The arrival of broadband satellite internet has meant that hundreds of thousands of people now have access to high speed-internet. Before that, those living in rural and remote areas only had dial-up to fall back on as cable connections are simply unheard of, and DSL lines still have yet to reach the entire country. Besides that, DSL connections depend on proximity to the central service provider-the farther you are from that center, the less reliable your connection will be. Dial-up still remains one of the predominant methods of connecting to the internet for many rural home dwellers, however, its inherent slowness and the increasing necessity of the internet have made many reconsider. They are now looking to satellite internet. As with any internet connection there are a number of negatives as well as positives to this service. Here is a look at the pros and cons of satellite broadband.
The Cons
Download limit/Bandwidth cap: There some satellite internet companies which do limit how much bandwidth you can use. This means that if you plan on downloading a large amount of media files, some satellite internet companies may not be your best bet. However, that being said, you will be able to download much more than you would using dial-up simply because of the speed.
Network Latency: Because satellite broadband does involve satellites and these orbit thousands of miles above the Earth, in space, there is a problem called latency. Latency has to do with the lag of time that occurs from the time a signal is sent from your computer to the time it is received and processed by the satellite. For gamers and for those who use the internet for video conferencing, satellite internet may not be ideal. Gaming requires that multiple players react quickly to the actions of their colleagues, making synchronization and communication vital. With a latency of even less than a second, normal game playing is disrupted. Again, however, there have been and continue to be many improvements with latency, and soon it will be negligible.
Weather: Service can be affected by heavy storms. Wind and rain can degrade performance significantly, as occurs with satellite TV. However, recent improvements have been made as satellite providers are using different frequencies that are less prone or even unaffected by weather conditions; before satellite internet utilized KU band frequencies, this is now gradually changing as technology continues to upgrade.
The Pros
Satellite internet is infinitely faster than dial up. Despite issues with latency and weather, it beats dial-up by far in terms of ease of access, speed, and even affordability. It's also available everywhere that has a view of the southern sky. And that's truly anywhere in the world. Satellite internet can be had in the Amazon jungle, in the Mongolian desert, and even on top of Mount Everest. Its ubiquity means that those who live in more remote areas don't have to remain locked out from the latest technologies. What's more improvements in technology mean that soon latency and weather won't even be issues.
