Satellite Internet, replacing 56K in rural Indiana

If there is one invention that pretty much blew people away in the last thirty years, it was the Internet. When it came out, people did not know what to think. All of the sudden, they could access information through their computer that would have originally required a trip to the library.  Forget driving from your Indiana farm to the post office in town to send a letter.  With the 56k dial-up connection, you could send an email to anybody with just a simple click of the mouse.  It was amazing.

Since then, technological advances such as cable and satellite Internet have revolutionized connection speeds.  Dial-up was once thought of as fast, connecting people to the Internet with rapid speed.  Now, it is seen as archaic.  Just think of how much time it took you to log on and find a specific Web page.  It took at least five to 10 minutes, not counting if you were looking for something specific or loading something with graphics or a video. In fact, if you wanted to download music it would take at least four to six hours, if you were lucky.  Sometimes it would take even longer if you lived far away from a populated town or city in the Midwest. Besides, if the loading process stalled or somebody tried calling you, the connection would break and you would have to log on and initiate the download all over again.

Currently, however, connection speeds have redefined the definitions of immediate and instant with cable and satellite Internet.  Compared to a few years ago, where dial-up was seen as fast, connection speeds today are at warp speed. Now, people literally can log online and within seconds surf the Web. They can browse Youtube and check their profile page on whatever social media network they choose with just the click of a button.  Downloading music is now instantaneous, no longer are hours or days required to download a three-minute song.

Before, residents of rural areas in Indiana and the Midwest had to use 56K. While the rest of the world enjoyed the benefits of fast Internet, the farmers and small town folk still listened to that three toned, signature connection jingle of the computer accessing the World Wide Web. Since they lived out of populated areas, cable landline technology was not available and companies were not planning on providing the service, since they did not see a market.  

Fortunately, satellite Internet ' more specifically satellite broadband ' have enabled the rural folk to connect just as fast, if not faster than residents of cities and more populated areas. They no longer have to wait for Web pages to load or worry about being booted off if somebody calls; they can navigate the Web faster and carefree. That three-toned log on noise is a thing of the past.

In fact, with satellite Internet broadband gaining popularity for farmers and other rural residents who prefer the quiet life, many wonder if 56K and dial-up connections are even used.  Do people still use a phone line to connect to the Internet, or is it now just a technology that people will tell their future kids about 20 years down the road? Regardless of the answers, technology will still move forward for both the city and rural folk.

Oswald Melman

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