1. What is high-speed or broadband access?
2. Why should I consider satellite?
3. What is the difference between DSL and satellite
high-speed/broadband?
4. Is satellite high-speed internet access faster than DSL?
5. What is the difference between my dial-up and satellite
broadband?
6. Why would I want to upgrade my dial-up Internet service?
7. Shouldn’t I just wait for CABLE/DSL to come to the area?
8. What are the advantages of a “LighwWay USA ” satellite
system over a “Two-way” satellite system?
9. Why should I go with your services while DirecWay and
Starband are offering similar services?
10. What if the telephone lines in my area are bad? Won’t
that affect the LighwWay USA service?
11. Is the satellite dish the same as the one used for TV?
12. How long will it take for the equipment to be
installed?
13. Can I use my existing telephone line?
14. What can I download?
15. Can I share my connection to the Internet with other
computers on my home network?
16. Does your service work with Macs?
17. How can I tell how fast I'm actually connected?
18. How do I uninstall AOL?
19. What are the minimum system requirements?
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What is high-speed or broadband access? |
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High-speed/broadband access to the internet typically refers
to speeds that meet or exceed 300kbps. As a comparison, typical
dial-up speeds are in the range of 28.8kbps or 56kbps.
High-speed/broadband access, therefore, is a timesaving tool
that allows you to work faster while you are using the Internet.
The image below shows a comparison of the maximum download
speeds for internet access types.
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Why should I consider LighwWay USA Satellite? |
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Not every home has access to DSL or Cable broadband Internet
access services and the costs of setting up this technology
throughout the country, to each home, are in the billions of
dollars. LighwWay USA satellite allows virtually everyone to
have access to lightning-fast Internet access. The download of
information from the Internet to your computer goes from the
satellite direct to your PC. The upload of information from your
computer to the Internet goes first via an existing phone line
to LighwWay USA (or your existing ISP) and then is uploaded to
the satellite. Regardless of where you live, if you have a clear
view of the southern sky, you should be able to get LighwWay
USA's broadband satellite Internet services. |
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What is the difference between DSL and
satellite high-speed/broadband? |
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DSL operates over your existing telephone line, however it
is distance limited. DSL is only available to customers located
approximately three-miles from the telephone local switch. With
satellite broadband, as long as you can point the satellite dish
towards the satellite you can receive the signal. |
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Is satellite high-speed internet access faster
than DSL? |
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Not necessarily. Different providers will commit different
speeds and service packages. Our satellite broadband is used
mostly in places where DSL isn’t available, thereby giving
people who live in rural areas a true broadband solution. |
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What is the difference between my dial-up and
satellite broadband? |
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A tremendous time savings to you! Your dial up brings back
information from websites into your computer at anywhere from 5
to 56K, while the satellite will bring the same information into
your computer at 320-400Kbps. The theoretical maximum speed over
your telephone line back into your computer is 42Kbps. This is a
time saving of 5 to 20X |
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Why would I want to upgrade my dial-up Internet
service? |
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The faster speed means less waiting time, increasing work
efficiency making telecommuting or working from home a practical
reality. To decrease the time it takes to download materials
from the Internet. To significantly shorten your time spent
waiting for downloads and to more effectively manage your time
spent on the Internet. It is simple, easy and reliable.
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Shouldn’t I just wait for CABLE/DSL to come to
the area? |
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You could, but you may be waiting a few years. Since the
late 90’s cable systems have been slow to upgrade their systems.
Did you know that it costs over $100,000 a mile to run fiber
optics? There are miles and miles of cable in your town today.
If you do not have access today, it may take at least 3 to 5
years for it to come to this area. |
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What are the advantages of a “LighwWay USA”
satellite system over a “Two-way” satellite system? |
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Our “LighwWay USA” satellite system is less expensive and
more reliable than current “two way” systems. Severe weather
conditions can affect any satellite based system. In fact, the
end-user of a “two way” satellite system can experience a
complete loss of connection. A “LighwWay USA” satellite system
uses both the satellite link and a redundant terrestrial
telephone link to the internet. This means that the end-user
connection may temporarily slow down in the case of very severe
weather conditions but will not fail. Upload times on a
“LighwWay USA” satellite are comparable to a “two way” satellite
system.
