If you live in an area without DSL or cable, satellite Internet may be your best option for a high-speed, always-on connection. However, as you watch all that data zipping back and forth on your computer, have you ever wondered exactly how satellite Internet works?

Understanding satellite Internet begins with the satellite dish that uploads and downloads data communications. Two-way satellite Internet sends compressed data from your dish to the satellite, which then sends it to a hub teleport at a ground station. It does not require telephone lines or cable systems. The teleport then forwards the data through the land-based Internet. For receiving the requested information, the same process is followed in a reverse order to direct the data back to the user’s dish, and the desired webpage then appears on the your computer.

Upload and download speeds vary depending your provider’s plan and the usage, but download speeds typically range between 500 kbps and 3.0 mbps while upload speeds range from 70-80 kbps during peak hours to 300 kbps. Your maximum speed will depend on the plan you choose.

Additional factors that impact how satellite Internet works are latency and thresholds. Latency is how much time it takes for the requested data to get from one point to another and receive a response. Due to the location of the satellites, the latency in satellite Internet access is higher than in land-based Internet. Consequently, satellite Internet may not be suitable for applications requiring real-time response such as on-line gaming. Satellite providers also have thresholds as to the maximum amount of data you can upload or download during a set time period before they slow down your speed. Consider your usage and ask about this policy when understanding satellite Internet plans.

As you think about how satellite Internet works, also remember that a satellite dish must have a clear view to the south, since the orbiting satellites are over the equator area. Similar to satellite TV, trees and heavy rains can affect reception of the Internet signals. Then again, broadband cables can also be affected by heavy rains, or severe hot and cold spells.  You can read about satellite Internet, like  how to install a satellite dish or actually compare satellite providers, in our satellite category.

Teens love to talk. Many parents struggle to regulate their teenagers’ cell phone and text usage – teens can text in bed at night, surreptitiously in their rooms at any time of day, and parents may have no idea who they’re texting or why.

If you keep your home computer in a common area of the house, you can monitor (to some degree) your teenager’s social media and instant messaging activity. But there’s no better way to keep tabs on your teen’s social life than a home telephone. After all, you can find out just by answering the phone who she’s talking to, and when, and why.

Encourage your teenager to keep her cell phone for emergency use and use your home phone for social engagements. With features like call waiting on your home phone service, you don’t have to worry about missing an important call because your teen is on the line.

Some other tips for sharing home phone service with a teen:

• Set hours for phone use, or limit hours per day.
• Set up separate numbers on the same line, each with their own ring, so you can know who the phone is for. Most phone service providers offer this feature as part of a plan.
• Establish separate voice mail boxes (also available through many phone service plans) so you can retrieve your messages quickly and easily.

There’s a new green energy in town, and its name is “recycled natural gas,” sometimes called “biogas.” Natural gas suppliers get recycled natural gas from a few different sources:

1. Landfills: This type of natural gas is a byproduct generated from the decomposition of landfill waste, with no other additives.
2. Agricultural waste: Typically referred to as “biogas,” this natural gas comes from manure waste on farms, placed in a machine called a biodigester, which harnesses the normally dangerous methane that comes from manure into a natural energy source.

Currently, many natural gas suppliers add recycled natural gas processed from landfills into their conventional gas supply, creating a greater supply of natural gas without tapping into our nation’s precious, nonrenewable resources.

Technology is still being developed and perfected to capture the methane from manure and use it to supplement existing natural gas supplies.

Both sources of natural gas solve the problem of what to do with the dangerous waste produced by both farms and landfill sites, while supplementing our nation’s existing natural gas supplies with a renewable, green resource.

The advent of recycled natural gas has even resulted in lower prices from natural gas suppliers in areas where it is used.

Thinking of switching home phone service providers?  Here’s what to ask before you buy home phone service. Once you’ve identified your phone service needs, use Allconnect.com to shop around for the best and most affordable phone service. Where do you call? Do you:

• Mostly make local calls?
• Frequently call out-of-state?
• Ever have a need to call internationally?
• Frequently make international calls?

What features do you need? Do you:

• Find call waiting a bother, or need to be reachable through call waiting at all times?
• Ever need three-way calling?
• Prefer or require an unlisted number?
• Want the ability to block anonymous calls?
• Want to send voice mails to your mobile phone or email?
• Prefer online bill pay options?

