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General discussion

does anyone have sattelitte internet?

Jul 19, 2005 9:09AM PDT

I am moving out to the country, There is no cable or high speed internet of any kind except for wireless. Does anyone have sattelite internet or wireless? If so what are the speed differences, They both work with something attached to the roof and all I know is that sattelite is way more expensive than the wireless. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks kt

Discussion is locked

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Do not use Satellite but...
Jul 20, 2005 7:47AM PDT

it's use depends on to where you are relocating. First determine if Satellite is available at the new location. My understanding tha DirecPC covers only the 48 contigious states in the U.S. I could be wrong. I am unfamiliar with satellite in other parts of the world. Reports I have seen are most are satisified with satellite except for the price. Always wanted to try it but price scares me off in addition to a setup fee.

Best of luck!

Glenn

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Any satellite user I know would tell you to go wireless
Jul 22, 2005 9:28PM PDT

Check out the wireless company. Talk to some people in the area who use it. How long have they been around? Are they in danger of chucking it all and pulling the plug? Do they have usage limits, and if so, is it an amount you can live with? Almost everyone who has satellite (including myself) would go to wireless if it was available. If they are delivering what they promise and have a record of good service, jump on it.

Satellite is wonderful if you have no other choice than dial-up. But the latency involved in sending info all that distance to the satellite and back, means internet gaming is practically impossible, voip is pretty bad, usage limits are strict and hard to live with. Weather related outages are a big factor also. IMHO, never choose satellite if there is any other choice. But, never stay with dial-up if you can afford satellite.

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Sattelitte internet in the country
Aug 4, 2005 7:31AM PDT

KT,
Have you made a decision about purchasing sattelitte internet? I'm in the same quandry and am just beginning to investigate. I have a dish for TV provided by DIRECTV. The service has been great except when there's heavy rain or snow. I'm trying to find out the quality of their sattelitte internet offering...DIRECTWAY. What do you know? kh

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Search Google
Aug 4, 2005 8:19AM PDT

Google shows lots of providers for "Satellite Internet"

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Sattelitte Interrnet
Aug 5, 2005 2:00AM PDT

Thanks. kh

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Satellite internet
Aug 19, 2005 9:54AM PDT

I've had DirecWay [from DirecTV] for a couple years now. The ONLY other option was dial-up - which I had. And being this far out in the sticks, the telephone service [connections] are [from what i'm told] old-hat. The best connection via dial-up was less than 24k. I live out in the boonies & i'm sure we'll never see cable or any type of DSL here. There is a wireless service not far from here, but I had a 'site survey' done & there's no chance of getting the signal.
The service is pretty reliable except in heavy rain or snow. Light to 'somewhat moderate' precip isn't usually a problem.
The service is EXPENSIVE as hell. And so was the installation. Unlike a TV dish, the FCC requires you to have the system installed by a certified installer [because your transmitting TO a satellite]. When I ordered the service, I had to fork over about $600 [equipment & installation]. They did offer a 'payment plan' [sort of] but they'd have to do a credit check & said i'd know if all was well 'in about 2 - 3 weeks' - so I forked over the cash [credit card] - they also charged interest on the payment plan so this was the least 'painful'. Was told that the installer would be here 'that Friday'. Friday came & late that afternoon, I got a call from the installer. He'd be here in 2 weeks & was told that the company has no idea what he's got scheduled. When he did show up, the install went fairly quickly & he did a very good job. Signal strength was 92 & the installer said that's the highest he'd ever seen.
Because the signal is sent in 'packets', gaming isn't recommended nor is VoIP.
Download speeds vary from the server your connected to. I've seen speeds of up to 3.2mbps but normally it's lower. The upload speed is pretty slow though. You'd think they'd improve that. Speed test show upload 'around' 60-80 [pitiful!].
Since mye install has been over 2 years, I got the DW4000 - 2 box - USB modem. For a time I had 2 computers & wanted an ethernet modem for wireless use. Was told that I could buy the DW6000 modem - for several hundred dollars, however DirecWay told me that they don't recommend using it for wireless & wouldn't support it [BS] & that, if I did, and the computers were on-line at the same time, i'd incur a '2 user charge' [only 1 person is supposed to logged in at any given time]. Have already shelled out too much $$ to get the new modem. Besides, I know someone who's got D-Way service with the DW6000 modem & it's operation is erratic & more prone to outages [as he says anyway]. He also claims that the installer left him with a signal strength of 30. I don't know what their policy is [if any - but there has to be a minimum. The installer did tell me 30, but I have heard different].
Also concur with this 'fair use' thing. Your only allowed to download 250megs. If you exceed that, the speed is automatically throttled down to [about] dial-up speed. You need to wait about 8 hours to 'regain' full speed.
Tech support isn't too bad. Only once did I have a problem connecting. After several hours, of being unable to connect, I called & was told that they 'thought' the satellite was down. [Though??] That has only happened once though.
Is it worth it? Considering the prices for cable/DSL, no way. Any other choice would be 100% better. Then again, if it's the only choice . . . make it wisely. If you can afford it, then do it. If it's questionable, then save your $$. Gas is pretty expensive these days.
Good luck!