Satellite internet access

[Houston Gambler]

Being a Dallas native the traffic got to me years ago.Now live out in the country but it has its drawbacks to.No high speed internet access due to no cable.Have had satellite TV for years so plopped down the money when satellite internet access became availiable.

Monday evening,lots of plays to get in due to Christmas shopping.Running behind but don't take as long now with the faster access.5:45,what the hell is that noise?Heavy rain-storm blowing thru,oh shit, lost the satellite signal.

Got everthing in but that was close.

Just then it hit me,no wires.

No more violating bullshit US wire act laws.Take that polititions.

 

[Skinar]

I've been thinking about a satellite system for quite some time now. Do you have a two-way system? Do you like it? Does it really work at the speeds they advertise (like 400kb downloads). Any other quirks that come up, and what about that latency issue with the signal having to travel around 60,000 miles round trip?

I've really got to do something in the next couple of months because I just can't live with dial-up any longer and DSL won't be available for another year or so. No cable modem either. Living in the boondocks has it's disadvantages when it comes to technology.

Thanks

 

[Redfish]

I had the 1-way dish for years and was very happy with the download speeds. I recently changed to a 2-way dish to eliminate the task of logging on everytime I wanted internet access....now, everytime I turn on the computer I'm automatically logged on. The upload speed is about as fast a regular dialup but the download speed is as advertised and in most cases a lot faster. I spent a lot of time visiting various test speed sites to check it. It seems your download speed is based on how much activity is going on at the site your wishing to connect to...I've had a couple of instances whereas I attempted to get on MJ's right before the start of a big game and could not connect..took several attempts.

The biggest concern of course is the weather....and I just can't get a grip on it. I've used my dish during drowning rain storms with lightening and no problem. At other times I've had a 1/2 hr drizzle shut me down...go figure. What's really intrigueing is I also recieve my tv on a seperate dish, you would think if the signal is lost on one dish then both would be gone but thats not the case...one would go down and the other would stay up.

GL

 

[ozball]

I'm going very rural in a few months time and am sad about losing my high speed,always on, internet.

What is the relative cost of these satellite internet systems, and does anyone know if they are available in Canada?

cheers

ozball

 

[Redfish]

this site should answer everything

direcway.com

 

[Stuman]

Skinar,
I called Direcway a few months back to ask them specifically about the latency. I was considering using it connect to the office and to use terminal services, which needs a pretty low latency to be tolerable. They advised the latency might be a bit more than a standard wired connection, so I decided against it. I would think that online gaming, where ping is a major factor, would also be a bit slower. But, for basic web surfing, email, and other download intensive stuff, Direcway should be great.

If DSL is available, I would MUCH prefer it though.

 

[ozball]

Thanks redfish, I now have a starting point. Wonder if any of the canadians out there have any experience with this type of internet?

ozball

 

[freelancc]

the Direcway with DirecTV is an ecomonical solution...

 

[lakerfan]

I am glad you are all enjoying the service. I too choose to live off the beaten path, but using the DirecPC service in the past was hell for me.

I might have to try a service again, given how well it is working for you. My biggest issue right now is I can't connect multiple computers to the Interent with ease(I need a broadband connection). Thanks