 Cobourg
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Internet over Satellite Dish
in Cobourg - Ontario
If you don’t want to wait another year or two, and you can’t get high-speed Internet access through your phone or cable company, take a look at satellite Internet access. Look carefully, though, because many satellite TV providers, including DISH Network and DirecTV, offer Internet access through partnerships with local phone companies, so you have to have a phone line that supports DSL.
Nationwide provider StarBand provides high-speed, always-on, two-way Internet access via a satellite dish. Make sure you’re serious about the service: In addition to making a multiyear contractual commitment, you also have to pay a one-time fee for some pricey hardware, as well as a monthly fee.
Hardware includes equipment to transmit and receive data over the Internet, a satellite modem, and an installation kit, and you have to pay for its installation, which has to be done by a StarBand-certified technician. The FCC regulates all satellite activity, so it’s illegal to set up your own system. At press time, equipment costs ranged from $399.99 to $599.99, depending on the length of the contract you sign and the modem you opt for, and monthly subscription prices run $69.99 for the first contract year, $59.99 for the second, and $49.99 for the third.
You have a choice of modems: the StarBand 360 Starter Residential or the StarBand 481 Residential. The former downloads data up to 250Kbps (kilobits per second) and uploads data at speeds similar to dial-up (56Kbps at best). The latter features download speeds up to 500Kbps, but a TurboMode sends data upstream at 100Kbps. The 481 is compatible with operating systems that support TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), including Windows 98/98SE/Me/2000 Pro/XP. With the 481, you also get 10 free Webmail addresses and 10MB of personal space for a Web page. The 360 is compatible with the Windows 98/98SE/Me/2000/XP OSes, and you get one Webmail address and 5MB of space.
As with satellite TV, satellite Internet requires direct line-of-sight, meaning you have to have a clear view of the southern sky. Also, as with satellite TV reception, heavy clouds or storms can cause interference or block the signals entirely.
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