Wildblue Satellite Internet Service vs DSL

A professional technician will install your Wildblue satellite Internet package and verify a signal. When you type an instruction into your computer, the satellite modem transmits it to the satellite. Using one of its communications "gateways," the satellite is able to communicate to the host computer, translating the instruction into a command and sending it back to your computer via the same pathway.

WildBlue only offers service in the continental United States and is not available for mobile service such as RVs. Residents must have an unobstructed view of the southern sky. Enterprise packages,such as small businesses and government agencies, are available only through authorized resellers. Residential service begins at download speeds of 512 Kbps (kilobits per second) with premium service of 1.5 Mbps (megabits per second). Satellite Internet is a shared service, so your speeds can decrease during times of peak user activity.

DSL, or Digital Subscriber Line, is a technology that gives you high-speed Internet service over regular copper telephone lines plus special hardware that your telephone company provides and installs. The copper telephone wires can actually carry far more data than that for which they have been historically used, so by sending information digitally, DSL service allows you to simultaneously use your telephone and stay connected to the Internet.

You need to reside or work close enough to the central office of a telephone company that offers DSL service in order to subscribe. Your DSL download speeds could reach 9 Mbps, so video and other multimedia downloads are usually not a problem for subscribers. The further you live or work from the central office, the more degradation in service you will experience. Unlike satellite, DSL is not a shared network so you will not encounter the same slowdowns from multiple users.