Broadband Cable vs Satellite Internet

Which High Speed Internet Service Is A Better Choice?

by Jon Norwood - October 11th, 2006

Everyone who has a TV has seen a commercial discussing cable versus satellite television, and probably many times a day. No one however seems to be comparing cable Internet and satellite Internet access, which is odd because cable services are trying to bundle these two products with every customer.

Now we will ask the question, “Which is better, cable or satellite Internet service”? Let's take a high level look at both services and see which one is superior.

Cable Internet Access

The same lines that carry cable TV can now carry Internet traffic at broadband speeds. Using a cable modem, data packets are sent over the network using the space normally reserved for TV channel space. Two channels are used in this transmission, one for uploads the other for downloads. Due to the size of the coaxial cable, this type of service offers a great deal more bandwidth than telephone lines which of course means a faster speed than traditional dial up. Cable speeds can range from 512 Kbps all the way up to 20 Mbps, depending on which service you have.

From a reliability standpoint, it's hard to beat cable. The cable network has been in place in most markets for more than a decade, and the company managing the bandwidth is experienced in maintaining it. With downtime being around the same as cable TV, you can generally expect service to be available more than 97% of the time.

Cable Internet can be expensive. If you have cable television and cable internet, then that usually will cost around $80.00 per month, compared to say DSL service and satellite television together coming in at around $60.00 per month. This is only $20.00 but that can add up fast.

Satellite Internet Access

Satellite Internet service is also referred to as IoS, or Internet over Satellite. This technology allows customers to access the Internet using a satellite in orbit around the Earth. The satellites are in a geosynchronous orbit, meaning that their relative position to the Earth never changes. This static position allows satellites to maintain connections to transmitters on Earth that use large centralized antennas to send their signals.

The enormous distances the signals must travel back and forth from a low orbit adversely affect the speed of the connection. Remember every time you click on a web page you must send a signal from your computer, to your ISPs hub, then into orbital space and back. This can take a little time, and typical connection speeds average from 492 up to 512 Kbps. While this is a great deal better than dial up, it's not much competition for cable or DSL.

Satellite Internet suffers some the same shortcomings that its TV counterpart does, while being much less affordable. Satellite TV can cost around $40.00 per month, while satellite internet service runs from around $70.00 per month and up. With this higher cost comes no additional reliability, and you can expect intermittent service during any type of bad weather. While these interruptions are generally very brief, they can be frustrating.

Conclusion: Cable Internet Wins

From a consumer viewpoint, there is little competition between cable and satellite internet access. Cable is superior, costs less, faster, and more reliable. If this is so, then we must ask why anyone would ever use satellite for an ISP? The answer is simple: Cable networks have limited availability while satellite access is, for the most part, available anywhere.

If you can get cable Internet access, do it. If you can't, satellite is far better than dial up even during a storm.

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To check for all forms of high speed Internet access in your area, including Cable, DSL and Satellite, return to our overview on Satellite Internet Service Providers.