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A friend has sold her house and bought a motor home, and she plans to spend the next year on the road. She still needs to get a laptop to replace her desktop computer. She's thinking of getting satellite internet, because she seems to believe she'll be able to get a signal in remote areas where she might not be able to access the internet via cell phone.
So... Does anybody have any recent experience with satellite service? What kind of connection is used to link the laptop with the satellite? Right now she has no preference about a Windows or Mac, because she's used both extensively. She asked if I wanted to help her pick out something.  I'm OK with making recommendations about other factors she should consider, but I know virtually nothing about the satellite aspect of all of this.
Thanks!
(Yes, of course I'm jealous,)
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The sat connection requires a big antenna with very precise orienting. I'm not sure a good mobile set-up exists that isn't very expensive, employing auto aiming.
There are some fora around these kinds of issues for RVers -- just google RV satellite internet and see what shows up. I will say as a HughesNet sat user, that it is just barely broadband, so if she's used to DSL or cable, she's going to be unhappy both with the expense and the speed.
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"Yeah... what Dick Moore said...".
It's only "broadband" because you can't call it "only a little better than Dial Up" on the commercials...
All I know about the RV type dish setups is that they exist...
I can see how an RV in remote areas might be one of the places where it would actually be a useful thing to have. IF, however, there is any OTHER form of internet connection avaialble in any given locale, I would wager that whatever it is is almost certainly better than Hughes.net... (except dial up).
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You guys gave me enough clues so I could do a better Google search, and I got my primary questions answered. Thank you!
Me? I'd never spend that much for a satellite for internet access. According to what I read, the same satellite set up that will provide TV reception is not capable of providing the internet access, so a person would need two satellite set ups on their rig. The prices seemed to be running around $4,000. Each. Plus the monthly fees. This cheapskate would not be willing to spend that kind of money just to go online! (No offense guys) I also see where reception requires an unobstructed view of the southern sky. In one picture I saw, the motor home was parked in the middle of the Nevada desert. Well, you'd never find me parking in a spot like that, either. I'd want to be buried in some trees, which would probably kill my chances of getting satellite reception.
I do see where the computer has to have either an ethernet port, for connection directly to the satellite modem, or, the satellite modem can be hooked to a wireless router, and then the laptop can access wirelessly. That's the part I was having trouble figuring out, and ethernet is standard on pretty much all laptops.
I'm going to try to steer her toward a 15" MacBook Pro, mainly because it has the Express Card slot, and that's what would be needed for cell phone internet access, isn't it? I think I'll also suggest she get an Airport Express Base station so she can hook up a printer.
Watch. She's going to go to Costco and get herself a Windows machine. Oh, well. I learned something!
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This is pretty nifty. Either $60 or $110 per month for service.I cannot figure out difference except maybe international connect.
http://www.wireless.att.com/businesscent...tid=180762
Rates
http://www.wireless.att.com/businesscent...-table.jsp
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Now that's what I'd get if it were me. For a person traveling throughout the U. S., AT&T probably has the best cell coverage of anybody, just because they're so big. I sure wouldn't spend several thousand dollars for (poor) internet access via satellite. That, of course, is me. The cheapskate.
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I'd recommend EV-DO service over the AT&T - faster, more coverage. Sprint is better than Verizon - faster on independent speed tests, no cap to usage (Verizon's unlimited = 5GB/mo.), etc. $60/mo, averages 600 - 900 KBps down, 300 - 400 up in Rev. A areas (over 200 million POPs)
See here for more info:
http://www.evdoinfo.com/
Cary
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Unfortunately, EV-DO has the same downside as what I experienced when I was traveling and wanting cell phone access. The coverage is highly concentrated in the larger metropolitan areas. The satellite access sounds good, but my guess is that it will be somewhat disappointing in real life.
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[quote Cary]I'd recommend EV-DO service over the AT&T - faster, more coverage. Sprint is better than Verizon - faster on independent speed tests, no cap to usage (Verizon's unlimited = 5GB/mo.), etc. $60/mo, averages 600 - 900 KBps down, 300 - 400 up in Rev. A areas (over 200 million POPs)
See here for more info:
http://www.evdoinfo.com/
Cary
Have been with AT&T for seven years for phone. Unbelievable coverage. Only in mountains camping was not able to get dial tone. Friends breaking up I know are not on AT&T.
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