Other questions to ask: Do you:

• Need more than one phone line?
• Want to bundle your local and long distance under one carrier?
• Prefer VoIP (Voice Over IP) or conventional telephone service?
• Want to bundle your phone, cable and Internet with one provider to save money?

Finally, consider your budget for phone service, and then begin your search for the features you need at a price you can afford.

Natural gas usage is measured in a unit called therms, the energy created when 100 cubic feet (CCF) of natural gas burns. When you compare natural gas rates with the intention of switching natural gas providers, you’ll want to know:

1. Your usage in therms for a sample month.
2. Your Dedicated Design Day Capacity (DDDC). This number represents the cost of delivering gas to your home on the coldest day of the year.

Knowing this will estimate how much it should cost to power a home similar to one your size with natural gas.

Other Factors to Consider When You Compare Natural Gas Prices
When you compare natural gas prices, keep in mind additional fees that may be assessed, including:

• Fees for paying via credit card or directly through your bank
• A one-time fee for establishing service
• Fees if you opt for a fixed rate vs. a variable rate plan
• A deposit, which may be a one-time fee or financed over time
• Disconnection fees, particularly if you cancel a fixed rate plan before the contract (typically one year) expires

Other Questions to Ask When you Compare Natural Gas Prices
The answers to other questions may affect your monthly budgeting or the cost of your bill each month. You may want to find out:

• Does your billing cycle change each month? The number of days in your billing cycle can dramatically affect your bill.
• Are choices available for fixed or variable rate plans?
• How soon after you receive your bill is money due?
• What is the late payment fee?

Are budget options available so your payments will be more consistent throughout the year?

If you shop through Allconnect.com, a customer service rep can answer all your questions, help you compare natural gas rates and ensure you make the best choice in natural gas providers.

Recycled natural gas and landfill gas are two terms natural gas customers are hearing more frequently, especially when the topic is green energy. But what exactly do these terms mean and how do they impact customers?

First, landfill gas. Landfill gas (LFG) is the natural by-product that is created as solid waste in landfills begins decomposing. In other words, it’s the gas emitted from rotting garbage. Comprised primarily of carbon dioxide and methane, landfill gas contributes to smog, odors, global climate change (methane is a greenhouse gas), and it’s flammable. However, instead of allowing this recycled natural gas to escape into the air, natural gas companies can capture, convert, and use it as an energy source.

Landfill gas becomes recycled natural gas when it is processed and added into the existing natural gas distribution system for delivery to homes and businesses. Thanks to new technologies, the result is a cleaner and safer environment with no difference in the natural gas service being provided. Recycled natural gas means that the gas was generated in a landfill.

So, it’s a win-win. The dangers of landfill gas are reduced and the natural gas supply is increased. And it’s eco-friendly and sustainable. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, landfills are one of the largest sources of methane gas emissions in the United States, accounting for 25 percent of all methane sources. However, of the 1,800 municipal landfills in the U.S., which accept approximately 60 percent of all municipal solid waste, less than 500 are capturing and converting LFG. One of these is the Live Oak Landfill in metro Atlanta. Georgia natural gas customers are already benefiting from this DeKalb County landfill that is capable of producing enough natural gas to fuel approximately 15,000 homes and could produce recycled gas for about 15 years. This process is also contributing to better natural gas prices for people in this area.

As with many home utility services, not all phone service providers are the same. Phone service providers vary in the services they offer, their prices, and even the technology they use to deliver your telephone communications.

For instance, three different means of delivering telephone signals currently exist:

1. Traditional telephone lines
2. Cable lines
3. VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol, where the signal goes through your home Internet connection)

Traditional telephone lines are considered analog while cable and VoIP are digital. So which is better?

Analog v. Digital

Traditional telephone lines deliver an analog signal, while cable lines deliver a digital signal. Without getting too technical, an analog signal delivers your voice as a series of electronic pulses across conventional phone lines. A digital signal converts your voice to data (a series of binary numbers – that is, 0’s and 1’s), transmits it across the line and then converts it back into your voice signal. A digital signal affords better clarity, although to true audiophiles, analog sounds – particularly in music – tend to have richer tones.

