# Can't get satellite internet in some areas?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-satellite-internet-in-some-areas/327014>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 20, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-satellite-internet-in-some-areas/327014 "2005-10-20T02:24:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![LivingInThePast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19b73/32.png) [@LivingInThePast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LivingInThePast)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-satellite-internet-in-some-areas/327014/1 "2005-10-20T02:24:26Z")

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I’ve heard a rumor that there are some rural areas in which you can call the Dish folks and they’ll tell you Internet service is not available. Even though the TV service is available.

If so, why would that be?

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**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-satellite-internet-in-some-areas/327014/2 "2005-10-20T05:22:38Z")

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Perhaps it’s one-way satellite service, where you download with the dish but upload with a modem, and the phone lines aren’t good enough to use a modem there?

I couldn’t find anything about satellite internet service on Dish Network’s web site (only a promotion for [EarthLink DSL](http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/products/internet/index.shtml)). [DirecWay](http://hns.getdway.com/HNS/Rooms/DisplayPages/LayoutInitial?Container=com.webridge.entity.Entity%5BOID%5B0E513F507DA2B44DAE9CC9267C0DF35C%5D%5D) claims to be “available everywhere”.

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-satellite-internet-in-some-areas/327014/3 "2005-10-20T15:33:45Z")

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It’s not like there’s one big satellite blanketing the entire continent with signal - the effect is more like cell phone towers, but on a far larger scale, so there probably are holes here and there. Dish Network (Echostar) has [thirteen satellites](http://ekb.dbstalk.com/300) up there, and I’d expect DirecWay to have a similar setup.

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**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-get-satellite-internet-in-some-areas/327014/4 "2005-10-20T18:23:14Z")

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> [@LivingInThePast](#):
>
> I’ve heard a rumor that there are some rural areas in which you can call the Dish folks and they’ll tell you Internet service is not available. Even though the TV service is available.
> 
> If so, why would that be?

I have Dish Network and my Internet is Starband. The Starband is two way and doesn’t use the phone line at all.

I don’t actually know that Starband is affiliated with Dish. The dish itself says Starband.