if you buy a property that has active DSL services you want to continue that same service, be sure to have the seller set up for a transfer of the port rather than canceling service. If you don’t, you may find there isn’t a port available.
- Satellite Internet – this is usually available in areas where none of the above options are. The two main companies we see folks use are Hughesnet and Viasat. We’ve heard the best feedback on Viasat from our clients. Most of their packages have caps on data usage and different plans are available based on your needs. Check out their website by clicking the name for more details.
Have a specific property in mind and need to know what it has available? Do you require a certain type of internet? Give us a call at 1-866-687-7496 and we can help you find out what there is so you can find the perfect home! Search all available properties online here!
Please note all information provided herein is based on personal experience, speed tests, customer feedback, and more. All info is subject to change, package pricing changes, location differences, and more. If the Internet is very important to you, we highly recommend you independently verify it will suit your needs prior to purchasing a home.