At this point in time, the internet has undoubtedly become a major component in almost everybody’s life. Whether you are a student who relies on the technology to get his or her research project done, a businessman or woman who needs a connection to the web to stay on top of the piles of incoming and outgoing emails sent between him or her and the client, or a stay-at-home parent who uses the internet as a source for new recipes so as to maintain a nice variety come dinner time every night, the internet has become a key part of getting almost any job done. As a result, having a fast, reliable connection is more important today than ever before.
Those outside of the city rely just as much as those inside of it, but their needs just aren’t as important to internet service providers (ISPs). Like most other things in life, it comes down to one thing: money. Laying down cable in places that are spread far apart is much less lucrative than piping it into crowded cities jam-packed with potential subscribers.
So where does this leave those living far in the Outback? A new service has been developed specifically with these folks in mind. Satellite internet completely avoids the need for a hard-line by streaming data directly to a series of satellites orbiting around the earth.
There are some drawbacks, however: one of the primary is a technology issue commonly referred to as latency. Latency is the gap between when you send a signal from your computer, and when the satellite receives that signal. After all, the data is traveling thousands and thousands of miles up into space. Even though everything is streaming at the speed of light, the result is still a bit of a delay.
Still, satellite represents a huge leap from dial-up. Those without access to other services are excitedly jumping on the high-speed bandwagon with satellite internet.
