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It is undeniable that Satellite internet is faster than dial-up in essentially every way. Satellite is also more accessible in remote locations, including in rural portions of the world that have no chance of DSL or Broadband deals, and even on RVs. However, it is also undeniable that not every internet based utility will work appropriately with Satellite. So, what does work on Satellite, and what doesn’t?
Things that Don’t Work
Satellite internet has a one word problem. “Latency.” Gamers are likely to know this term by the slang version, “lag.” This latency is the delay between the receiver requesting data and the satellite sending it down, across those twenty-three thousand miles between the two. The delay is really very minor, ranging from about 520 milliseconds to 840 milliseconds. In other words, it never even reaches a full second of delay. However, even this fraction of a second prevent certain activities.
Voice chatting and video chatting programs simply won’t work in this way, since the delay causes overlap issues that prevent the real time processing from functioning. Any real time program that requires real time internet access to function will be similarly hindered. Video games often fall into this category, especially if it is a multi player shooter, or any other game which requires real time response. Certain video games, such as MMORPGs, can be played with some effectiveness, although certain areas of the game will become either frustrating or impossible.
Things that Work
So, latency provides a major issue, but what happens outside the latency? Once the connection is established and the data is sent, the internet speed is comparable to broadband. This means that page load times will be low, but extended by the fraction of a second delay mentioned above, and that long downloads will be completed just as fast as they would be on broadband. Anything that doesn’t require a real time connection will function just fine, with that small delay being the only disadvantage of satellite when compared to broadband.
