2. What sort of speed can I expect?

Consumer grade Satellite broadband companies generally advertise speeds of up to 500 kbps downstream and up to 128 kbps upstream. Actual download speeds vary widely depending on provider, transponder/gateway assignment, as well as registry tweaks. The good news is many people get better than advertised download speeds, sometimes as much as 1-2 Mbps, especially with two-way systems.

Upload speeds on the other hand are usually lower than advertised, in the 30-80 kbps range for two-way satellite connections, varying widely from moment to moment. Upload speed for one-way systems is limited by the dialup ISP and the added satellite protocol overhead, generally in the 15-30 kbps range.

Keep in mind latency is still going to be high with any satellite connection, regardless of the potential throughput.