The Rural Broadband Solution
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Posted On :
Nov-30-2009
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Article Word Count :
350
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You live in a rural area and your stuck with a dialup Internet provider, because there are no other options right? Think again. Providing broadband service to rural areas of the country has been a great challenge for years. Low population densities mean cable companies won’t be running any lines your way, ever in most cases.
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And, unless your local phone company is going to upgrade its rural technology, you may not be offered DSL anytime soon. Wireless Internet Service Providers have been popping up recently, but the service is wrought with pitfalls and limitations. So what are farmers, ranchers and other rural Americans to do?
Broadband Satellite Internet has been around for more than a decade now and with the improvements to technology, may be a solution worth looking into. Because it is satellite it’s available everywhere you can get a clear exposure to the southern sky. It provides an always-on connection, which is not reliant on a telephone line. Speeds are currently comparable to DSL services, however the ViaSat-WildBlue merger announcement will enable WildBlue to ramp up to speeds as fast as cable providers by early 2011.
The only existing challenges with Satellite Internet are a half-second latency delay, which is only noticeable if you are playing real-time games and videoconferencing. There is also a Fair Access Policy to negotiate, which limits the amount of bandwidth assigned to an individual end user. WildBlue says that just 4% of its customers are ever affected by FAP, so the upload/download thresholds are set pretty high. Chances are if you have been on dialup all this time, you’re not in the habit of downloading a whole lot anyway.
Installation is fairly straightforward, an installer places a satellite dish on your physical property or it can be placed on a poll in the yard. The hardware is minimal, just an Ethernet cable connected to your computer from a satellite modem, which is connected with coaxial cable from a wall outlet that is connected to the dish. There is no software to download.
The reliability has come along way, improved with the technology over the last decade to keep a signal at a reported 96% of the time. Only sunspot activity, which is rare seems to be the only thing known to hamper the signal, precipitation issues are a thing of the past with the improvements over the years.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_The Rural Broadband Solution_6131.aspx
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Author Resource :
If you decide that Satellite Internetis a solution for you, there are two to choose from HughesNet and WildBlue. My recommendation is WildBlue, lower upfront costs, lower monthly costs, better promotions and better and more efficient equipment. Customer service rated pretty high as well, with 24/7 technical support available and support techs that actually work in the United States.
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Keywords :
wildblue satellite internet, satellite tv, wildblue, satellite, internet, Internet provider,
Category :
Communications
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Broadband Internet
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