Satellite internet?

[Lauri16]

I was just wondering if anyone knew about it?

I've been thinking about it. I have Satellite tv, and have never had a problem with losing the signal in heavy rain or heavy snow, and even with ice & hail it's never gone out on me.

I was wondering if it's worth the price? DirecWay charges 59.99/month.

Thanx!

[FormerDittoHead]

1. It doesn't compete with cable or DSL...

Typically, a user uploads a little and downloads a lot. Example: you submit a URL of 20 bytes in return you get a 200 KILObyte webpage.

(unless they have something new) Satellite internet requires users to upload via land line / modem (56k), and then downloads via the satellite (high speed).

Overall, it's not a bad idea, but the max throughput is a fraction of cable (and more expensive) and upload speed is non-existent compared to DSL, if either of those options are available.

Furthermore, at least when I last looked, download bandwidth WAS LIMITED. That is, make a practice of streaming CSpan TV, and you'll hit your monthly "limit"...

Bottom line: either DSL or Cable are better, but in the absence of any other broadband access, it may be the way to go..

[welshTerrier2]

2. the alternatives, if available, are usually cheaper ...

i'm a Direct TV subscriber ... but i use Verizon DSL for internet connectivity ...

Verizon DSL costs me $29.95 a month ... that's have the price of DirecWay ... and as the previous poster stated, it's much faster ...

i also checked out going with my local cable company but they gouge you if you're not also a cable or phone subscriber ... i think the price for cable subscribers was something like $41.99 a month but it was over $60 a month for those without cable service ... that's why i went with Verizon DSL ... they aren't quite as fast as cable but it's worked out great for me ...

[Lauri16]

3. Thanx!

I'd like to go with DSL, but it's not available here yet. I had RoadRunner for a couple of years, but it got to be lousy. I'd get booted for no reason at all, then it took forever for it to reconnect again. Alot of people in this area have that problem with RR (Time Warner in this area BLOWS for customer service). So I went to AT&T. My dialup now is actually more reliable than RR was.

I had never heard of anyone using satellite internet. I just figured it would be better than cable.

Thanx for the help! Guess i'll stick with regular dialup until AT&T brings DSL here.

[ConsAreLiars]

4. Check out Speakeasy

http://www.speakeasy.net/home/

They do not serve every area, but they can run over your phone line even if AT&T won't. Customer service is excellent.

Satellite is constrained by the fact that the total bandwidth allocated for for internet packets is finite and the satellite must broadcast everything requested by everybody back to everybody. By contrast, in wired and wi-fi connections, the traffic gets routed so that the nearest carriers only carry stuff that local users need. In a satellite the "nearest" carrier is the satellite, and the neighborhood is everyone with a dish pointed at it.