Satellite Internet...How is it?

I am moving and the area I am going to be in doesn't allow for cabel modem which is what I currently use. We are thinking of getting Dish network b/c the home already has the dish installed on the home. I heard they offer internet but I am not sure how fast it is. Does anyone use a satellite provider for internet and how fast is it?

I use to use it...

I used DirecPC...it was $65 per month, $300 for the dish and $50 for the self insatlation kit (I think it was like an additional $175 if you don't install it yourself).

I can't live without highspeed access because I do web design and an enormous amount of downloading.


When cable finally came available...I switched back ($45 vs. $65)

However, my cable speed is only 150 Kbs per second...DirecPC was 400 KB per second and DirecPC "tunnels" your real IP and runs it through their corporate firewall (This is system is similar to what many banking institutions use)...so the security is unmatched.

Those prices are almost 2 yeas old and were for DirecPC only...look at the speed & security vs. the cost.

It's good just as long as you don't have trees around your house or it doesn't rain! When it rains hard, it doesn't work, just like TV.

I am glad you mentioned the trees. I also live near tons of trees so I will not think of that as an option. I have comcast and I am very happy with it. Much better then dialing up! I look back and think how did I survive.

Note that there is also a lag time when using satellites. I don't think it matters for home use though. I the business end, I heard that some type of FTP is used when receiving/sending other-than data because it seem to work best for data.