Running a business on Satellite Internet
Hi folks, I would appreciate some advice. I've read through the faqs and several of the general "Is HN worth getting" threads, but would like some guidance on some very specific issues.
My wife and I currently run a home-based business, most of which is done online. We are in a city running on DSL, but contemplating a move to the country a few miles outside of town. Satellite is the only option for hi-speed Internet. There are major financial and personal benefits to moving out of town. It's a no-brainer of a move except that our income depends almost entirely on reliable Internet access and I have no personal experience with satellite ISPs. I would love to hear from anyone in a similar situation or who uses some of the same services we do. Also, if there seems to be something I'm overlooking here, please let me know.
Common programs/sites we need to use:
Retail website with mysql database (hosted off site), just need a web browser to interact with it
Printing UPS, FedEx and USPS Postage through online services
A blog powered by Wordpress (also hosted off site)
Gmail
eBay (buying and selling)
PayPal
FTP uploading/downloading
For the business, we currently use 200MB to 400MB per day (Mon-Fri) in bandwidth. I know we would need to seriously curtail our weekday personal Internet use to make this work, but that's a sacrifice we're willing to make.
The Elite plan through HN would be the plan I'm most interested in, though I would also be curious about the costs and differences of the "Business" plans they offer (but provide no details about on their website) if anyone has one.
We would probably also use a secondary ISP as backup/overflow, either dial-up or an EVDO subscription. The only reason EVDO isn't acceptable as primary service is the even more limited usage caps.
Oh, and is it possible to have two different Satellite services on the same property? Say HN and Wildblue? I didn't know if the companies would balk at that if the installer came out and saw one already installed. That could be a cheaper overflow solution in the future if we needed it.
We're located in the Kansas City metro area if geography matters.
Okay, I know this is a ton to throw out in one post, but I will appreciate any information people have. Thanks!