Here’s Why Satellite Internet is a Good Alternative

Satellite internet in 2026 is surprisingly decent for most online activities. You can check email, pay bills, watch movies, or scroll social media while barely noticing a difference compared to other connections like cable. Every satellite provider in the U.S. currently offers plans with plenty of speed for all these use cases.

If you’ve used satellite internet in the past, this might come as a shock. So what’s changed in the last few years? We’ll take a closer look at what satellite internet can do as well as the areas where it still struggles.

Why does satellite internet have a bad rap?

Satellite internet has been around for a long time and has long been the only choice in many rural areas. Historically, satellite internet has had a number of shortcomings, including low speeds, restrictive data caps, and high prices. This has left satellite internet with a less-than-stellar reputation.

Many of the challenges of satellite internet come from the fact that all your infrastructure is in space. Launching a new satellite, especially in the early 2010s, was a complicated and expensive endeavor. If a satellite provider wanted to expand its network, it couldn’t just lay a few cables in the ground. Instead, it had to get the most out of the satellites it had in orbit.

With a finite number of satellites, providers offered lower speeds and imposed restrictive data caps to control the amount of data passing through their networks. Internet habits were also very different at the time. Netflix still mailed DVDs through the mail, and for the most bandwidth-intensive thing many people did online was watch Flash animations. Even the FCC definition of broadband included lower speeds.

The internet was also seen as less of a necessity than it is today. Many rural households simply didn’t have internet access (contributing to the digital divide), and providers treated it more as a luxury that some people were willing to pay higher prices for.

How did satellite internet get good?

The satellite industry began to change in the early 2020s with the COVID-19 pandemic and the development of new satellite technologies. With nationwide lockdowns, suddenly everyone was working from home, ordering food delivery, and chatting with friends and family over video chat. This meant that not only did everyone need an internet connection, but they needed a good one.

Around the same time, other companies began developing low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, providing low-latency connections that made satellite a viable option for activities like online gaming. These new networks also created fresh competition in a market that had long only had two options, Viasat and Hughesnet.

This burst of new demand, competition, and innovation led satellite providers to greatly expand the capacity of their satellite networks. This meant faster speeds and lower prices for both new and existing satellite customers. It also led to providers removing the unpopular data caps that had long been an inescapable feature of satellite internet.

Today, all the satellite providers in the United States typically offer plans with speeds of at least 100Mbps. This is more than enough speed for common online activities, even bandwidth-intensive ones like streaming 4K video.

And, of course, satellite internet retains its number one advantage: availability. Satellite internet is still the only type of internet service that’s widely available in the most remote areas of the country. Some providers even support portable communication, maritime use, and emergency cellular connections.

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What challenges does satellite internet still face?

While satellite internet has improved dramatically in recent years and become a pragmatic option for many internet users, it still has unique challenges compared to other technology types. Even though the number and capacity of communication satellites have significantly increased, network management is still a tricky issue. Don’t expect your satellite provider to be matching the multi-gigabit plans offered by fiber providers anytime soon.

As previously mentioned, faster internet doesn’t always directly translate into a better online experience. Increasing your download speed from 25Mbps to 100Mbps would have a massive impact, while an increase from 1,000Mbps to 8,000Mbps would hardly be noticeable. Still, if you’re looking for the fastest internet speeds available, satellite isn’t going to be your first choice.

The bottom line: Satellite is an essential service in underserved areas

Improvements in satellite internet service have made it a much more practical option for everyday internet users. Rural customers and those in underserved areas can now do just about anything that urban internet users can do online, and this is a big improvement. I think it’s safe to say that satellite is a good option for many households and should be a serious consideration when comparing internet options.

Additional resources

• Best Satellite Providers
• What Are the Best Ways To Get Portable Satellite Internet?
• Best Unlimited Home Internet Plans Without Data Caps
• How Does Satellite Internet Work?

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