This Saturday, Japan launched a satellite, Kizuna. If all goes well, starting in July Kizuna will provide commercial users with the fastest Internet on Earth. Less speedy is the faster-than-fiber-optic connection speeds that the average user can access with just an 18-inch-wide dish. Those speeds will be available to offices and homes in remote areas, places that don’t have the necessary telecommunications infrastructure.

Installing a home network is like going to the dentist: You know you’ll like the results, but the process is too onerous even to contemplate. Even so, says Parks Associates, 7.5 million data networks are currently in homes, with that number expected to triple by 2006. And the number of network-enabled entertainment devices is expected to jump from 18 to 125 million. So if you’re on the brink of getting connected, you’re in good company—and it’s really not that bad if you pick the right type of network.