Does anyone have experience with satellite internet?

[Gman]

Satellite Internet is where you go when you don't have other options.

[GilpinGuy]

Satellite Internet is where you go when you don't have other options.

This is spot on. We have no other option. We had HughesNet for a few years and it REALLY sucked. We switched to Exede (aka Wildblue) and it's much better. Not anything like cable, but still a lot better than Hughes.

A line-of-sight service would be great if you can it.

[Aloha_Shooter]

I used DirecPC many years ago. Excellent download speeds but upload was basically dialup speeds and of course the latency was acceptable for surfing the web or chatting on bulletin boards but wholly unacceptable for gaming or trying to snipe on eBay. It'll work if you're downloading videos or email but probably not a good solution if you can't take a lot of latency.

[mjzman]

I had WildBlue (now Exede, I think) several years ago. It was decent, not great. But if ultimately your only options are them or Hughes, choose WildBlue(Exede). Hughes has always-like for ten years, had horrible service. Of course with satellite Internet you won't do online gaming because of latency, and they limit you to so many Gb per month. And when it rains or snows your service will drop out.

[thebolt]

I was not aware of these options and its great that people shared their wealth of information. I truly appreciate all this advice and offer my appreciation to everyone offering for their experiences and advice.

Thank you!

[Holger Danske]

What about a T1 line? My friend has a ranch out east and the neighbor had a T1 line installed.

[Herman]

I worked from home for years south of franktown. We used a smaller company. Kellin.net. They are fantastic. I cannot recommend them high enough. It think it was around 45 a month.

[thebolt]

I plan or researching Kelin and Skybeam as both sound like good options. The line of site could be an issue due to the location and terrain but I'm hopeful one or both work to keep me from needing satellite.

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts and ideas.

[BushMasterBoy]

I'd install a ham radio style antenna mast to get "line of sight' before I would go with satellite.

[Ah Pook]

Is there an internet coop (wireless/line of site) option in Elbert Co? Some of these are open to putting a repeater up, at your house, or near by.

At on point I had a 20' mast on top of the roof to get a LoS signal. Now it's a smaller antenna, on a fence post, about 100' from the house. Everyone shares bandwidth. Don 't expect lightning speeds on Fri/Sat night.

Cell phone wifi hotspot?