Internet connectivity in rural areas has been dominated by dial-up for many years. Satellite Internet is becoming a common service upgrade in these areas however now that the demand for broadband has begun to rise, and of course the availability has increased. Satellite TV led the way to new Internet service for rural communities and providers are now focusing more attention to markets outside metropolitan areas.
Selecting a Satellite Internet Service can be confusing for a first-time user. Discussed below are the things to avoid in a service, as well as what to look for.
What to Avoid
Avoid a provider that doesn’t provide the required hardware if possible. Most offer third party hardware and will install it as well, and for a first-time user this can be important. Find out what hardware a potential provider uses and make sure they are authorized to sell it and install it. Installation will probably come with a fee, but service providers will sometimes work out a special deal that includes this cost.
Having tech support close to home can be a big advantage. If a provider doesn’t have a local office, then make sure they have contractors in the area that can respond quickly to a problem. Having to wait 2 weeks for a tech support agent to arrive might be a bit frustrating.
Traditionally satellite connections come in two flavors, one-way and two-way. By using proxy servers and an additional phone line it is possible to surf the Internet via a one-way connection, but it is slow and unnecessarily complicated. Almost every provider now offers two-way Satellite Internet connections, but it doesn’t hurt to make sure. One-way connectivity was a very early satellite Internet technology and has been almost completely replaced.
What to Look For
Many satellite services use more than one satellite in orbit. This is done to offer increased coverage as well as a higher level of redundancy to avoid outages. When choosing a provider ask how many satellites that have in use and how they are making sure the uptime of their users is maximized.
A provider that services its own hardware is important, but so is a service level agreement that offsets this cost to the provider. Look for a service contract that includes regular maintenance as well as equipment upgrades as technology changes. There will almost certainly be a cost associated with this, but make sure the provider is sharing this burden.
Internet connection speed is important with any service. Satellite Internet Service will not be as fast as cable or DSL in the foreseeable future, but it is a great alternative to dial-up. Latency is always an important issue when discussing satellite internet. Hardware optimization and compression will help mitigate the effects, but there is no way to completely avoid it. Ask a potential provider how they are dealing with the inherent latency issue.
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