Cortez, Colorado (NAPSI) - For the past decade, Iowa corn and soybean farmer Jay Schaaf has struggled with slow Internet from four different providers. Says Schaaf, “First, I tried dial-up, and that didn’t work at all. Then I tried three other providers and just wasn’t happy. The experience was so slow and frustrating; I’d end up just shutting the computer off.”

All that changed for Schaaf this year, when he learned about a new broadband service called Exede Internet, which works by using a satellite connection. The difference, according to Schaaf, has been extraordinary. “Exede is 10 times better than anything I’ve had in the past,” he explains. “Speed is the main thing. The reliability has been great and the ease of use is excellent.”

More than ever, the Internet is a place where people have daily access to millions of online resources, such as shopping sites, educational information, music and movies, social networking sites and e-mail. However, according to a recent FCC report, 19 million Americans are living in underserved areas where fast and affordable Internet can be hard to find or extremely costly.

Satellite services like Exede by ViaSat are good choices for consumers searching for high-quality Internet service at a competitive price. In recent years, satellite technology has made a quantum leap forward in both speed and capacity, allowing providers to offer much faster Internet speeds. Exede Internet has speeds of up to 12 Mbps, which is four times faster than average DSL speeds and eight times faster than traditional satellite Internet services. The actual speed of the Exede service varies by location, so be sure to visit the website to find the speed available in your area.

The service is saving Schaaf and his family precious time, both at work and at home. He says, “At the shop, I check the grain markets every day, explore the agricultural websites, and send and receive e-mail.” Additionally, his home now functions as “communications central” for his family of five, with laptops and tablets simultaneously being used for college studies, e-mails and surfing the Web.

The Internet has become an indispensable part of life for many families like the Schaafs—whether it’s needed for a job, education or just keeping in touch with family members who live far away. The result has been a dramatic increase in demand for faster Internet among residents in rural and exurban areas. Consumers who may have traditionally relied on slower DSL or 3G/4G wireless service connections for high-speed Internet service now have options as fast as those in urban areas.

“Since launching in March 2012, we’ve added over 100,000 Exede customers and 40 percent of them have come to us from DSL and 3G/4G wireless services,” said Lisa Scalpone, Vice President of Marketing for ViaSat, the provider of Exede and satellite service WildBlue. “We created this service with speed and performance in mind, and now residents across the country depend on us to provide fast and quality Internet service to them every day.”

Having access to faster Internet also creates greater access to multimedia online that slower services cannot support. These activities include downloading movies, games, music and software updates, as well as uploading photo galleries or videos and running backups. Exede’s “Late Night Free Zone” benefit also means that consumers can download data during the overnight hours, without it counting toward their monthly data usage.

Schaaf says, “Many people in rural areas have low expectations because slow service is all we’ve had. Once you’ve used Exede, you won’t go back. It’s a night and day difference.”

For more information, please visit www.exede.com.