Satellite ISP

Anybody familiar with satellite based ISPs? I've never heard of it before and was wondering about cost, speed, service area, etc.

I just recently switched to satellite. It's faster than dial up but slower than cable or DSL. I signed up with Xplornet, the equipment cost $399 plus installation. Monthly cost is $55 and up depending on speed required.

I had also looked into wireless internet at Your Link. The hardware and installation are about the same price but the monthly price starts at $45 and is slightly faster than the satellite. Unfortunately you need line of sight to the tower and we are just out of reach of the nearest towers.

So far I'm enjoying it, not tying up the phone line and having always on connection. You don't want to upload much because uploading is on par or slower than dialup.

thats what I was looking into. but if uploading is slow then why bother? whats the diff between uploading and downloading. in your opinion. up is to you and down is send?

if uploading is slow then why bother?

Most of the time you are going to be dloading data from your ISP. How often do you send big files? Unless you're an aggressive e-mailer, upload speeds shouldn't be a hinderance.

kayfbee, can you get a speedtest on the satellite ISP? Just to compare:

Sasktel Dialup
Download Speed: 39 kbps (4.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 71 kbps (8.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Sasktel (High Speed Classic)
Download Speed: 1457 kbps (182.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 313 kbps (39.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Sasktel (High Speed Plus)
Download Speed: 5034 kbps (629.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 531 kbps (66.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
Regina AccessComm Cable
Download Speed: 1297 kbps (162.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 193 kbps (24.1 KB/sec transfer rate)
Shaw Cable
Download Speed: 3611 kbps (451.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 472 kbps (56.2 KB/sec transfer rate)

Here are my results:
Xplornet KaZam
Download Speed: 490 kbps (61.3 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 96 kbps (12 KB/sec transfer rate)

Not bad. So about 1/3 of DSL for dloads, and just a bit faster than dialup for uploads. Sounds like a good choice for more remote areas.

So is this a satellite broadcast or a fixed wireless? And does it give you mobility, or is there a permanent relay in your home?

Yes, it's not too bad. When I signed up they had me on a faster speed 1.5 Mbps which was nice but then the bill came. Almost $150 a month, just too expensive for the internet.

It is a satellite broadcast, there is a dish on the side of the house, a bit bigger than the tv dish. It is connected to a modem which my wireless router is plugged in to.

Price of it here ( southern Geogian Bay area, Ontario )about $700.00 , 3 months free then about $40.00 per month. Need good weather I'm told, same as tv…………and an unobstucted signal