| Sumario: | While companies such as Intel, General Instruments, and Zenith Electronics have been rushing to perfect “cable modems” for use on the Internet, Hughes Network Systems of Germantown, Maryland, has been offering a satellite data transfer service since April 1995. The cable modems will enable data to be transferred at speeds of up to 4 million bits per second, but cable-TV companies must first rewire their networks with two-way connections. Hughes's service, called DirecPC, can currently beam data to a subscriber at a rate of 400,000 bits per second, and with better equipment, the company expects to be able to deliver digital packages at up to 2 million bits per second. However, one-way satellite systems such as DirecPC may find themselves squeezed out of business by two-way cable unless they can offer subscribers a chance to send information as well as receive it.
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