Are you tired of having to deal with mediocre customer service? Do you find your internet connection going out for no reason at all, or slowing down considerably during ‘peak’ hours? If either of these scenarios applies to you, then you may wish to look into getting set up with a satellite Internet provider. Once considered a luxury that only the wealthy could afford, the price of satellite services and equipment have dropped so much that they’re comparable to what you’d pay for cable packages or DSL service. Like cable, satellite Internet can be purchased as part of a package with satellite television service so that you can not only receive a more reliable Internet connection, but also enjoy premium television channels at the same price you’d be paying for cable, or even less.There’s no need to worry about the cost of the equipment either. As the price to pay for the service has gone down, so has the overall price of the equipment. There are also many satellite service providers that will give customers the necessary equipment free of charge if they sign a service agreement saying they’re stay with the company for a year or two. Once that equipment is installed, there isn’t any other equipment that you’ll need, and that applies even if you decide to go with a satellite television package further down the road. Since there’s no equipment that needs maintenance and the satellite is never shut off, you’ll find that you can count on your satellite Internet connection to be available 99% of the time. With cable and DSL services, the downtime ranges from three to five percent, much higher than satellite. Another downside to those who currently have cable is that the connection speed can fluctuate during peak hours or when the network suddenly has several users connecting at once. Satellite Internet users connect directly to the satellite, so the connection speed is constant.If you’re in an area that isn’t able to receive cable or DSL service, that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to receive satellite service either. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth! Satellite service can be received practically anywhere on earth. As long as you’re able to get a clear view of the sky and your dish can link up to the satellite, you can benefit from satellite Internet service. This service can be received on mountains, in the middle of the ocean, and in 99% of the zip codes in the United States. It can even be used while traveling thanks to portable satellite Internet modems.One of the biggest arguments against satellite Internet is that your service will be interrupted any time that a storm passes through. This isn’t necessarily the case. It normally takes a severe storm to interrupt service, and once the storm dies down or passes you’ll be able to connect again. With other services, there’s a chance you’ll have to wait for hours, or even days, before you’ll be able to connect again.Don’t let others make the decision for you, talk to your area’s satellite provider and discover the benefits for yourself.

Just as satellite dishes competed with cable decades ago for premium movie channel services, dishes are now back, offering satellite acces to the internet to compete with cable and DSL. In a practical sense, satellite Internet access isn’t so much of a competing technology as much as it is an alternative in areas where cable or DSL services are not available. Internet access via satellite is a somewhat pricey option at this time, though with downstream rates from 150-1,200 Kbps and upstream rates around 50-150 Kbps, available bandwidth is far greater than dialup connectivity.
Satellite Internet access operates via geostationary (fixed-position) satellites that beam microwaves from about 22,300 miles above the Earth’s equator to your dish antenna and transceiver (transmitter/receiver). Satellite Internet access is available in two forms: two-way and one-way.
A typical two-way satellite Internet connection allows for upstream and downstream transmissions via satellite. Here is an example of a typical two-way satellite data transmission:
1. Your transceiver (connected to your computer) passes the digital signal to your dish antenna, which beams the information to the satellite (transponder).
2. The transponder forwards/beams the digital signal to a network operations center (NOC) back on the ground.
3. The NOC forwards the data request on to the Internet via land-based infrastructure.
4. Data returning from the Internet follows the same process (in reverse) back to your computer.
In theory, this entire process takes only about half of a second, but in practice it takes longer, so this isn’t the method of choice for online gamers. (The time delays inherent in satellite communication can be somewhat distracting to online gainers.) A two-way setup provides always-on Internet connectivity that makes access convenient.
A one-way satellite transmission downstreams data from the transponder to your dish antenna but does not allow for transmitting data upstream in the same manner. One-way internet satellite access requires that you transmit upstream data through a dialup connection but only downstream data travels via satellite.
It is worth noting that because satellite Internet access operates off “lineof-sight” communication, transmissions are susceptible to heavy precipitation signal degradation (rain fade) and occasional solar interference. A variation of this technology called fixed wireless uses cell towers and has less latency but even more line-of-sight problems. But with the growth of the internet, and need of customers, satellite internet service is improving both in practicality and price.
So if DSL or cable or even dial up internet service is not an option for you, satellite internet service may be your ticket to net freedom.

