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[Tim Oppenheim <timopp AT gmail.com>]

> Bev,

As noted the problem with Skype or others VOIP on satellite is latency. We 
have a couple of Spacenet ( Hughes) services and it is usually disappointing. 
Generally any bad weather degrades speeds and it just seems that getting 
anything takes a long time, even when it show you are getting 100 kb/s 
downlaods.

I will offer this small hope. There are a number of small companies that 
offer wireless Internet, even in backwater Arkansas we have a couple. Most 
are line of site but if you can get on a hill and/ or tower you can be quite 
a few miles from an access point. As Don noted antennas make the difference. 
Around here, the one  service no one knows about is by the Motorola guys. I 
know they have it and it works, but they don't advertise it. So, if you have 
a Motorola shop you might drop by to see if they have something

If you have a high point and a WIFI card you can climb up there with a laptop 
and see if you pick up anything at all. If you can any signal, you can get a 
router and antennae and use it. Google "wardriving" for some specific tools 
for finding wifi spots.

Tim


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