The Strengths and Weaknesses of Rural Internet Service Providers

Have you chosen the right rural Internet service provider for your personal needs? While rural residents may not have the same variety of Internet options available to them as the rest of the country, they still have to choose from a wide array of companies offering Internet for rural areas. Even the best rural Internet service providers have specific strengths and weaknesses that all potential users should consider before committing to a specific service.

Despite its reputation as an ancient, outdated form of Internet service, dial-up Internet is still alive and well in rural America. Dial-up Internet’s weaknesses are fairly well-known: it is slower, less reliable, and less convenient to use than all of the other options. However, dial-up Internet’s staying power can be attributed to its widespread availability unrivaled by almost any other type of Internet. DSL Internet is also available in rural areas, but its main selling point is that it is one step above dial-up Internet in terms of quality. It is still eclipsed by some of the other rural Internet options such as satellite Internet and mobile 4G Internet.

Satellite Internet is also widely available because Internet providers’ use of satellites orbiting the Earth gives them the capability to reach nearly any country in the world. It offers high speed and high-performance specs to all customers. However, its biggest weakness is the very high levels of latency it carries compared to every other type of Internet service.

The last major type of Internet service is 4G mobile Internet from companies such as UbiFi. UbiFi and its cohorts use cell towers strewn throughout rural America to provide Internet signals. If a rural household is within the coverage of a cell tower, UbiFi and other mobile Internet services can offer low-latency Internet with speeds higher than satellite Internet.