How do you access the Internet other than dial-up if you live too far from a DSL provider and there is no cable anywhere near your home? Satellite Internet access (such as the one provided by HughesNet, StarBand, Pegasus Express, Teledesic and Tachyon) may be worth considering. It’s ideal for Internet users who live in rural areas and want broadband access.
Satellite Internet does not work through telephone lines or cable systems, but instead relies on a satellite dish for two-way (upload and download) data communications. Upload speed is about one-fourth of the download speed (starting at 700 kbps and up to 2Mbps), making satellite systems up to 500 times faster than a dial-up connection.
A typical satellite Internet setup consists of:
- Approximately a two-foot by three-foot dish
- A communications modem (for handling upstream and downstream traffic)
- Coaxial cables to connect the components
The only real requirement is a clear view to the equator, since the orbiting satellites are over that area. And, as in satellite TV, trees and heavy rain can cripple the Internet signals, and lowe performance a bit.
Satellite Internet uses Internet Protocol (IP) at the network level and multicasting technology as the underlying communications scheme, which means several thousands channels of communication can be simultaneously served by a single satellite. IP multicasting sends data from one point to many points (all at once) using a compressed data format. Compression reduces the size of the data chunks and the hence lowers the bandwidth required to transmit it.
How about pricing? Prices are comparable to those of DSL or Broadband solutions. As an example, HughesNet high speed internet access offers you a high speed broadband connection that is 25 times faster than dialup, several email accounts, free spam and virus filtering and 24/7 live technical support. Their new satellite line-up offer even higher performance. Prices start at $59 per month plus installation and equipment ($299), and there is a special promotion for $0 up-front (with slightly higer montly fees). So, if you are in a rural area and you want broadband access to the Internet, satellite Internet is the way to go!
1 user commented in " How does satellite Internet operate? When is it worth subscribing? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackSatellite internet is terrible. Working at home as a medical transcriptionist, the internet would go out so often that I couldn’t get my work done and when it did work, it was incredibly slow. It was torture trying to make a daily line count.
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