Accessing the Internet via Satellite

When I moved out to the country my options for access the internet became very limited. Basically I had one choice—satellite. There are no phone lines to the property (will cost $5000 to have one installed), so DSL and dial-up was not available to me. And of course cable does not exist anywhere in the county. There was a Wild Blue satellite dish on the south side of the house so I looked up the company online (before I had totally moved out here and still had internet access at my former residence). They came out and hooked me up.

Accessing the internet via satellite is very different then DSL or cable. On the surface it is the same, I turn on my computer and the computer communicates with the modem and I magically am logged onto the internet. But a satellite feed is affected by the weather. I have learned over the past 22 months that even fog can prevent that feed from reaching my dish. So if it is raining outside or foggy, I am not surprised if I cannot get online. But it is not just local conditions that affect whether or not I can get online. I have been told my satellite feed comes through Laredo. In 2010 a tropical storm hit Laredo causing a lot of flooding. That entire week my access to the Internet was spotty. Sometimes I was able to get online and sometimes I wasn’t. I just never knew. Eventually Laredo dried out and my access to the internet improved greatly.

Sun spots has an effect on internet access, just like it does for cell phones, ATM machines, gas pumps and everything else dependant on satellite technology.

So when I got kicked off the Internet last Thursday I was baffled but not surprised. First thing I did was turn the Weather Channel on to see what was happening in the state. The radar showed clear skies. So I knew the problem was probably not weather related. I then turned the modem off and shut down my computer. I waited a few minutes and turned everything back on. Still couldn’t get online. I tried it again, keeping everything off for a longer period of time, but it still did not work. So I called the company. As soon as a human being answered the phone, I suddenly was back online.

Since Thursday I have been having more and more problems. Got kicked off Friday and half of Saturday. Sunday and Monday no problems, but since Tuesday I have spent more time off line then online. Yesterday I finally broke down and made an appointment for someone to come out and figure out what is going on. I am baffled as to what problem could be so intermittent.

Fortunately just 15 miles from home is the Claud H. Gilmer Library, which is rated eighth in the nation in its expenditure category. It may be little but it offers a lot. The library is in the town of Rocksprings, pop. 1300 (the county only has about 2000 human residents). One service they provide is Wi-Fi. Which is why I am sitting in the Gilmer Library right now, I have a guaranteed access to the internet here. I may live in a rural area but in today’s modem world I still have access to modern technology, even if it does break down once in awhile.