In general, digital phone service offers more features than conventional analog services, but the prices for basic local and long distance calling over analog phone lines (traditional phone service) may be lower.

Conventional phone service providers like AT&T and Verizon now offer digital packages, as well or you can get digital phone service through your cable company.

So what do the series finale of ABC’s “LOST”, a “zombie” satellite, and your cable TV service have in common?  Fortunately for LOST fans, nothing.  At least not anymore.

There’s been a lot of buzz about the final season of LOST.  How will it all end?  What’s the real story behind the island, the survivors and the others?  As last night proved, we may never know the answer to all of our questions, so we might as well enjoy the finale for what it was – the end of one of the best shows on television.  However, at least one person was focused on a totally different aspect of the LOST finale.  It’s total interruption.

While looking for local broadcast times during dinner with friends this weekend, I stumbled across an interesting article by Ian O’Neil on Discovery News.  I immediately read his story out loud, because it was the kind of real life news that truly was better than fiction.  Who could’ve come up with something as outlandish as a “zombie satellite” ruining Sunday’s finale from the depths of space?  Well, you can’t say he didn’t try to warn us.

O’Neil opens his analysis with the shockingly straightforward, “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there could be a serious interruption to one of the most anticipated television events of the year.”  At that point, I had to share.

According to O’Neil, the Galaxy 15 satellite, launched in April of this year, encountered a solar storm causing it to lose communication with its controllers.  Now, the satellite is orbiting Earth with no contact below.  Hence, the “zombie satellite”.  The bigger problem (for us anyways) was the likelihood of the rogue satellite causing interference with AMC-11, the satellite used to broadcast cable TV to much of the United States.  O’Neil claimed that the satellite could actually knock out cable TV for up to two weeks, including last night’s LOST finale!

Fortunately, it would appear that we’ve averted catastrophe.  For now.  Last night, the LOST series finale aired without incident.  This morning, people all over the country enjoyed their coffee alongside their favorite morning television anchors.  All was right with the world.

Of course, Galaxy 15 is still orbiting with no contact from Earth below and a severe cable TV outage may still be in our future.  You never know.

To learn more about the “zombie satellite” , you can also check out Brian Weeden’s article on the Space Review.

As with all large business, cable Internet and cable TV providers have had their share of black eyes.   “Waiting on the cable guy ” has long been a rather frustrating reality with many customers.  So much so that satellite TV providers have recently used cable’s tarnished image in their own television commercials.  Well, it looks like the cable companies are listening – and responding.

An article posted on today’s USA Today by Deborah Yao,  an AP Business Writer, highlights the ups and downs of customer service in the cable industry. In  Customers’ revenge: Cable providers now try to play nice, Yao points to ever increasing competition between cable and satellite TV providers as the cause for the sudden self awareness.   While the switch in attitude could certainly be driven by losses to competing satellite companies, both real and predicted, it’s still a welcomed change of pace.  Read Yao’s article to get the full story.  You may find it to be an all too familiar tale.  Fortunately, it appears as though the ending is on its way to being one we can all enjoy.

If you live in a deregulated market such as Georgia, you have a choice in natural gas providers. But what should you look for when shopping for natural gas providers? Obviously, you want to find a low price, but there are other considerations, too.

What is the provider’s customer service reputation? You can find out by asking friends and family about their experience with natural gas providers . Don’t be afraid to harness the power of social media, either. Post a question on Twitter or Facebook asking for recommendations.

What fees are associated with natural gas services from this provider? Some plans have fees associated with them. When you compare natural gas rates, be sure to factor in any fees. Some natural gas providers will have fees if you choose a fixed-rate plan, but not for a variable rate plan. Take this into consideration when you choose both a provider and the best plan for you.

Is a deposit required? How much? Many natural gas providers require a deposit. You may want to find out how they determine the deposit: based on your credit history or utility payment history. Additionally, find out if you must pre-pay the deposit or if you can pay it in installments with your regular monthly bill. How can you make sure you get your deposit back if you cancel service?

If you shop for natural gas providers through Allconnect.com, the website’s friendly customer service representatives will be able to answer all your questions for you, as well as make sure you get the best price on natural gas services.