Satellite Internet Service?

Oh dear.

Of course, I've known about this for while....but it didn't dissuade me, not even for a moment. I couldn't wait to get out of the city. I recognized that there would be changes - big ones, but some (one in particular) I kept pushing to the back of my mind. Every time it tried to make it's way to the forefront of my mind and nag me a bit, I'd just suppress it with a shake of my head. I kept telling myself that we'd figure it out when the time came and, hey, just how bad could it be?

Well, the time has come. In five days we will be losing our cable Internet connection (usually lightning quick) and moving over to satellite Internet.

Normally, I'm pretty good with change...even change that brings with it a bit of a challenge. In this case, however, this may just be the straw that tests my flexible, little back. My anxiousness stems from the fact that I am hearing only awful things about this type of Internet service. Clearly, I am a personality oxymoron: country girl who likes her technology. Can the two exist peacefully (and successfully) together?

Here are, for example, a few of the things that concern me about Satellite Internet:

1. Much slower - Basically, an exchange of information follows the following route: Access request to a website must travel to a satellite, come back to earth to find the server with the content, deliver the content back up to the satellite, and, finally, return it all the way back to the requesting computer (in this case, mine) - total distance: 88,0000 miles. Um, yeah...that may take a while.
2. Temperamental in weather - I've read that in stormy or snowy weather, it flat-out ceases to function. True story: my realtor recently had to climb onto his roof to sweep the snow off his dish with a broom so he could receive an email of mine.
3. Costly to install, costly to maintain - I've read $150 to $200 for installation. And then, a minimum of $60/mo for the service.
4. Huge ugly dish required on top of your house - No further comment really necessary here. :-(
5. Quota limit on usage, aka FAP (Fair Access Policy) that slows service to a crawl or ceases service entirely if a household's quota has been exceeded through downloads - You're kidding! Really? I might get shut down for doing too much of what I do a lot of?
6. Need for a clear view of the southern sky. If you’ve got big trees surrounding your house, you’re in trouble. - We're in trouble. We have no clear view of the southern sky because of all those big trees surrounding our property.

So, there it is. An actual "moving-from-a-high-speed-plugged-in-world-to-a much-slower-way-of-life" anecdote that I described in my original blog description a couple months back. "Suck it up", I say to myself. "You're going to be waaaay too busy being a chicken-mom, painting the goat house, growing a garden, learning how to can, making lovely soap, and just plain being a Farm Girl to spend time blogging on your laptop anyway." Riiiiiight. (Note to self: I hear that many libraries offer wireless service...I need to confirm this.)

Do any of you happen to have satellite service who are willing to shed some light (or possibly soothe my worried brow) on what else I can expect?