Anyone have experience with DirecWay sattellite internet

[musiclawyer]

I think it's marketed to DirectTV customers. Sounds interesting. Want to get rid of dial up. Prices? Caveats? anything would help.

[Straight Shooter]

1. I have it, I hate it.

Had to get it for my job, which involves large downloads. I'm in the boonies and it was all that's available, except for dial-up. Outages are common, had one this morning for about an hour, another one day before yesterday about half an hour. Had bad equipment and it took them 9 months -- nine months! -- to replace the equipment.

Their tech support is horrid, absolutely the worst outsourced script-reading bunch of yahoos ever.

Very expensive, too, first you pay for the dish (unless you already have it) and I'm spending $60 per month and the download speed sucks sometimes, it will get down to 60kbps at times, no kidding!

Avoid it if you can. Seek an alternative.

edit typo

[Rick Myers]

2. I've never heard anything good about DirecWay!!!

But we have Road Runner...

[nine23]

3. I have several friends in Europe who use sat...

Apparently, it's more common there and hence more established. However, as the other posters have suggested, even in Europe the level of service, speed, etc. is completely contingent on the service provider and your home station (or whatever one calls it).

One of my friends, who's SERIOUSLY out in the boonies in the Basque country, has virtually no other alternative, so he's..um...OK with it. But then again, he only uses it to text message with other ETA terrorists. (kidding!!!)