Does anyone have any experience with and opinions on
satellite Internet service.  We have Dish Network and
are exploring the option of having them provide our
Internet access.  All thoughts and opinions are
encouraged and welcomed.

Neal,

The general rule is that the bandwidth can be decent, but the latency is horrible. Most internet latency is measured in milliseconds. Normal values are 200-300, anything under 100 is fantastic. Latencies when using satellite internet can measured in the seconds.

If you do any sort of online gaming, satellite internet is to be avoided like the plague. If you are an ";email and read the news"; guy it will likely be fine. For everything in between I really don't know how it would affect the user; I've never had it myself.

I would consider satellite internet access as a last option for remote locations, preferable only to dial-up. If you have any other options (DSL, cable, ATT Uverse, Verizon FiOS, etc.) those are all much better choices.

Neil,

It stinks on ice.  While it is a ";faster"; connection that dial-up, be prepared to watch your speeds go up and down dramatically.  I had it for a few years and it really wasn't great at all.  If I wanted to download a Sibelius update, I would need a download manager because it would be so unreliable.  For the ";convenience";, there really wasn't any!

As Joe said, if you're a news and email guy, it's great.  If you're planning to do more, consider other options.