I'm getting tired of not being able to upload anything here

I'm stuck with a 26K dial-up (part of the wonders of Tx country living), and am looking at satellite broadband.

It looks like a choice between Directway and Wild Blue.

It looks like Wild Blue is some kind of startup company.

WildBlue Communications is the first satellite communications company to offer a satellite Internet system utilizing newer space age technology based on KA-band satellite services. WildBlue Communications hopes to see nothing but blues skies ahead -- dotted with the company's satellites. The development-stage satellite system operator, formerly known as iSky, is targeting consumers, home offices, and small businesses in North America. It plans to use Ka-band geosynchronous satellites to deliver broadband Internet services combined with DBS (direct broadcast satellite) satellite TV services from EchoStar and DIRECTV.

It sounds like they know what they're talking about, but I'm wondering if as they just got done Beta testing- how reliable is it? SBC just put a repeater up at the top of the hill, and it's slowed down this dial-up even more, I can't even get into some sites I was able too two weeks ago.

At least I know why the installation is almost $150 less than their competitors.

Wildblue is a new Satellite Internet system that has tremendously fast upload and download speeds with a much smaller (and less expensive) dish. How can it do this? Because the Wildblue satellite Inernet system uses a faster (KA Band) frequency that traditional satellite providers (KU Band). A faster frequency means that you’re able to force more information through the same size pipe.

The downside is:

If there is a downside to Ka-band satellite internet, it is because its frequencies are so concentrated, its spectrum must be broken up into spot beams with a greatly reduced footprint. This will require Wildblue to provide additional uplink centers to accomodate additional loads that can be imposed by 2-way satellite communications.

This is where I'm kinda concerned. The way it looks is that I'm on the western side of the coverage area (for service, anyway)[I'm about under the N in Hondo]. Does the spot beam kinda fizz out at the edge, or is it a sharp cutoff? Maybe they only allow service well inside the beams coverage area?

And If I get it, I'll be paying $50/mo for broadband. Which is better than the $10/mo I'm paying ev1 for dial-up (it wasn't too bad at 56K, but this 26K is a killer).