Satelite internet

[Mr2Spyder2828]

I live far away from town and I need a faster connection. I think that my only option is satelite internet. I am not sure though. I have heard of something like a dsl modem that can connect through your power lines but I called my power company and they dont have that option. What have you guys heard. Where can I get a cheap satelite connection? I have looked at DirectWay and you have to buy the satelite for 600 bucks and then pay 59$ a month.

[Plastic_Fork]

I wouldn't waste money on a satellite connection. They're unreliable and costly - that's why people go with DSL or cable internet. Your internet will work fine... and then it'll get cloudy, or rain, or anything else that makes satellite internet unreliable.

DSL utilizes your telephone lines, not your power lines. I've never heard that one before.

If your going to look into a faster connection, see if DSL is offered by your local providers or a cable internet service is offered by your local cable provider. If that fails, see if your dialup provider offers ISDN service.

Beyond that, just stick with dialup, and don't fall for that 5x faster BS that's been floating around dialup internet services lately. It's simply a caching and proxy server piping program that degrades the quality of your web objects in order to fool you into thinking it's going faster than it really is. Your upload and download speeds won't be affected and you can't push your dialup modem to download faster than the 54000bps limit, which is what it is physically designed for and is regulated by the FCC.

[Cl0ak]

Plastic Fork's 100% correct, I have satellite t.v. and they offered me the internet but I said no after realizing that everytime a cloud passes over my t.v. goes out. Any kind of high winds or rain will take your satellite out for hours at a time. I have a friend that moved up near a ski resort and they had to pay for the dsl line to be run up to their house since it wasn't avalible when they had the house built..

[Mr2Spyder2828]

Originally Posted by Cl0ak

Plastic Fork's 100% correct, I have satellite t.v. and they offered me the internet but I said no after realizing that everytime a cloud passes over my t.v. goes out. Any kind of high winds or rain will take your satellite out for hours at a time. I have a friend that moved up near a ski resort and they had to pay for the dsl line to be run up to their house since it wasn't avalible when they had the house built..

I understand that DSL is alot better but unfortunately I do not have the choice to get DSL or cabel modems. I live far enough out of town to not get DSL. I think that my only option will be to get satelite internet. I have satelite tv and even during cloudy days and snow I still recieve great signal. Would I be able to get the DSL line ran out to my house? How much would that cost to get that ran out to my house? I live in a small neighborhood in the mountains and know I cant get DSL but I dont know about geting a line ran out there?
Thanks for the feedback on this!

[Plastic_Fork]

You'll have to contact your local phone company to have them price running the line to your house and knowing the phone companies, it will probably not be cheap if they'll even do it at all. Even then, if your location is too far away from the nearest switch, you may not be able to get DSL.

Cable internet is not a bad alternative though. Cable and DSL are comparable to each other for the most part, and connection speeds are determined mostly on how many people in your area have the cable internet service and what the provider regulates your speeds to be. You may have a better chance at getting cable internet.

Otherwise, as I said, I would see if your dialup provider offers ISDN service. If not, then I would stick with dialup - I really don't think satellite is worth the money but if you want to give it a try, then give it a shot. Just like any internet service out there - some work better for some people than others.

[boingo82]

I would say don't bother with satellite. W/ satellite internet, download is thru the sat but upload is thru phone lines...so you still tie up your phone lines and have to pay for that time, and upload is as slow as dialup.

My parents live out of town like you do, currently they're using satellite and it's quite slow. Faster than dial-up but NOWHERE NEAR worth the $$$.

Sorry to hear you can't get cable out where you are. That's what I have and it's hella fast (faster than T1 at work) and only $30 or $40 a month I think.

[eversio11]

Listen to everyone in this thread, satellite internet is such bullshit. Its way too highly priced, the upload is still through the phone lines, and highly unreliable.

The thing is, I have satellite TV and it works great. In the 4 years I've had it, its probably gone out 3 times, and that was during storm or tornado watches. Unless you live in the back country of Wyoming, I'd just wait until cable or DSL is availiable. I know its hard, I had to wait 3 years until Comcast FINALLY came to the fastest growing city in the nation (Naperville, IL). Stick in there and don't waste your money.

