| Living in rural areas you may have had to suffer | | | | of time. HughesNet uses a daily FAP policy, where |
| through long waits to connect to your dial-up service | | | | WildBlue uses a rolling 30-day period of its FAP usage |
| only to have your connection drop? Have you had to | | | | levels. No matter which way FAP is delivered, it is |
| add another phone line to your home because you | | | | important to note that only 4% off all users get |
| have a dial-up Internet provider - or - do you just let | | | | "FAPPED." If you are over your allotted limit you are |
| your phone line go unavailable while you are using the | | | | simply reduced to dial-up like speeds until you gain |
| Internet? If you have answered yes to any of these | | | | more threshold in your account. |
| questions - satellite Internet may be the solution for | | | | Satellite Internet can also be a solution for small rural |
| you. Are you in a rural area in the United States, | | | | businesses as well, however, it is important to note |
| where cable or DSL Internet services are not | | | | that the service performance is not recommended |
| available? | | | | for more than two computers. Other limitations on |
| Satellite Internet is growing by leaps and bounds over | | | | the service would include, Voice Over Internet |
| the past several years. Rural Internet customers are | | | | Protocol over VOIP. Examples of VOIP would be |
| quickly realizing that they are not cornered by the | | | | Vonage phone service. Also, the service is not |
| "trailing edge" technology the dial-up ISP's offer. | | | | recommended for Virtual Private Networks (VPN) |
| There is a better way to access the Internet and | | | | access, because of the latency in the transmitting |
| satellite is it. | | | | signal from the modem to the satellite and back |
| Satellite Internet provides customers with an always | | | | down, VPN connections, which require constant |
| on, lightning fast connection without dial-up delays, | | | | authentication simply drop and require authentication |
| disconnections or the use of your phone line. Surf the | | | | over and over. |
| Internet up to 30-times faster, download with ease, | | | | The cost of Satellite Internet depends on the speed |
| read emails, send pictures, or just browse to your | | | | that you require. No matter what your needs are, |
| hearts content. | | | | however, the prices will be competitive with most |
| Satellite Internet is available within the 48 continental | | | | cable and DSL providers. Like many traditional ISP's |
| United States. You will need a clear view of the | | | | the satellite providers will provide many of the same |
| southern sky and a small dish, either mounted to | | | | extras such as; web-based email options with |
| your home or attached to a pole in your yard. As | | | | anywhere from 5-10 addresses. Web space usually |
| demand for this faster Internet service rises more | | | | between 10-20 MB. Virus protection software, |
| and more great promotional deals pop up. Shop | | | | alternate remote access dialup service, should you |
| around and you will be able to save on equipment, | | | | need to access the Internet away from your base |
| installation and monthly service rates. The service is | | | | setup, the ability to maintain existing AOL accounts if |
| simple to use and setup. The satellite Internet | | | | you prefer and equipment warranties. |
| modem simply plugs into a wall outlet and to the | | | | Satellite Internet providers have enormous customer |
| Ethernet port on the back of your computer. There | | | | satisfaction ratings with independent polls showing |
| is no dialing into an ISP as the service is always on | | | | 94% of satellite internet customers saying they |
| and available 24/7. | | | | would recommend the service to their friends and |
| There are a few satellite ISP's out there, but | | | | family members. Among the areas where satellite |
| WildBlue and HughesNet are clearly the leaders in the | | | | service scored highest, reliability of service, speed, |
| industry. The main difference between the two is | | | | price to quality of service ratio, tech support and |
| how they deliver service to customers. HughesNet | | | | customer service. |
| uses KU bands, or frequency to transmit, where | | | | For PC users the requirements include: 300+ MHz |
| WildBlue uses KA band. The main difference is that | | | | processor, 128 MB RAM, Windows ME, 2000 or XP |
| KA is much less crowded than KU band. KU delivery | | | | operating systems, 100 MB of free hard drive space |
| uses one large beam covering the country while KA | | | | and an Ethernet NIC card. For Mac users: 300+ MHz |
| used by WildBlue uses individual spot beams to cover | | | | processor, 128 MB RAM, OS10.2+ operating system, |
| the same area. The spot beams allow WildBlue to | | | | 100 MB of free hard drive space and an Ethernet NIC |
| reuse frequencies in other beams in order to | | | | card. |
| maximize bandwidth for its satellites. | | | | As you can see, there is very little reason to put up |
| Because satellite Internet has a limited amount of | | | | with the frustrations of a slow dialup service - if you |
| bandwidth, they use a Fair Access Policy to regulate | | | | are ready to go fast, drop that extra or unused |
| the use of the service. Basically, in order to assure | | | | phone line and get things done WildBlue can have you |
| that each customer has the same quality of service a | | | | up, soaring and remembering all of the things you |
| limit is placed on the amount of uploading and | | | | used to love about the Internet. |
| downloading a customer can perform in a set period | | | | |