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!