Monday, July 21, 2008

Satellite Broadband : Surf At Lightning Speed Anywhere, Anytime

By Rick Jevins

Satellite broadband has provided hope for rural subscribers who are outside the coverage areas of most Internet service providers. Most home subscribers opt for cable and DSL Internet connections. But in areas which are not under the range of the high-speed broadband connection, or where dial-up access is extremely slow, satellite broadband is a boon. The technology has been there for a long time, but it has evolved in more recent times.

The connection does not use wire, but requires an intermediary satellite. Requests are logged through a home computer and a special satellite modem to a satellite dish, which is installed on the roof of the subscriber's office or house. These signals are sent or received from the dish satellite to an orbiting satellite, which in turn sends or transmits information to the dish satellite at the service provider's office. The connection speed is a little less in comparison to DSL and cable Internet connections. This can be a drawback while using certain applications, such as real-time interactive games.

A lot of satellite broadband shortcomings can be overcome by using a signal amplifier, to cater to external or climatic disturbance and signal locators, to catch signals faster. Some other problems associated with satellite broadband Internet connections are that the installation charge for the dish satellite and the monthly subscription charges are a bit expensive, in comparison to DSL and cable connections.

At this moment, satellite broadband has already partnered with phone companies to keep it alive since they are no match for the cable companies now. That would mean a troubled future if they can't increase their patrons. However, even if it has limited market for now, investments today could lead to improvements that may keep satellite services existing in the future. Satellite companies will reintroduce broadband services this summer. Their target consumers are rural customers that are being ignored by cable and DSL providers.

Satellite Broadband still has a long way to go to be at par with cable and DSL pioneers. With their plan to start in areas where there are no competitors specifically the rural market, they still have a chance to survive and to be able to succeed in the broadband business.

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