Satellite internet

Anyone use a satellite internet provider?

I'm soo tired of dial-up and spend a lot of time online.
I'm too far out for DSL, Cable is not available so for now and the next 5 or 10 years satellite seems like the only way to go until the powerline internet gets going

Right now Directway has a $100 rebate on their systems. It's $600 to buy the stuff and then $60 a month for service.

I pay $17.95/month for dail-up (teachers rate if you can imagine) as well as $24 for the extra phone line from ma' bell. So besides the cash outlay initially it is only $18 more a month.

I'm just not sure if it will be worth it.

soooo, any opinions?

Love Mine!

I've had Direcway about a year now and I LOVE IT!! I bought my system through a "Direct Market" promotion and two guys came from Warner Robins to install it. It costs about $60 a month for the service, but it's fast and reliable. It's only been down a couple of times in the past year due to weather conditions...both times less than an hour. Customer support has been very good, too.

I know how you fill,We just got dsl where I live in October of last year.

Loafy

Here is something I posted a couple of weeks ago when this came up in a different thread about dial-up:



One word of advice - DO NOT use DirecPC. Their customer service is HORRIBLE (on more than one occasion, I was telling the tech guy on the phone information about the system that he did not know!!!) and if you read the small print on their "fair use" policy, if you go over a certain allotted amount of bandwidth (like 120MB in one hour) they will knock your connection back to slower than dial-up for 24 hours!! I had them for three years because I thought there was no other choice and there were MANY times that my downloads were slowed because of transferring large files from work and it cost me several big cases.

Go Starband. It costs $59.99 a month. It is TWICE as fast as DirecPC on the up and download side, yet costs the same. And it truly is unlimilted downloading. I have been very pleased with the customer service and I can smoke on some downloads. It is not quite as fast as DSL, but WAY faster than dial-up and faster than DirecPC, but I am like you in that I have no other broadband choices. The only thing it is not good for is gaming, because there are latency issues (ping times are high because of the signal travelling to space and back). Ping times are usually about 650ms (just over half a second) which is great unless you are playing multi-player games online. I have mine connected to the home network and run three computers off of it at one time! Plus, it does not need a phone line!





I have had them for two years now and the difference between them and DirecPC is night and day. They also have options on their website where you can pay for the equipment over time. I would also check eBay (that is where I bought my system) because you can get the entire system for about $200 a lot of times. You don't have to have the latest modem to get it done. I have always used a model 360 modem and it does great. Feel free to contact me if you want more information. And no, I am not a paid spokesman for them. I just like to pass along the information when I get good service and a good deal. I also let people know about how horrible the customer service is at DirecPC.

http://www.starband.com

These guys are in Swainsboro and they are dealers if you want to contact them. I found them on Starband's website:

B and K Electronics
126 South Main Street
SWAINSBORO, GA 30401 USA
478-237-6900
scoobydoo@starband.net

Good Info guys....

Thanks Keith! I use dish network and would probably go with Starband given the option. I was just looking at the rebate on the Directway stuff.

Thanks for the warning about DirectPC. I was not reall impressed with anything I have been reading about them on the internet and hearing first hand is very helpful.

Do you happen to know what the first Modums that starband used were called. Was the 360 the first?

Thanks

Actually, I believe the first was a 180. The new ones are even faster, but way more expensive. I am actually thinking of upgrading mine very soon to get even faster speeds!

I would recommend you go to http://www.starbandusers.com and read the information there. There are a LOT of useful tips there. For networking, you have to set it up a little differently for all the computers to use the Starband modem, and I used the info at that site to set mine up. There are some cool utilities and whatnot to use, as well as forums and FAQs for newbies. There is a LOT of information there, even explaining the technology behind it. Those guys are not with Starband, either. They have some negative things to say, as well.

Holler at me if you need me. I'll be glad to help with any info I can.

10-4 I'll check it out.

Thanks

I set up a friend's Direcway system in Meriwether because he has no high-speed options besides satellite. He's plenty happy with it. Weather occasionally goofs it up, but not for long. I've used it, and was happy with the speed. Not as fast as DSL but way faster than dial-up. I also talked to their tech support (in India) and was OK with them on some things but I wouldn't give them an A+. -JerryC