Does anyone know anything about Satellite Internet? My parents have finally got tired of Dial up and want something different. They can't get Cable, or anything else. The only option is Satellite Internet. There are two companies I have found that do it WildBlue and Direcway. Does anyone know anything about it? Or something better?

9/5/2006 11:59:15 PM

Satellite is a good options in areas where DSL or Cable aren't available and won't be for several years.
However, it is plagued with a ton of problems ... initial equipment fees, montly cost, not as good of service, difficulties in poor weather, etc. Still, it's worth the effort if you want something better than dial-up.

I looked up that Direcway website:

Quote :

"HughesNet speeds are based on download speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps for HughesNet ProPak service, 1 Mbps for HughesNet Pro service and 700 Kbps for HughesNet Home service"

Pricing is $80 for the ProPak, $70 for the Pro, and $60 for the Home. Oh, right, it also mentions a download threshold for each plan (400/300/175 MB respectively) before they begin throttling to 50 kbps.

9/6/2006 7:26:55 AM

startup costs are crazy with satellite internet. lag time will be great due to the distance to satellite and back. unless they've changed their equipment, the modem hooks to your computer via USB, so sharing a connection with a router is difficult (IE: no plug and play linksys routers...you'll have to build one out of a computer)

9/6/2006 8:37:41 AM

There's a couple types of this.

1) Sat download, modem uplink. (Downloads files fast but the requests are modem speed sent out and large lag time. You cannot play online games or expect to browse "super fast".

2) Bi directional satellite. Slightly better than 1. Still lag time as distance for information to travel takes time. It's a bit irritating when you're used to cable. My dad has this way out in chatham before dsl was avail (cable still isnt).

As far as your parents are concerned Sat Internet should be a huge step up from dialup. Most satellite companies also have tv package combos too assocaited with direct tv or dish network. Check them out for internet too.

9/6/2006 9:26:53 AM

If you go for satellite internet prepare to pay out the ass.

http://www.thedatabahn.com/

9/6/2006 9:29:05 AM

check out clearwire:

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=429349&page=1

i don't know where your parents are located, but mine are the in the same boat...rami has been awesome about driving out there to where they live and checking the availability...wimax has been too slow in coming, IMO

9/6/2006 10:31:41 AM

Direcway

9/6/2006 10:46:54 AM

my parents live out in the country as well and decided on the direcway... IT SUCKED SO FREAKIN BAD. seriously, dial-up had it beat. the customer service was terrible and did nothing to fix it. they finally got tired of it and went with a company called WildBlue I think... its about twice as fast as dial up but still nothing close to cable in my opinion. One thing i did notice is that satellite is awesome at downloading single files at once... then its hella fast. but webpages still take forever. in other words, stay away from direcway. that is all.

[Edited on September 6, 2006 at 12:07 PM. Reason : asdf]

9/6/2006 12:05:06 PM

WildBlue's satellite should be launched soon, so they're probably the new kid on the block. None of them will be cheap though.

9/7/2006 5:11:22 PM

Where do your parents live?

WildBlue is somewhat new and from what I've heard their service is probably the best. They are delaying any new installs coming up soon for a few months because they are launching a new satellite soon. They signed up people faster than they thought they would.

9/8/2006 7:29:13 AM

There zip code is 27231 I would really like to go with WildBlue but it says they aren't installing in our area due to high demand. Wildblue is offering Free Installation and you just have to pay the 300 dollars for the equipment. While the Direcway you have to pay out the ass to get. Anyone work there wanna help me out?

9/8/2006 11:02:24 AM