ALTERNATIVE BROADBAND

Satellite Internet in Cyprus

If you live in remote areas where ADSL broadband is not available then the only broadband alternative is a satellite Internet solution.

In Cyprus satellite Internet is provided by resellers of international companies. However you could also do a self-install and buy a subscription from another European or Middle Eastern company.

Satellite Internet requires expensive equipment, usually more than a thousand euro, and a monthly subscription which could be multiple times more than what you would pay for ADSL.

Types of Satellite Internet

There are basically two types of Satellite Internet: One way and Two way. With one way satellite connection your satellite dish is used only to receive data. To send data (which is required even for basic web browsing) you will need to connect to the internet in another way such as dial-up or GPRS. See this article for more information.

Satellite Internet disadvantages

Beyond the high costs there are some more things you should know about satellite Internet to help you avoid any unpleasant surprises after investing 100s of euro in equipment.

Firstly, Satellite internet has a high latency problem caused by the signal having to travel 1000s of miles out into space to the satellite and then back to Earth. This means that certain applications that require real time user interaction, such as first person shooter type of games and skype, can not perform well over such connection.

The second major issue of Satellite broadband is the very strict download restrictions usually imposed. With satellite you are allowed to download only a specific amount of data each month. The cheaper the package, the less this amount usually is. Therefore if you are offered a high speed Satellite connection at prices that are not multiple times higher than those of ADSL it is almost certain that a very low monthly download threshold is imposed. This would mean that you would only be able to use your high speed connection for casual web browsing.

Satellite Internet alternative

If you live in area where ADSL is not available and at the same time Satellite Internet is too expensive for you then you should seriously consider onspeed. With onspeed you can gain near broadband speeds over your regular dial-up connection without the excessive costs of satellite.