said by iansltx:Have you used satellite?
As of 3 weeks ago I have.
said by iansltx:Having used both dialu and satellite there are times when dialup is actually FASTER than sat. Latency is actually less than 200ms with a decent dialup connection...sat is 4-10x that.
Latency means nothing when the average website is 200 or 400 KBs. My thread that I am posting in is 164KB, 52KB of HTML. Satellite will be faster than dialup. I would say satellite is a slow 3G connection in its feeling, or about a 3G connection after average cell tower congestion in an urban area.
said by iansltx:Also, sat internet starts at $50 per month (WB's $40 promo currently going on doesn't count for much...it'll be gone soon enough and your average cost for the length of the required two-year contract is $45). Your garden-variety DSL/cable services run $30-$40 for a standard tier last I checked.
Close enough, unbundled cable internet with some cable cos can go into the 60s or 70s.
said by iansltx:As for equipment costs, they might be "practically" free (aka $6 per month for 24 months, or $140ish overall) but installation is over $100 most of the time (WB's current special for shipping + installation is $125).
So they give you a mortgage/subsidy cellphone style, its basically under $10 a month amortized.
said by iansltx:In closing, from my LARGE amount of experience with areas where DSL doesn't reach (thank you very much Verizon...the nearby cooperative may charge $70 for 3M DSL but at least DSL is available pretty much everywhere they have phone service) there are still a surprisingly large number of folks on dialup. Sat internet is a luxury at $50+ per month plus setup fees, whereas dialup is about $10 per month. Guess what grandma gets to check her e-mail?
Shes checking email, not using the WWW. Shes not a browser. Shes the same as a credit card checker or a MUD player or IM user.
said by iansltx: Guess what I downloaded several GB worth of software over until my parents got tired of sharing our phone line with?
But you apparently have a few spare days to wait for that to finish, if you use the connection while its downloading, extended that download into a week or 2. Some people have jobs, or will be left behind when they can't see a youtube video that was posted to review for a conference tomorrow.