Small Town Business Owner Gallops Ahead With Broadband

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It’s All About Who You Know

An old adage says, “It’s not about what you know, but who you know.” Or, as in the case of Karen Lamb, it was all about a friend who helped free her from slow dial-up.

Karen Lamb, a resident of a small town in Missouri, met Aline Taylor through her local church. Soon after becoming friends, Karen described to Aline how difficult it was trying to use the Internet with dial-up access. “It was so slow and constantly timing out. I couldn’t view any images, stay in touch with friends and family online, or do any of the things that everyone else seemed to be doing. I asked Aline if she had any ideas how I could upgrade to a faster connection,” said Karen. As it turned out, Aline works at Double S Communications, a dealer of HughesNet®, the nation’s leading high-speed satellite Internet service. Aline quickly set Karen up on one of the HughesNet high-speed service plans so she could run her horse breeding business from home while also enjoying the benefits of everything broadband has to offer, such as managing her finances online, shopping, and keeping her college-aged son connected with his friends and school when at home.

Unlike terrestrial solutions, HughesNet satellite broadband does not rely on cable or phone wires making affordable broadband services available to consumers everywhere, regardless of where they live, at speeds comparable to DSL. The compact dish antenna is quickly installed and needs only to have a clear view of the southern sky.

“For all the talk about getting universal broadband, there are plenty of people like me who aren’t reached by the lines that reach others. However, many of those same people are under the impression that if they can’t get cable or DSL, they can’t get broadband and they’re stuck with dial-up.”

Dial-Up Disaster

Karen lives in a location outside the reach of cable and DSL, two common wired broadband options. However, these solutions are limited by how cost-effective it is for the service provider to run the wires to a given household. “You would be surprised at the number of people who don’t know what broadband is or how it works. And for all the talk about getting universal broadband, there are plenty of people like me who aren’t reached by the lines that reach others. However, many of those same people are under the impression that if they can’t get cable or DSL, they can’t get broadband and they’re stuck with dial-up,” Karen said.

And for Karen, being stuck with dial-up just didn’t cut it. According to her, “Pictures loaded painfully slowly, and sending pictures just wasn’t possible. I had a difficult time comparing items I wanted to buy online, and I wasn’t able to keep in touch with family and friends the way I wanted to.” Dial-up was also costing Karen money in her home business. “Prior to getting HughesNet, I wasn’t able to buy supplies,
medicines, or equipment for my horse breeding business because the connection was just too slow and timed out before the order was finished. Also, I wasn’t able to bank online because I couldn’t access the site through dial-up and that cost me time. HughesNet was the answer to my problem and Aline showed me the way.”

Help Through HughesNet

“Thinking it may be price-prohibitive, I was pleasantly surprised with HughesNet’s affordability and how easy it was to install,” said Karen. “Someone from Double S came out and promptly installed the outside dish antenna and modem inside. I was up and running in no time, and it’s probably an understatement to say I’ve been thrilled with it ever since.”

With HughesNet, Karen can rapidly compare and buy the supplies she needs for her business at the best prices, saving her money. She also accesses her banking Web site, saving significant time by conducting finances online. Moreover, Karen has been able to upload pictures both for business and personal purposes, sharing them with customers, friends, and family without worrying about timing out. But perhaps Karen’s favorite newfound activity with the fast connection is comparison shopping online—and always buying a given product at the best price from the most reliable retailer. “I really don’t worry about possibly missing the best price anymore,” says Karen. “Not to boast, but I have it down to a science on how to shop for just about anything and that simply wouldn’t be possible without a fast connection like the one I get with HughesNet.”

“At college, my son is used to an extremely fast connection. Needless to say, before getting HughesNet at home he simply couldn’t function with slow dial-up. Now he’s able to keep up with friends when he’s home and work on anything he needs to for school.”

“Not to boast, but I have it down to a science on how to shop for just about anything and that simply wouldn’t be possible without a fast connection like the one I get with HughesNet.”

A Personal and High-Speed Connection

Karen credits Aline and Double S for getting her and her family a fast connection that saves them time and money. “It just goes to show how great it is to know the right people,” said Karen. “HughesNet has freed me from slow dial-up and I’m able to do things that I simply could not do before.”