subject: Dial-up Doesn't Compare to Satellite Internet in Colorado [print this page] Dial-up Doesn't Compare to Satellite Internet in Colorado
It's sometimes hard to believe that dial-up is still an internet connection that people sign up for. Do you know anyone buying 15 year old TVs or cars? Usually only an antique collector would want those. For the most part, people don't want to buy something that's no longer useful. Most technology has a life cycle of just a few years, and internet connectivity options are no different. The only reason why dial-up is still around is because almost anyone can sign up for it and it's cheap. Despite those two points, it still doesn't hold a candle to satellite internet in Colorado.
The main selling points of dial-up aren't really all that they're cracked up to be. Although it appears to be cheap on the surface, if you dig deeper it turns out to be about average. This has to do with the fact that many people in Colorado have opted to disconnect their telephone land lines and make exclusive use of cellular service. If you want to use dial-up, you have to have a phone line installed. Thus that will become an additional service you don't use but that you'll nonetheless still have to pay for. That's just the way it works.
Satellite internet is different though. It doesn't require any outside infrastructure. It's essentially a standalone product, so you will not have to subscribe to any additional services. Therefore, the price you see is the price you'll pay, unlike with dial-up where the price you see is actually about half of what you pay.
The other advantage that dial-up claims to have is that it can be accessed from nearly anywhere. This is actually not quite true. Because it is a wired internet connection, it can only be accessed where there is a telephone line present. Granted, nearly every household has a telephone line, but what about the people that either can't access one or don't want to? Dial-up would not be for them.
They could use satellite internet though. As mentioned previously, satellite internet is a standalone connection, and it's also wireless. Essentially, the internet is beamed directly to where you are by a satellite orbiting high overhead in space. All you need is a dish to send and receive signals. You could be located almost anywhere on Earth and still be able to sign up. Therefore, it's actually much more widely available than dial-up. For example, try connecting to the internet with dial-up on a remote scientific expedition in Colorado and you just won't be able to. There probably won't be any phone lines around. On the other hand, if you bring a satellite dish and you have an appropriate subscription, you'll have no problems connecting as long as you have a clear view of the sky.
Satellite internet is fast, reliable, and surprisingly affordable. The only thing you need to be aware of is that weather can sometimes have an effect on its performance due to the fact that the air is the medium is uses. Thankfully, the vast majority of the time there won't be any problems with the service.
