Are you considering what type of internet service you should use and are curious about satellite internet? You have probably seen the commercials that state you can have satellite internet as long as you have a clear view of the southern sky? You have a clear view of the southern sky but you are still left wondering if satellite internet is all it’s advertised to be. I currently live in rural Kentucky and my only internet options are dial-up and satellite internet. After years of painfully slow dial-up, I made the switch to satellite internet which I have subscribed to now for almost two years. Read on to see if satellite internet is what you are looking for.

The Speed of Satellite Internet

Satellite internet is faster than dial up internet but not quite as fast as DSL or cable. Satellite internet uploads slower than it downloads, uploads 3 to 5 times as fast as dial up, and it downloads 10 to 30 times the speed of dial up. In my experience what these speeds have shown is that while satellite internet is noticeably faster than dial up internet. I can have multiple pages open with satellite internet and wait seconds instead of minutes for my pages to open. Although satellite internet is slower than DSL, it feels closer in speed to DSL than to dial up. If it is speed you need I would get satellite internet if your only other option is dial-up. In my rural area, my only options are dial-up or satellite internet but wireless is supposed to be coming soon, which is comparable if not faster than satellite internet.

Weather and Satellite Internet

The weather does affect your satellite internet. I say that but in my experience, the affect of weather on satellite internet in my area is not enough to switch back to dial up. Here in Kentucky, we have some rather wild weather but the severe stuff usually passes quickly. My satellite internet usually only goes down during severe weather and heavy rains. Light rain and scattered thunderstorms occasionally knock out my satellite internet for a few minutes but generally not more than one half hour or so. The majority of the time, my satellite internet is working fine.

It is impertinent to keep the internet connection strong and so location plays a huge role in this regardless of the fact that weather plays spoilsport most of the times but apart from Kentucky, Mount Carmel State Forest, Vermont is also worth trying out.

Satellite Internet Equipment  amp; Install

When I first considered satellite internet, I thought that since I had satellite television, the process would be easy, I was wrong. I only had to wait a about two weeks to get my satellite internet installation appointment but this was after waiting nine months for satellite internet to be available in my area. The gentleman that came out to do my install had never done an install and it was an almost painful experience. The install did get finished after 12 hours, I had a new pole concreted into my yard with a separate satellite internet dish, and a satellite internet receiver box hooded up to my computer. After the install, my satellite internet was working and ready to go and thankfully the installers long day was over.

Cost of Satellite Internet

My satellite internet cost $99 to install and $49 per month. My old dial up service was only $10 per month. My research has found that DSL generally cost from $15 to $50 per month and wireless internet tends to run about $25 to $60 per month. I pay a bit more for my internet but since dial up and satellite internet are my only options, the speed is well worth it.