Satellite internet

[Doc74]

Hey guys, anyone here have satellite internet that's actually useable and dependable ?
I'm used to 10Mbit cable and a high download limit so whatever I get won't even be close but I would like to know what the best provider is.

[2Gunz]

My folks live in the boonies and I did a ton of research for them on this.

In the end I picked and they got wild blue.

http://www.wildblue.com/


Ive used it and its pretty good for what it is.

But dont expect miracles.

webpages load faster than dialup. But the "fetch" time is annoying.

Downloads are way faster they DL at like 150k ish.



My verdict...........

If there is ANY other broadband option I would look hard into that.

Way better than Dial- up

But not as good as Bad DSL or cable.




With a DNS and Web caching server it might give more exciting results.

[Doc74]

It's frustrating to be so close to town and yet have no cable or dsl, luckily it's the only drawback, everything else about it is a plus but being used to high speeds it does kinda suck.....

The download speed you post is better than what I've heard and expected so that's good. Maybe no more large downloads for me but at least I'll be able to have contact with home and send and receive pictures without breaking down and crying 

I thought the max download was around 60KB/s, not the 1200 I used to have but should be enough to run skype which right now is the more important issue.

Thanks for the reply 2Gunz.

[2Gunz]

Well.........


VOIP stuff is a different story.

Internet phones can work on satellite, but the success and quality tend to vary user

Different services use different protocals. And Satellite coverage is broken up by "beams" or

areas. These beams vary in usage, and if you are in a high usage beam your luck might be worse then

if you where on a less populated one.


If it where me.....

I would check into the Verzon broadband access.

http://b2b.vzw.com/broadband/index.html

Its basically a PCMCIA card that plugs into a laptop and gives you internet anywhere

you have cellphone service.

You could take this a step further and get a PCMCIA router and plug other computers into is.

http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/kr1-router/

HOWEVER like everything else you connection and service will vary.

Speeds are pretty impressive in the city. And smaller places are catching up. And its

awesome to have internet access just about anywhere. But before you buy one make sure it

works well where you are at.


Another option.............

A point to point wireless setup.

What you would need....

Someplace that has a DSL or cable connection that you have access to and they are willing to share or you can rent from.

A DIRECT line of sight to the building you want internet access to.  A few anntennas and routers and time to monkey around.


Another option.............

Dry or alarm copper pair. Basically you rent the wires from the phone company and "roll your own" DSL from a place that

has DSL or cable to your building.



Anyway like I said satellite only as the LAST option.

If you would like more information on this stuff, let me know I will be glad to help.

[Doc74]

Wow you certainly know your internet ! I wish I knew where dsl was available but I'll find out.

Wireless seems to be a solution but it won't be with verizon. They don't allow too much traffic and since I need to communicate with people in Europe I do need to be able to have long up and downloads.

I checked Wildblue's fair use policy and I can certainly live with a 17gb a month down limit and 2gb up, but reading user opinions scare me a little. One loves it, the other hates it.

I know that as long as there's no cable here, which could be forever, I won't get the speeds and service I once had but if I can ge a nice steady line, enabling me to use skype and download the occasional tv show I'll be real happy.

We have direct tv sat here and I was wondering, is their broadband internet the same as Hughesnet ? I haven't heard anything good about them yet but I like to know all my options.

Maybe I should buy a few miles of cable and drive into town 

The modem that's here now is a very old 26.4 modem, at least I can double that with a 56.6......damn I hate this...

I'm going to check out some more wireless options, that might be the solution for now.

Thanks a million for all the help 2Gunz, I really appreciate your time.

[2Gunz]

Versizon has an unlimited plan for their nationwide Broadband.

But once again Download speeds range ALOT.

Hughesnet once owned Direct TV but now I believe they are seperate companys.

I have read very few good things about Direct TV's internet service, but never have used it personally.

I have used Wildblue at my folks house. Pretty consistant, good download speeds once it gets rolling.

Only thing bad about it is the "fetch" time. As in type in the address.... wait  few seconds and it pops up.

Because of the distance (earth to space) you cant really avoid that.



I would seriously check out the "dry copper pair" or "alarm wire" deal.

Heres some reading about it.

http://www.fiveanddime.net/dsl-rollyerown.htm



And once again a point to point wireless. Apperantly you can easliy get a few miles with of the shelf gear.
Even reports in the 10-30 mile range. But you need a clear line of site or something to bounce with. Say a
few sheets of plywood and a mountain.

Interesting reading on long distance wifi....

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/columns/article.php/2191841

http://purefixion.com/2006/03/long-distance-wifi.html

I would also check out the forum at www.dslreports.com


Im really interested in the Wifi stuff and If you live in southern California I might just help you put it in!

[CFMopar]

I'm in the same boat... If I was 10 mins closer to town I'd get cable, dsl etc... But out where I live I gotta use WIFI or something...

Get 50/60 k a sec d/ls on good days Uploads arnt to bad though...

[Doc74]

Versizon has an unlimited plan for their nationwide Broadband.

But once again Download speeds range ALOT.

Hughesnet once owned Direct TV but now I believe they are seperate companys.

I have read very few good things about Direct TV's internet service, but never have used it personally.

I have used Wildblue at my folks house. Pretty consistant, good download speeds once it gets rolling.

Only thing bad about it is the "fetch" time. As in type in the address.... wait  few seconds and it pops up.

Because of the distance (earth to space) you cant really avoid that.



I would seriously check out the "dry copper pair" or "alarm wire" deal.

Heres some reading about it.

http://www.fiveanddime.net/dsl-rollyerown.htm



And once again a point to point wireless. Apperantly you can easliy get a few miles with of the shelf gear.
Even reports in the 10-30 mile range. But you need a clear line of site or something to bounce with. Say a
few sheets of plywood and a mountain.

Interesting reading on long distance wifi....

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/columns/article.php/2191841

http://purefixion.com/2006/03/long-distance-wifi.html

I would also check out the forum at www.dslreports.com


Im really interested in the Wifi stuff and If you live in southern California I might just help you put it in!

Thanks for all the links,
I've been reading all this stuff with great interest but I have to admit I feel like a real amateur now....I wouldn't know how to setup wifi and sadly I'm not in Ca but in Mi.

I really hate these tv ads like hughesnet saying how great it is and how fast but I have yet to find one person who actually likes it. Other companies bragging with their up to 500kbps which is actually only 60KB so still fairly uselessfor my use...

Wildblue seems to work well for one but not so for another and yeah the fetch time I understand but as you say there's nothing one can do about that. I guess it all depends where you are.

I guess I just want to have my cake and eat it...boy do I miss downloading at +1mb a sec....

This dialup is driving me insane, no phone while I'm online, half the sites I used to visit are now barely coming in and I can't even follow threads here that have a few pics in them...

I used to have dialup when I started with all this puter biz but that's like 8 years ago and I'm really not used to it anymore. Funny how spoiled a man can get 

Ah well at least I'm healthy....

Jack L if and when I find a solution that works, I'll let you know.

[2Gunz]

Ok given the lack of skill/interest in Wifi land......

I would take a real hard look at the Verison/sprint EVDO plans. (AKA national broadband/ needs a better name )

I saw a EVDO router last night and was impressed. Given it was in LA so the service is good. However I did find a

coverage map of MI and it looks really promising for you.

Check out this.... lot of cool EVDO stuff as well as information, just have to didg around in the site some.

http://evdo-coverage.com/

[2Gunz]

Oh and dont think I would buy anything from that site.

The prices seem really high. And its to "pimp my ride ish" for me.

However it is alot of cool stuff and basic information all in one spot.

Figure out what you like and seek out a better deal.