The speed trade-off
It wasn't easy, but once we got EarthLink Satellite up and running, the service proved its worth. We surfed over to Microsoft to download a huge piece of software, and the file zipped onto our hard drive at 219Kbps. We downloaded several films from AtomFilms; each flowed in at speeds ranging from 16 to 300Kbps. Overall, we averaged 713Kbps--noticeably faster than StarBand, which ranged from 368 to 841Kbps over the course of a dozen tries.

So what's the catch, you ask? Those are download speeds. We averaged only 39Kbps on uploads, ranging from 21 to 56Kbps. That's only slightly better than the upload speed of a 56K modem (restricted to 33.6Kbps) and slower than competitor StarBand.

Ugly installation
Speed aside, satellite Internet access has several drawbacks, and we ran into quite a few during installation. We ordered the service online for installation in a home. Installers showed up two weeks after we placed the order--an acceptable wait--but they arrived four and a half hours after the scheduled installation time and ended up working by flashlight in the dark until well past 10 p.m.

Next, we ran into a typical problem with satellite installation: line of sight. Trees blocked the first location the installers chose, so they were forced to pull it off the roof; then they neglected to patch the holes they'd drilled. We erected the dish on the garage roof instead--an ugly and offensive solution in this case. While the dish itself is only about two by three feet, it sits on a three-foot-high tripod and the transmitter/receiver arm sticks out another three feet.

Hiccup-y service; plenty of software
Unlike StarBand, EarthLink lets you choose to install its access software yourself. We appreciated the freedom but ended up installing it six times and conferring with tech support several times before the service would work; no one was sure why it froze repeatedly during the install. And, as with StarBand, rain or heavy cloud cover occasionally knocks EarthLink offline. What's worse, EarthLink's system seems to lose track of where it is and stalls for no apparent reason. This happened frequently at password-protected sites, but hitting Reload on the browser usually solved the problem without a reboot.

EarthLink supplies subscribers with its normal bundle of software: Internet Explorer 5.5, Outlook Express 5.0, AOL Instant Messenger, and RealAudio. You can use whichever browser and e-mail program you've already installed on your PC instead. EarthLink provides subscribers with six mailboxes and 6MB of Web space per mailbox--a total of 36MB--a generous allotment compared to StarBand's 10MB. Plus, you can use a dial-up connection to EarthLink for up to 20 hours a month while traveling, a service StarBand doesn't offer. For an extra monthly fee, you also can use the same dish to receive DirecTV.

Blazing speeds; annoying latency
Once installed, the system can't be beat for downloading. We downloaded some apps over a T1 line, just for comparison, and the satellite was actually faster. As with any satellite system, however, action-game players will be disappointed that they can't take advantage of its full speed. There's a delay every time you upload or click a download link because it takes nearly a full second to bounce data off the orbiting satellite and down to an Earth station connected to the Net. For example, it took 841 milliseconds to ping Yahoo, vs. 88 milliseconds with a 112Kbps terrestrial DSL connection. (The gaming rule of thumb: you need a response time of less than 100 milliseconds to play (and win) multiplayer online games.)

EarthLink's satellite latency won't affect normal work, but you will notice it. When you click Send in an e-mail message, for instance, you won't see a response for a second or two. And when you click a Web link, the service seems to stall momentarily. On the plus side, however, EarthLink gathers the entire Web page you requested and sends it all at once instead of slowly adding text and graphics from top to bottom.

EarthLink Satellite's main drawback is its price tag. You'll pay $899 for the dish, modem, and installation. Add in another $69.95 per month, and your total outlay for the first year reaches a whopping $1,738. But for those without any other broadband alternatives, this offers plenty of speed and just enough extras to rate it above StarBand--as long as you want only to download. DSL and cable are still optimal, though, for those who can get it.