Five Must-Know Fast Satellite Internet Concepts
So you live in a rural area and you have made the decision to use a fast rural Internet access service. Not only is your life about to get easier with fast satellite Internet (no more slow dial up or surprise wireless Internet fees), but you’re also about to learn more about satellites than you ever thought you’d need to learn.
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When your satellite Internet provider comes to install you rural Internet access, you will likely be told the basics of how things will work but you may also want to familiarize yourself with these 5 satellite concepts so that you better understand how it will work.
1. Line of Sight to the South
Because rural satellite Internet access relies on a satellite that orbits 22,000 miles above the equator, your home most have access to the southern sky to pick up a signal. There are several ways you can mount a satellite dish, but again, if there are trees or buildings in the way, it won’t matter how you mount the dish. Essentially your view of the southern sky will be completely blocked by these things.
2. Satellite Internet and Bandwidth
The amount of information that can be transmitted via the Internet at one moment in time is known as bandwidth. The more bandwidth, the faster satellite Internet experience you will have.
3. FAP Fair Access Policy
It’s normal for all satellite Internet providers to enact their own fair access policy to assure all their customers have an equal opportunity to access the Web. A Fair Access Policy limits the amount of uploading/downloading per household within a given period of time, usually 30 days. When the maximum usage is reached, your Internet will slow down to compensate but will return to normal speed relatively soon (When you sign up for access, check the specifics of your FAP so that you will know exactly what the specifications are for the rural Internet access that you have.)
4. 2-Way Satellite Dishes
We’ve all seen those giant satellite dishes from back in the 1980s and 1990s for cable television. While the concept for satellite TV access is similar to satellite Internet access, the difference is that the Internet satellite goes two-ways (sends and receives data), not only one way (just receives data).
5. Dish Pointing Coordinates
When you get satellite Internet you will not have to install your dish. Not only are you not responsible for the set up but you are actually discouraged from trying to do it yourself since this is best left to a professional. While the installation is taking place you may hear the installer mention something about dish pointing coordinates and while this may not mean much to you at the time, having a basic understanding of this can be useful in case you run into a problem later on with your rural Internet access.
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These dish coordinating coordinates are actually the position of you satellite dish which include the vertical angle (elevation) and the horizontal angle (azimuth). Each dish will be different, including the coordinates.