Rural residents looking for high-speed rural Internet service providers usually fall back on satellite Internet service providers because of their promises of high-speed downloads and surfing. The best satellite Internet service providers usually offer download speeds of 25-100 Mbps, which is consistent with what mobile Internet providers like UbiFi offer. Though these speeds still don’t compare with cable or fiber Internet speeds, on paper, they are still satisfying enough for rural residents’ needs. However, there is one caveat that everyone interested in satellite Internet for rural areas should consider.
Satellite Internet is fast on paper, but it has the highest latency of any type of Internet. It is telling that ping of less than 150 ms is considered impressive for satellite Internet, while other types of Internet providers can achieve latencies as low as 10-20 ms. The main issue here is an inherent problem with the setup for satellite Internet. One of the biggest factors causing latency is the distance between a household and the transmitter for Internet signals. Because satellite Internet relies on satellites orbiting the Earth, the distance will always be farther than any cable, fiber, DSL, or mobile provider.
With this in mind, rural residents who wish to complete remote work or participate in online gaming with no distractions should consider mobile Internet as an alternative to satellite Internet. Mobile Internet providers like UbiFi even offer unlimited 4G rural Internet with no overage fees. You can even sample UbiFi with a 14-day service trial if you aren’t sold on it. Be sure to choose the best rural Internet service provider based on your needs and not just the most popular or common choice.
