have you ever tried a satellite modem?

[capybara]

check this out, DirecTV DSL
http://www.directv.com/equipment/equ...42,544,00.html

[SecretNinja999]

I know we used to have a 'satellite' service here and it was very spotty and eventually the company went out of business. I'm not sure what newer technologies are like but back then you need to dial-up to upload and you get the download from the satellite. It was also often unavailable during thunderstorms and harsh weather because of interference.

[ChoaticWhisper]

I havent tried it because of mainly the price and heard they have a little trouble with the thunderstorms. Also ping time if very slow.

[Mike]

I heard some bad things about satellite, for example if there is a storm it will seriously hurt your connection speeds. It isn't that fast but faster than 56K (Go figure right? ) Another thing is the download speeds may be a bit faster but a lot of times the upload speeds are horrible and normally just about 56K's standard. Once you have all the wires running from the satellite it's there!
These are some of the things my cousin has told me, and he works at a satellite company that distributes satellite TV and satellite internet.

[skuz]

Being on top of a hill, completely uncovered, our satellite dish often loses signal due to wind.

Despite that, I still would use it for net access, but this technology also requires a phone access ISP. The two combined are too expensive.

[JimG]

I've heard some things about them. Some guys at work want to try them out. It's suppose to be faster than cable or landline DSL; but I'm not sure of the exact speed. Apparently the problem with weather is rain, because raindrops resonante at 20 GHz (according to one of the engineers). So if the satellite signal is at that frequency, it gets really screwed up and that's when you lose it. Just in case you wanted to know
Personally, unless you're in a situation where you can't get decent modem access and cable/dsl isn't available, I don't consider it a cost-effective solution.

[JacobM5727]

a friend of mine has it, i heard it was slower then dsl
like around 500k

she seems to like it alright

[sharder8]

Okay, I'll tell ya' all again!

I'm using DirecPc one-way as of yet (probably go to two-way when the income tax refund arrives).

Yes, my system is highly tweaked.

Dial-up connection speed -- 24000 sometimes 26400

According to DSL Reports speed test --

Upload -- constant 400 - 401
Download -- low 1367, high 1871

I had similar results at TOAST.net and CNet and I have had the manager of the local Satellite store witness the tests.

Harder

edit

I forgot to mention, works in rain unless it's a monsoon. No problem in snow unless it's a blizzard or (more often the case) need to sweep the snow off the dish. (I know, I know, I just haven't taken the time to spray the dish with PAM! )

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I'm using microwave (very similar except ground based so better pings) bi-directional. 650KBytes/sec down, bad up at 15Kbytes up.

(5mbit down, 128kbit up)

mine is reliable in all weathers, though satalite probably has a bit lower tolerance to bad weather.