Mexstan

Need some info from you satellite gurus please. I will be traveling around Mexico a fair amount in the near future and will be going to places that do not have easy, if any, access to the internet, so am considering taking my computer along and trying satellite internet. Don't need VoIP or phone, just two way access to the internet and email. What are the pros and cons of doing this and the approximate costs?

I am presently paying US$44 a month for high speed internet, so am also wondering if it would be feasible to drop this service and use the same satellite service at home that I would use on the road in my fiver.

Have been checking on eBay and see all kinds of satellite hardware that I could use at what appears to be fairly reasonable prices, but don't know enough about this system yet to take the final step.

Any and all advice will be appreciated.

Iron Mike

stan,
I used to have Wild Blue. It was better than my super slow dial up but it was still slow for about $45 a month. It was pretty reliable but you also had a limit to how much you could upload or down load. We where OK with it, till someone finally introduced a wireless network in our area. It was cheaper and quicker.
Depending on how important speed is to you, I personally would probably just use one sevice. You might try posting this in the RV section as well. Some of those guys may be more familiar with the traveling aspect. I hope this helps.

aborgardt

i too had wild blue and got rid of it to get hughes net. it was a little faster but not that fast. I also got rid of the satellite all together to get a local wireless internet which is ten times faster. wild blue was about $50 and hughes was like $70. Is there going to be cellular reception where you are going. might want to look into a wireless card from your cellular provider to plug into your laptop. might be a little more cost effective.....

Wolfcsm

Satellite internet - two way statellite is not going to be fast. Unless you pay a LOT each month. Here is some information on providers: http://www.high-speed-internet-acces...-internet.html

But.... it sounds like you are looking at a mobile or relocatable system. There are systems available that automatically find the bird you need to shoot to. Unless you are very confident in your ability to aim the dish in both the horizontal and verticle planes, you probably need something that would do it automatically.

Here is a link to mobile satellite solutions: http://www.groundcontrol.com/prod_ig2500_001.htm

Kind of pricy but they do what I think you are wanting to do.

Hal

Foxborough

Check with yor cell phone provider. You could "tether" your phone to the computer for internet access. Tell them where you want to go and see what they could provide. Another idea would to buy a phone there with internet access and use it till you leave. Just watch out for hidden costs. I would get an international phone here and know the costs first. Just another idea.

ropnjessi

Yeah I would check in Mx and see if there is any reasonable local ISP's (hopefully Highspeed), I would not even consider using satellite, as we used it with a T1 connection and has the worst delay you could imagine. You could look into Wardriving, get yourself setup with a good external antenna (or cantenna) and see what is already in the neighborhood and tap in.

redpoint5

Sat internet has a 1 second lag for sending data and a 1 second lag receiving for a total round trip lag of 2 seconds. This isn't a problem if you aren't playing any real time games or doing other time sensitive tasks, but it is an annoyance.

I would use sat internet as a very last option, even choosing dial up over it given the cost. Here is the order I would search:

1. wifi
2. cell based
3. internet cafe
4. dial up
5. satellite

Mexstan

OK guys, thanks for the info and suggestions. Now I have a much better idea as to what to do and better still, what NOT to do.
See, I knew that you 'wiser' guys would help me out.