Is Starband's Satellite Internet Service Palatable? 259
George Thomas asks: "Since Centurytel bought out my local teleco, my internet access has been limited to about 14k compared to the 48k I previously enjoyed. I am interested in reader experiences and/or comments about internet access by satelite dish, specifically Dish Networks, because they offer 128k up and 350k down. I live in a rural area and cable is not a viable option. I am currently running Red Hat 7.2 on an old Supermicro LX series dual PII MB. I have USB ports native to the board, but don't have a clue whether they will work with the USB modem supplied with the hardware package. Also I can boot to Windows95 with LiLo, but my copy of Windows doesn't support USB. I can replace the MB if necessary, but would rather not if I can avoid doing that. Any help will be gratefully appreciated." Of course, Dish Network used to be a reseller for Starband. Now, it appears that things have flip-flopped and Starband is now offering 'upgrades' for Dish Network service. So are any of you Slashdot readers current Starband customers? If so, please share your thoughts on the service.
Re:Viable? (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm curious about how cable is not a "viable" option
Cable TV itself, much less broadband internet access, just may not be available. In a rural area, this problem is exacerbated by the high costs incurred by a cable company just to set up basic cable TV service. I have many friends in rural areas who have to use satellite just to watch TV because cable TV service isn't available. Unlike with the phone companies, which have to provide phone service to all parts of the USA, there is no such requirement for cable TV providers. Hence, it doesn't look like this problem will "eventually" be solved in the short term.
Thoughts. (Score:3, Insightful)
Solutions: This is satellite folks. It's radio. There is a wealth of knowledge out there about how to get new amplifiers/bigger dish/etc. I'm not suggesting you go outside any legal limits, or try to overpower things... but as with all satellite stuff.. if you are having trouble getting through weather, or with weak signal, you need to amplify and/or get a bigger dish.