Satellite Internet is nothing new – but it is certainly new to me. Many of you probably have heard of, or perhaps even use, this great service. It will work in any part of rural America where dial-up has long been our only option.

Here in Murphy, North Carolina, I live just a couple miles from where the DSL line stops. I’ve used dial up, but it is painfully slow. Using it for anything, especially the MLS, is a lesson in perseverance and probably results in a dependency on Zoloft. Even desolate regions no longer need to worry! Forget your antidepressant and keep reading.

I signed up to use to WildBlue, which seems to be the best bang for the buck. Go to www.WildBlue.com for more info. Their equipment and monthly subscription was cheaper (yes, you have to pay for your equipment up front) than HughesNet, which is the only other real competitor.

The largest problems with it? 1)It can be cost prohibitive. 2) Web pages load a little slow. 3) They limit the amount of bandwidth you can use each month.

It is fairly expensive to sign up, but that is only determined by what the value of high speed internet is to you. The second problem is one of my main issues. It can download files amazingly fast to not be hard wired to anything, but yet the average web page seems to take quite a while to be up and running when compared with the speed of say, DSL. The third issue is the other thing you have to be aware of – both companies actually cap the amount of bandwidth you can use in 30 day period. For most people, we will come no where near the amount they allow. For those who download a lot (more than 5 gigs a month), this could be a barrier. If that’s you, make sure you ask what your limits are with each monthly package.

What does this have to do with real estate? A lot! With much of the population being more and more internet savvy, they want the ability to not be tied to dial up. No matter who you are, where you live, or where you work, you now have the option to have high speed. It’s a great thing to know when looking for real estate in other outer regions where it has never been available before.