Dial-up and Satellite are two types of connections that are available in almost all of the U.S., unlike many types of broadband, like cable and dsl. Therefore many people must choose between these two when they live in very rural areas.
Dial-up is a basic Internet connection that connects to the Internet over a land phoneline. It is slow and sometimes drops the connection if there is too much line noise on the phone line. It's is also the most inexpensive Internet service. The monthly price is usually under 20 dollars a month.
Installing dial-up is very easy and usually takes several minutes to set up a connection. Many people will not have to buy any equipment to get started with dial-up, because their computer often has a dial-up modem installed already. Dial-up requires an active phone service, but since most people still use their land line phone, they save a lot of money by choosing dial-up.
Satellite is a much faster connection than dial-up. It is available in any area that has permission to install a dish (like homeowners), and where you have a full veiw of the southern sky. This is necessary for the dish to pick up the satellite signal clearly. So as long as you don't live in a heavily wooded area or near really tall buildings, etc., satellite should work for you. However, sometimes something as little as a cloudy day or stormy weather can cause you to drop signal or suddenly get really slow speeds, so this is important to keep in mind.
Another major difference between satellite and dial-up is the price. The monthly rate is rarely less than 50 dollars, and could be up to 300 dollars a month. In addition, a satellite dish cost 300 dollars and must be installed before the service can be used. Therefore, not only is installing satellite very expensive, it might take several weeks until you can start using it. You can save some money up front by lease a satellite dish instead of buying it. The lease fee usually has a large charge the first month, and then a monthly lease fee after that. Usually you need a contract to sign up for satellite, so if you stay in the contract, you end up paying more to lease a dish in the long run. If you break the contract, you will pay so many fees you will probably spend even more to try to get out of everything.
Dial-up is good for people who can't afford satellite and just need a simple Internet connection. Satellite is good for people who need are willing to pay for it and need broadband for business purposes, etc.
Internet access is available as little as for $6.95 a month in the US and Canada. Sign up online or call 1-800-456-3118.