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Why should I go with your services while
DirecWay and Starband are offering similar services? |
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“LighwWay USA” is a faster, more reliable, economical
service with better customer care. It’s faster and more reliable
because “LighwWay USA” doesn’t experience the same time-out
delays caused by “Two-way” approach of uploading requests to the
satellite. Satellites are really designed to broadcast not
receive information. LighwWay USA takes advantage of satellite’s
strengths by using it for downloading of information only. The
uploading of information is handled over the telephone line. As
you know, when you’re using a dial-up service, you are rarely
waiting to upload your page requests or e-mails. All the waiting
time is based on downloading the information over your telephone
line. The use of satellite to download eliminates the problem.
For more details check out what “Two-way” users are saying:
http://www.dslreports.com/comments/1678 |
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What if the telephone lines in my area are bad?
Won’t that affect the LighwWay USA service? |
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If your telephone infrastructure is bad, you’re probably
used to slow dial-up connection rates. The good news is, this
won’t effect your high-speed surfing experience! 80% of Internet
activity involves downloading information (in the form of web
pages, photos and music). High-speed surfing only becomes a
reality when information from the web can immediately download
(or arrive) on your machine. Telephone lines cannot support the
immediate delivery of large amounts of information. There’s just
too much information to fit through that small pipe, so the
information ‘trickles’ through it. It’s all made worse if your
telephone infrastructure is bad. However, our broadband
satellite service only uses your telephone line to upload small
amounts of information (for example web page requests). This
small amount of information moves quickly and easily through
your telephone line directly to the website you’re visiting. The
website then blasts the page to your computer, photos and all,
via the satellite. Downloads up to 400Kbps resulting in true web
surfing experience. |
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Is the satellite dish the same as the one used
for TV? |
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No. The satellite dish is slightly larger. |
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How long will it take for the equipment to be
installed? |
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It takes about an hour and a half for most installations. |
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Can I use my existing telephone line? |
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Yes, you can use it just as you are using your telephone
line today. You can also use your existing line with the free
“Callwave” software (provides incoming call notification and/or
call delivery
http://www.callwave.com) or purchase “Catch A Call” hardware
(allows you to briefly suspend your internet connection while
you answer an incoming call
http://www.catch-a-call-online.com/).Reference V.92 modems |
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What can I download? |
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Everything the web has to offer!
Music - Yes, Lightening Quick! Download MP3’s
in a little as 30 seconds
Photographs - Yes, Lightening Quick!
Video Clips - Yes, Lightening Quick!
Movies - Yes, Lightening Quick! |
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Can I share my connection to the Internet with
other computers on my home network? |
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Yes. If you install the connection on a computer that is
running Windows XP or Windows 2000, you can do this by enabling
“Network Sharing”. If you do not have a machine that is running
Windows XP or Windows 2000, you can purchase a program called
“WinProxy” which will allow you to share your connection.
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Does your service work with Macs? |
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Only Macs connected to a home network. We are looking into a
Mac compatible solution and will let you know when it is
available.
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How can I tell how fast I'm actually connected? |
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You can visit the PCPitstop.com site (click
here), click on "Manual Tests", and select "Cable Modem and
Satellite Bandwidth Test". |
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How do I uninstall AOL? |
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If you are currently using the AOL software, and wish to
completely uninstall, you MUST contact AOL Technical Support,
and request all the hidden drivers be removed. Speak to a
supervisor if neccessary.
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What are the minimum system requirements? |
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- Windows 98 Second Edition or higher
- Pentium II 333 MHz (or better)
- 64 MB RAM
- An available PCI slot or USB port
- CD-ROM drive
- 28.8 Kbps modem
- DirectX 7.0 + (download)
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