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Choose HughesNet Network System if you're looking for speedy plans and wide coverage. HughesNet is one of the largest providers of satellite Internet services in the U.S. and supports more than 1 million systems located in over 80 countries. The company developed the small satellite dish known as VSAT, ushering in the era of easily obtained satellite Internet service.
For speed, no provider offers you the choices HughesNet offers, with downstream speeds of 700 Kbps to 3Mbps, and up to 300Kbps upstream. The service's speed does drop during peak hours, however, and may fall to as low as 550Kbps. HughesNet also enforces a Fair Access Policy, which would temporally reduce your download speed after you exceed pre-set download thresholds based against the amount of data you've transmitted in the past 30 days.
You can find HughesNet through resellers throughout the country, so wherever you may be in the 48 contiguous United States, you should be able to locate an installer, including at over 2,800 Wal-mart stores. Installation costs will vary according to the installer, but if you're a gamer or you watch multimedia online, especially high-definition video, HughesNet's speed is hard to beat in the satellite market. -
Look closely at Wildblue Satellite Internet for slightly less speed, with the same coverage areas but increased reliability. Wildblue has been offering satellite broadband services since 1995, using a combination of Internet microwave and broadband equipment to provide high-speed service to subscribers. Coverage consists of the 48 contiguous United States, and speeds go up to 1.5Mbps downstream.
Wildblue is barely broadband, but you'll be able to access broadband services including multimedia in standard definitions. As with HughesNet, you'll be forced to lower speeds if you use the service heavily during peak times, but Wildblue has gained a good reputation for its reliability and its coverage of rural areas. -
For basic, no-frills service, Skyway USA Satellite Internet offers a slight step up from dial-up. The service is one-way only, offering only download capability. It requires that you dial in over a modem for upstream use. The service is inexpensive when compared with the others, however, and its dial-up one-way service is the primary reason for the savings. Speeds offered begin at 256Kbps and go up to 1.5Mbps downstream, with upstream speeds based on your modem's connection.
Skyway is also a good choice if you require increased reliability in your services. The one-way connection sends data through the dial-up connection to Skyway's servers, which return the requested data via the satellite dish. This slows down your communications but results in lower data packet loss - If you intend to move large files over your connection, Starband Satellite Internet service might be your best option. Starband offers broadband services to customers located in the 48 contiguous United States, through two plans. The first is at 1.0Mbps downstream and the second at 1.5Mbps downstream. Like the other providers, Starband maintains restricted peak-hour operations, but it also offers a longer free non-penalty downloading period in a six-hour window from midnight to 6 a.m. This period is useful if you need to download larger files over your connection.
