To All Rural Internet Users: There is Hope!

If you live in an area where fiber and cable internet services aren’t available, high-speed internet is still within reach. With options from satellite internet to fixed wireless, there is a broadband option available to you. Even if you’re looking for speeds up to 100 Mbps and unlimited data, Viasat internet can take care of your needs.

How Do We Rural Internet Users Find the Service We Need?

You’ve always wanted the fastest internet speeds available. Modern life demands it, actually. Nowadays, working, playing, and studying all require fast, reliable internet connections, and many big internet service providers have promised it to you. But sometimes they aren’t anywhere to be found. Because of the expensive infrastructure involved, many cable and fiber internet companies have totally abandoned low populated areas. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean you have to forgo your high-speed internet.

Satellite internet is the perfect solution for the customer left behind by cable-based providers. Viasat has the experience (and high-tech satellites) needed to bring fast, reliable internet to those who have run out of options. If you live in an area forgotten by the cable internet companies, Viasat exists to help you.

Read below to learn more about Viasat satellite internet and other options available to those living in remote areas.

Types of Internet Available to Rural Internet Users

Satellite
Satellite internet uses satellites placed in space over specific locations to provide internet to a wide area. Internet signals are bounced between satellite dishes and the satellites to provide an internet connection to nearly any location in the 50 United States. With state-of-the-art technology, Viasat offers unlimited data in plans that provide up to 100Mbps download speeds. These speeds compete with some of the best land-based internet providers.

One downside of satellite internet is the latency. That’s the time it takes a signal to bounce off the satellite to the ground network and all the way back to the satellite dish. With the satellites orbiting at around 22,000 miles above earth, the signal is travelling a very long distance. This means satellite internet usually has a latency of over 600 milliseconds. Yes, that’s less than a second, and trivial for most online activities, but it’s still much slower than the 30 ms boasted by many land-based internet services.

The only activity that might be harder with satellite internet is fast-paced, live online gaming. The high latency will make quick reactions much harder. With that said, because of the high download speeds offered by Viasat, it is equipped for pretty much any other thing you want to do online, whether emailing, browsing, or streaming.

Dial-up
What are the benefits of dial-up? Really, only one: it can run anywhere there is a phone line, making it widely available.

Beyond this, dial-up doesn’t offer much. As the first internet ever available, it’s stats place it squarely in the “antiquated” category. Dial-up gives you speeds less than 1 Mbps, gets cut off whenever you make a phone call, and isn’t able to create a wi-fi network. Choose dial-up only if it’s your only option. It will be enough to browse the internet slowly and check email but not much else.

DSL
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is similar to dial-up in that it runs over phone lines, but provides a couple of improvements. For one, DSL internet can run at the same time as your phone. It also made small improvements in performance over its phone line internet predecessor.

But despite these improvements, DSL is still considerably slow, especially in rural areas. DSL signals get weaker the further they travel, and rural users live pretty far away from the core of the infrastructure. DSL is fast enough for basic web browsing, email checking, and social media. It is unlikely to give satisfactory performance for streaming, gaming, and video chat.

Fixed wireless
Fixed wireless uses land-based internet systems to get the internet signal close to you, but then uses a powerful wireless signal to get it the rest of the way. This powerful signal has enough bandwidth to provide wireless internet connectivity to anyone in the area.

Though some fixed wireless plans can provide good performance, if you don’t live close to the fixed wireless broadcast tower, you’re out-of-luck. With a strong fixed wireless connection and a good internet plan, you should be able to do most online activities.

What Internet Plan Should I Choose?

You need to consider 4 things before you can choose the plan that works for you:

What do you plan on doing online?
Your internet activities will determine what kind of speeds you will need. Data-heavy activities like streaming video, online gaming, and downloading large files will benefit heavily from faster download speeds. If you just want to browse websites and check email, lower download speeds will be plenty.

How much do you plan on using the internet?
The more you use, the more data you will need. Any online activity that requires lots of video, including video chat and movie streaming, is going to use a lot of data. Once you run out of data, your internet speeds could be negatively affected, depending on the internet service provider you choose. If you plan on using the internet a lot every month, it would be a good idea to choose a plan that has a high data allowance.

How many devices will connect to the network?
Data-heavy services like streaming aren’t the only way to use up your monthly data. You can also burn through it pretty quickly by connecting many devices to your network at the same time. If you’re just checking email but others in your household are busy loading photos to social media, browsing web pages, and chatting with friends, you will still need a plan with lots of data. The more devices use the network, the more data will be used.

What is your internet budget?
Once you have an idea of what speeds and data allowance you need, it’s important to consider what you can afford. Fortunately, Viasat internet has a wide variety of options available with affordable prices to fit into your budget. You also get a new customer discount for the first three months of service!

FAQs

Can I get internet through my TV satellite dish?
Unfortunately, this is not possible. Satellite dishes for TV are equipped to receive radio waves but are incapable of sending them. Without the ability to send signals, there is no internet, so you will need a separate satellite dish.

Can I get satellite TV through my Viasat satellite dish?
You would think so, but this too won’t work. Viasat has dedicated the full strength of its bandwidth to offering fast internet to rural areas around the US. To use some of the bandwidth for satellite TV would only diminish the quality of internet service it offers. Viasat knows its customers are using its internet services for managing money, working to provide for their families, and furthering their education. Viasat wants to give as much internet performance to these customers as possible.

Can I get Wi-fi if I live in a remote area?
If you can get internet (as long as it’s not dial-up), then you should be able to set up wi-fi. Use the wi-fi router provided by your ISP or purchase your own and follow the instructions included with the device.

An alternative to a home wireless network is a fixed wireless network. Instead of coming from a wi-fi router hooked up to your internet modem, fixed wireless delivers internet from a distance via a broadcast tower. If you live near enough to one, this is a reasonable alternative.

Can rural internet users get unlimited data internet?
Unlimited data is the norm for most land-based internet services such as dial-up, DSL, and fixed wireless. However, satellite internet has a more limited bandwidth and sometimes places limits on your data usage. When searching for a satellite internet provider, it’s important to look for plans that come with unlimited data. All Viasat plans have unlimited data but give a set data allowance each month, the amount of data that comes at prioritized download speeds.

Not all Viasat plans are available in all locations, so it’s important to visit the Viasat website or talk to a customer service representative to see what plans are available where you live. Viasat customer service is happy to help you find the internet service that is best for you.

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