[sameintheend01]

aol used to offer satellite for $40/month no installation charge.

[tman]

I heard something too about internet through the power lines. You plugged a modem into you wall outlet and then an ethernet or usb cable to it and your comp. Not sure of any specifics, or even if its more than a rumor.

[Plastic_Fork]

As far as I know, that's not possible at the moment. How would data travel through the power grid? You'd fry your computer doing that if you ask me.
Maybe something's in development that I'm unaware of, but for now based on my knowledge of modems and networks it's probably a rumor.

[Psman32@af]

The power grid internet thing is not a myth or rumor. trust me. It is in its early expiermental stages at the moment with only one company offering itto a very slect few people. I think it is on the east coast, but I could be mistaken. Just stay with dial up, satialite wouldnt be worth it. try to see if you can get somethign else. Also, i wouldnt belive the thing about satlites not being reliable in bad whether. I think that is a marketing ploy against satalite TV, and radio. I have sirius, and it is very very rare it cuts out, even when i go under bridges. you just need to make sure that another structure isnt blocking the angle. a tree may also do it. Ive had satalite radio for about a year now, and i have loved every month of it.

[Plastic_Fork]

Didn't know there were new developments in internet technologies regarding the power grid. News to me, but I stand corrected.

As for the rest, satellite internet is different from cellphones and TV. They have a network of dish relays and cell towers to compensate for loss in signal or obstructions. Satellite internet isn't quite as redundant nor does it have a setup as good as TV or cell-signals due to the low number of end-users with the service. Most satellite internet is tailored to commercial or corporate use so their signals and architecture are set up more reliably.

Plus radio signals and cable signals are not the same as digital data signals. For instance, you can pick up partial radio signals on your FM/AM radio and kinda hear it with some static. Try getting reliable data or any data for that matter with interference or packetloss. Satellite TV companies also have dish arrays for good reception - you won't find dish arrays to maintain decent signal reception for satellite internet for end-users. Hell, my apartment complex has a four-dish array just for cable TV reception via satellite. Your satellite radio also has orbital satellites relaying radio signals. Satellite internet with orbital satellites is pretty much reserved for CNN and the Pentagon (etc.). Usually it's just a single dish beaming satellite internet to another dish. Any disruption in the signal means crappy times for those with the service.

I guess it depends on who your provider is and how their infrastructure is set up, but in most cases the service is unreliable for end-users. Why do you think there's 8 bizillion miles of data cabling supporting the network infrastructure of our country versus everyone just beaming satellite internet to each other?

[tman]

I read in the wall street journal not too long ago about power line internet, so it's definatly in the works.

[Neutrino]

guys lets not got that far as trashing satelite intenet. have you actually tried it? No? So lets keep a bit of perspective here. True from a technical stand point it should be slower and with much higher latency than a dsl or cable but IMO its bandwith should be much higher than dialup.

and lets not forget that DSL is not that peachy either. If you're not lucky enough to have an optical cable by your house you have to rely on copper all the way to the server or a faraway optical main. And the bandwith via copper drops faster than hugh hefner's pants.

And don't post false information. there are services of satelite internet that don't require uploads via phone line. Here is the proof:
http://directv.direcway.com/

and internet via power lines is very real too. a similar aplication has been in stores for a while now. just go to compusa and look for switches designed to make a lan in your house via electrical sockets.

the biggest problem with the internet service via powerlines are the powerstations with swiches and transformers etc. they had to figure out a way to bypass that.

[Psman32@af]

I cant wait to see waht internet throught the power lines is like and how it compares to other forms of high speed internet. i tried it a while ago, and it wasnt that great. when, i dont reember though. ive never had it as my true service, but from my expierence with other satalite services, clouds and bad weather wont affect it that much. and satalite radio is a digital signal. if it wasnt, trust me i wouldnt have it. much cleaner than am/fm is with more choices. its so nice to drive 6 hours and not touch the radio.