Whether you are changing homes or just your internet provider, it‘s important to understand your connectivity options. What if your home isn‘t in an area served by normal cable internet? And what exactly is satellite internet service? With work, schooling, entertainment and more occurring online, picking the right internet for your household needs and budget matters more than ever.
That‘s why we‘ll undertake a detailed comparison of cable versus satellite internet. I‘ll examine their differences across speed and reliability metrics, availability and coverage areas, data restrictions, pricing models and ideal use cases. My goal is to provide a comprehensive guide to inform your purchasing decision based on your connectivity requirements.
A Birds-Eye View of Cable and Satellite Internet
But first, what exactly are we talking about when we say "cable" or "satellite" internet? At a basic level:
Cable Internet
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Works By: Using coaxial cables originally laid for cable TV service. High speed data transmitted through cable wires into homes.
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Typical Speeds: Minimum 10Mbps, up to 1000Mbps with high-end packages
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Availability: Wherever cable TV service exists, covering over 200 million Americans presently
Satellite Internet
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Works By: Data beamed from satellites in orbit 22,000 miles up. Received through outdoor home satellite dish.
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Typical Speeds: 10Mbps to 100Mbps, with a small number of higher tiers emerging
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Availability: Anywhere you can mount a satellite dish with line of sight to the south sky. Ideal for rural areas beyond cable infrastructure.
With that context, onward to examining the pros, cons and differences if cable versus satellite is available in your area…
Tracing the History and Development
To start, let‘s briefly trace how we arrived at the present-day incarnations of these technologies…
The Path to Cable Internet
1990s – Cable TV providers….
Satellite Internet Innovations
Early 2000s – Viasat, HughesNet, Starlink….
So in summary, leveraging existing cable wiring came first, while satellite techs solved for reaching remote locales. Next let‘s analyze how these origins manifest in capability comparisons.
