DSL vs Satellite

I have had dial-up for the past 6 yrs due to us living in a very rural area. I believe we are now able to get DSL. My question is which is better DSL or Satellite? We have 2 desk tops, we only use the XP right now b/c of being on dial-up & the older ME is still usable just can't if on this one. I have ordered me a Dell Inspirion 1520 laptop which is in production. I know nothing about high speed internet & what I will need & if I will need routers or whatever for each pc or what??!! I feel very dumb when it comes to that & to ask what are stupid questions to me is embarressing.
Thanks for any help.

Marlene

 

DSL is by far better than sattellite.

Average speeds of these are like this:

Dial up: 56Kbps
Sattellite: 700 to 1500 Kbps
DSL : 1500 to 8000 Kbps

the numbers speak for themselves.

Btw, DSL is also about 5x cheaper than sattellite internet.

 

it would have been wise to install the satallite internet when your only other choice was dial-up. Now that you can get DSL, it will be a lot better.

 

If you have DSL as an option, go for it! I have satellite, and it's TERRIBLE. I have Hughesnet. You can do a google news search for some interesting reading on them. You can't watch many videos, or download too many songs w/o having your speed cut to a FRACTION of dialup speed. I don't have any other options except for dialup, which doesn't work for me since I'm self-employed and need an always-on connection.

As soon as DSL or cable is available to me, I'm dropping satellite. It's highway robbery for sucky service imo.

 

Thanks everyone, you have def made up my mind

 

One also has to remember that there is a delay when dealing with satellite communications, therefore it is not the speed you must look at. As said in the previous post satellite is more expensive and complicated than DSL. Satellite systems are also prone to rain fade (degradation during heavy precipitation) and occasional brief periods of solar interference in mid-March and late September, when the sun lines up with the satellite for a few minutes each day. These are the main reasons why the mass majority of ISPs use DSL or cable when dealing with private(home) users. Even the ISPs themselves only have satellite as a back up and prefer to use fibre optics technologies.

I know in rural areas getting DSL is a big problem but if you can get it then it should be considered over satellite.

As for the router question you only really need 1 router inside your house. What you would do is connect the DSL modem to the phone line and the you would use a standard network patch cable to then link the router to the DSL modem. NOTE: most modern DSL setups no longer work like this as you may just get the router which has the DSL modem already built in. Then all you have to do is plug your PC into the router via network cable and you are online .
Don't be afraid to ask questions on the forum that is what it is here for ...

 

satelite is a nightmare if you get snow in your area.

 

You definitely want to go with DSL.

Now let's talk about your setup.

When you get DSL, you will be shipped an external modem. In order to connect to the Internet, you will need to plug your computer, preferably via an Ethernet cable, into your modem.

However, this only allows you to connect one computer to the Internet. To connect all three of your computers, you will want to buy a router.

There are major types of routers; wired and wireless. Your new Inspiron 1520 will definitely come with a wireless network card built-in. You will have to purchase a wireless router.

The two most commonly used wireless routers today are Wireless-G and the new Wireless-N. A Wireless-G will do just fine and are much less expensive than the new Wireless-N routers.

When you purchase your new router, you will connect it via an Ethernet cable to your modem.

You will now be ready to connect to the Internet with your new laptop from anywhere inside your home, wirelessly. Your desktops will not be Internet-ready at the moment.

In order to get one of your desktops connected to the Internet, connect one of them to the router via an Ethernet cable. The location of your modem and router will have to be close to this computer.

Depending on how far your second desktop is from your modem and router, you will either have to connect it via an Ethernet cable to your router or you will have to purchase a Wireless Networking Card. If you judge your second desktop is too far from your first, purchase a Wireless-G Networking Card that you can connect to your desktop via USB. Just plug it into one of your USB slots and you will be able to connect your second desktop to the Internet.

I hope this will help you connect to the Internet. Feel free to boost my reputation if you believe this post will help you.