When it comes to choosing a broadband internet connection, you only have three major options to choose from, cable, DSL, and satellite internet. Of the three, cable and DSL are the fastest, but they are not portable, and they are not available in most rural areas. However, satellite internet service can be had almost anywhere in the northern hemisphere where you have an unobstructed view of the southern sky, and in some cases you can even take it with you as you travel.

So how does satellite internet service work anyway? Well, the internet data is transmitted to a network of satellites that orbit high in our earth's atmosphere. From there it is beamed down to be received by those who have the necessary equipment to be able to decode it and display at on their computers. So in order to receive satellite internet service, you will need to have a satellite dish, and modems for both uploading and downloading data from the satellite, as well as a capable computer system.

Because high speed satellite internet service is not dependent on cables or wires it can be received almost anywhere, and therefore it makes an excellent choice for those who live in rural parts of the country, or those who live in areas where cable and DSL are not available, and who want to take advantage of a high speed broadband internet connection.

Although satellite internet service is much faster then dial-up, in fact almost ten times as fast, it does not approach the ultra-fast speeds of both cable and DSL service. So if cable and DSL are available to you, either one of them may be a better choice for broadband internet access. However, in the absence of either cable or DSL, satellite internet service is much more preferable then dial-up.

Another great advantage of satellite internet service is its portability for people who are always on the go and travel a lot. For instance, many RVers make good use of satellite internet in order to have a high speed web connection pretty much anywhere they go across the country.

There are generally two options for these kind of travelers, either tripod mounted satellite dishes, or vehicle mounted units. Actually, either one can work very well when correctly set up, but the tripod mounted dishes provide much more flexibility for location of the dish, and they also cost quite a bit less than the vehicle mounted units when initially purchased. There are several companies that now have this kind of equipment available for sale, and they can be found very easily by making a search on the internet.

As you can see, there are a lot of reasons why satellite internet access can be a good choice for many consumers, but there are also drawbacks that must be considered as well. Hopefully, the information that we presented in this article can help you make an informed decision before you buy satellite internet services.

Steadman Issenburg writes on many consumer related topics including communication. You can find broadband satellite internet services and info on satellite internet speed and more by visiting our communication website.