Satellite internet

[manofthefield]

Anyone have any experience with or knowledge of satellite internet?  My GF and I are looking at a house for rent in BFE and it sounds like cable tv and any normal form of high speed internet aren't available.  We wanted to forgo having 1001 tv channels anyway, but I don't think I can go back to dial-up.

My quick search came up with Starband, HughesNet, and Wild Blue, I don't know if any of those are redundant (repackaging of same service) or if there are installers in the area for all those providers. 

Thanks

[skoebl]

All I know (which is based on a couple years ago  ) is that satellite generally has a high download speed with a really low upload speed. So if you were to use it for gaming, or uploading large files to a website or something of that nature; you may have to wait a little while.
Other than that I haven't heard anything all that negative about it.

[manofthefield]

Well, I'm not into gaming, but I do occasionally email big files... I suppose I could deal with that though

[CirclesCenter]

Your ping will be atrocious.

[GeeP]

I got Starband about 3 months ago.  For me, satellite is the only available option.  I got their "small business package" with the new Gilat "Sky Edge" modem.  Download speeds are advertised as 1 megabit but average about 125kbps on long downloads.  Upload speed is advertised as 125kbps, but averages about 80kbps on long uploads.

I'd have to check, but as I recall it was about $400 for the box, $200 for installation, and $125 a month.

I'm satisfied with it so far.  It's fast enough for what I need, but then this is primarily a business connection and I'm not into games or downloading movies.  About 2 years ago one of their satellites experienced a Main Bus A power anomoly which later took down Bus B and Bus C.  Over a period of about a month they managed to recover about 80% of the satellite. 

During that time they gave all their users free dial-up time according to several people I talked with who were on Starband at the time.  My installer had trouble aquiring the new satellite, so I'm on the old bird along with several thousand new customers.  No troubles yet, but we'll see.

Depending on your location, Wild Blue might be the better option.  I read that they have better customer service and they're less expensive.  Their service wasn't available here in IL when I had Starband installed, although they said they plan to expand east of the Mississippi.

Be aware of Hughes DirecWay.  There have been numerous reports that they continue to bill for the service after it has gone down or been disconnected.  They require that you set up a direct debit to your checking account.  One lady stated that she had to close out her checking account and open up a new one to stop the debits.

One thing to keep in mind is whether you intend to use your connection on a network.  All the satellite companies I'm aware of use compression.  This is either software on the computer hooked up to the box, or firmware inside the satellite box itself.  The old Starband modems required software, which meant you had to set up one computer as a server to run the compression software.  The Sky Edge box has firmware compression, so you can connect it straight to the internet port of your router.

I've read that starband has a download data limit of about 2.7 gig a week.  I've used much more than that with three company computers on line and haven't heard a peep yet.

Pinging yahoo.com averages about 650ms.  Keep in mind that satellite data providers control two things:  latency and data rate.  The more you pay, the higher the data rate and the lower the latency.  I've used a Voip phone with this connection and the latency is about like talking on an overseas connection (also satellite). 

That's my brain dump on satellite internet.  I researched it for at least 6 months before I made my decision and so far I'm happy with their service.  If you have any further questions let me know.

[l3uddha]

the options are all very relative. Think of what you actually need first.

for instance, the Verizon DSL package boasts of 300k or something. In congested areas you're probably getting something more along the lines of 120-150k. That's what we get for download speed in my neighborhood for Verizon and Comcast DSL. I live 15 minutes outside of Boston and this is by no means what I would consider a really "congested" area.

[coll0412]

Pardon my ignorance, where is BFE?

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

Pardon my ignorance, where is BFE?

I'm hoping that's a joke.. If not,

WIKIPEDIA! (See definition eight)

also see EBF, aka East Bum f%$k

[coll0412]

  ...i didn't catch that, i get it now

[ashman]

butt funkin egypt