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Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates
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To: Apollo who wrote (26084)6/9/2000 12:59:00 PM
From: alankeister  Read Replies (1) of 54805
 
I live in the Northeast; wasn't clear from your post whether having the satellite "higher in the sky" is a good or bad thing.

Also, what about internet access for Direct v. Dish.

I think I can answer your questions. I did a lot of research on the two services recently. Higher in the sky is generally better if you have trees or buildings around you. Unlike an antenna, the satellite dish needs "line of sight" to the satellite.

Regarding Internet access, Echostar (Dish) has teamed with Gilat. Gilat has patented two-way (upload and download) communication with the VSAT (very small) dish. Hughes offers DirectPC which requires a phone line for uploads. I don't know how costs compare but DirectPC is widely available now where Gilat's service won't be widely available until late this year at the earliest.

I haven't tried either service to know how they work but they both are constrained by the altitude of the satellite and the speed of light. I believe it takes about 1/4 second for the data to travel from satellite to dish. My guess is it is fine for email and web but may not be good for interactive sessions like Telnet.

Finally, Consumer Reports has an article about Dish and DirectTV in the latest issue. I haven't read it yet.

- Alan
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