Selection of your satellite internet plan is an extremely important step in getting broadband internet via satellite from HughesNet. Don’t be lead into cheaper plans which offer minimal speeds when you can upgrade your plan and receive far superior speed for only ten dollars. The home package is the basic HughesNet plan and offers basic speed of 700kbps. This will get the job done but if you are upgrading from dial up to gain faster downloads and quicker web page loading, don’t sell yourself short. The Pro or the Pro Plus package is what you need. The Pro plan offers speeds up to 1000kbps and can handle connections for 2-3 computers. Another benefit of the pro package is its ability to handle wireless connections for laptops and other wireless accessories. The big brother of all the residential packages is the Pro Plus an extremely versatile package allowing its users all the same capabilities of DSL and T1 lines. The Pro Plus Package offers blazing speeds of 1500kbps and even has the capabilities of a static IP, a must for users seeking secure connections to servers.

Upload speeds also vary with the different HughesNet Packages. Upload speed plays an important role in sending emails, pictures, and files. If you plan to send a lot of files especially pictures or large documents a high upload speed is what you need. The Home package offers upload speeds of 128kbps which is a large increase over dial up. The Pro and the Pro Plus boast download speeds of up to 200 kbps.

All Residential HughesNet Plans come with these features: 24/7 live technical support there to help you with all your needs including setting up email accounts and billing questions; 5 free email accounts with up to 2GB of email storage allowing for plenty of room for storing photos, videos, and files; email defense that blocks and prevents spam mail and viruses via email; a personalized start page just like AOL or any other large scale internet service provider; HughesNet offers it’s customers a personalized start page with email, news, and other important content HughesNet customers specify; equipment and standard installation is included with all HughesNet packages and all HughesNet packages come standard with a 24 month equipment warranty covering the satellite dish and modem.

Residential HughesNet packages range from $59.99-$79.99 per month and normal installation is available within 3-6 business days of purchase.

The Hughes 9250 is designed to deliver the highest available transmit and receive rates of up to 492 Kbps while “on the move” within Inmarsat’s global BGAN satellite coverage area. This mobile satellite terminal facilitates with a wide array of broadband applications.The Broadband Global Area Network or BGAN for short, is a global Satellite Internet Network with telephony using portable terminals. The terminals are normally used to connect a laptop computer to broadband Internet in remote locations, although as long as line-of-sight to the satellite exists, the terminal can be used anywhere. The value of BGAN terminals is that unlike other satellite Internet services which require bulky & heavy satellite dishes to connect, a BGAN terminal is portable and can be used globally.The Hughes 9250 controls the fully autonomous tracking antenna via an antenna control unit (ACU). This tracking antenna acquires and tracks the BGAN satellite signal while on the move. It mainly incorporates interface box, cable set, and magnetic feet for roof mount. The compact interface box modulates control signals from the terminal onto the RF link between the terminal and the antenna. All components in the terminal are powered by a single power supply that plugs into a vehicular 12V power source.The unit offers you the following features and benefits:Fully autonomous tracking antenna acquires and tracks the BGAN satellite signal while on the moveEasy antenna installation (magnetic mount) on vehicle roofIncludes antenna control unit and all cables and power supplies for vehicular installationUp to 464 Kbps data (transmit and receive) and 128 Kbps streaming IP data rate1Speech (4Kbps)ISDN voice (3.1KHz audio)ISDN data (64Kbps)WLAN access pointMulti-user capability for sharing a single unitSelectable Quality-of-Service (QoS)Full IP compatibility for Email, file transfer (FTP), browsing, VPN, etc.Cost-effective “always-on” access – charges only for data sent and receivedUMTS IP-based servicesWLAN, FCC, CE, and GMPCS certifiedSubscriber Identification Module (SIM) card securityGPS and WLAN status LEDsHughes 9250 in Inmarsat BGAN network