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Friday, March 27, 2009

ASTRA2Connect

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Example of the terminal dish used to access the ASTRA2Connect system in Europe

ASTRA2Connect is a two-way satellite broadband Internet service available across Europe, which launched in March 2007, and uses the ASTRA series of geostationary satellites. ASTRA2Connect is owned and operated by ASTRA Broadband Services (ABBS), a subsidiary of SES ASTRA[1], itself a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg.

ASTRA2Connect provides high-speed Internet access (at up to 2Mbit/s) at a flat rate cost to end users, along with VoIP, IPTV, and content-on-demand facilities, without any requirement for a landline, cable or terrestrial wireless connection.

Application

Close up of the receive/transmit iLNB used on the ASTRA2Connect terminal dish

The ASTRA2Connect service makes broadband Internet access available to homes in rural locations or otherwise beyond the reach of existing terrestrial broadband services. Outside the major European urban centres, there are millions of households currently without broadband access through landlines.[2] and by 2010, up to 6million, or 3.5%, of the 170 million homes in Western Europe will still be without terrestrial broadband access.[3]

ASTRA2Connect can also be used for transportable broadband Internet access, where the location or its temporary nature prohibits a terrestrial connection, although the equipment requires mains power and cannot be used while actually in motion.

As well as Internet access, ASTRA2Connect is used for dual play (broadband internet and telephony) and triple play (broadband Internet, telephony and TV) services[2].

An upgrade was introduced in 2008 to enable an ASTRA2Connect dish to be used for simultaneous reception of normal satellite TV from satellites at the Astra 19.2°E or the Astra 28.2°E positions.

Technology

ASTRA2Connect uses a satellite link to carry IP data in both directions between the central hub and remote terminals. At the hub, routers connect to the Internet backbone and IP data is embedded in a DVB-S2 format carrier to be uplinked to the satellite from SES ASTRA’s teleport and, from there, downlinked to the remote terminal where the signal is received with a domestic-type dish for the satellite internet modem, which extracts the IP data for the end user’s PC.

The return path is handled in a similar fashion, but with a low power 500mW transmitter on each terminal dish providing the uplink to the satellite, with multiple-frequency time division multiple access techniques employed to handle many remote terminals simultaneously. ASTRA2Connect combines 2 standards for the return path: Satmode for modulation and coding and DVB-RCS for the access scheme.

The central hub and terminal technology is developed by a Belgian company called Newtec.

ASTRA2Connect uses the Astra 1E communications satellite at the 23.5° east orbital position to handle uplinks and downlinks in both directions. A number of transponders are used for the hub-to-terminal downlink in the satellite TV downlink segment of the Ku band (10.70GHz-12.75GHz). The terminal-to-hub uplink to the satellite uses using the uplink segment of the Ku band (14.00GHz-14.50 GHz) and extended Ku band (13.75GHz-14.25GHz)

Marketing

The IPmodem used to connect the iLNB to the user’s host PC or local area network

ASTRA2Connect services are sold to residential users by a number of ISPs in partnership with SES ASTRA. Such partnerships operate either exclusively or in competition within different regions and countries of Europe. Germany was the first country to receive access to ASTRA2Connect services. SES ASTRA currently has partnerships with ISPs to provide ASTRA2Connect services in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Switzerland,[4] Spain[5] and the UK, with partnerships in other countries under negotiation.[6]

The first ASTRA2Connect service provider in Germany was ISP, Filiago[7] which is responsible for marketing and selling the ASTRA2Connect service, providing home and business installations, billing, and running a subscriber helpdesk. SES ASTRA provides the ASTRA2Connect satellite capacity, a DVB/IP Internet platform, uplink services, Internet backbone connectivity, subscriber activation and monitoring, and technical support for Filiago.

Customers of Filiago purchase the ASTRA2Connect terminal equipment for €320, pay a €100 registration fee and a flat rate monthly fee according to the maximum speed – €20 for 256Kbit/s download, 64Kbits/s upload, €30 for 512Kbit/s download, 96Kbits/s upload, €40 for 1024Kbit/s download, 128Kbits/s upload, or €80 for 2048Kbit/s download, 128Kbits/s upload.[8]

User Equipment

Connection to the ASTRA2Connect service is by way of a Sat3Play satellite terminal developed by Newtec[9] in conjunction with the European Space Agency (ESA). The terminal comprises an external satellite dish fitted with a two-way interactive LNB (“iLNB”) connected by coaxial cable to the indoor satellite “IPmodem” that, in turn, connects to the user’s PC or LAN. Assembly of the dish and installation is straightforward and requires only a few basic tools and a simple signal strength meter. The installation is sometimes referred to as Do-It-Yourself (DiY) installation. Detailed instructions for installation are supplied and this can be achieved by any competent end user, without professional help.[10]

The satellite dish is of an offset design with an 80 cm diameter solid steel reflector and fitted with an altazimuth mount.

The iLNB combines the feedhorn and electronics for reception and transmission in one unit, and is provided with two F connectors for receive and transmit connection to the IPmodem. The reception (download) section is equivalent to a universal LNB used in a European domestic direct broadcast satellite TV system but provides for reception of one signal polarity only (selection of the correct polarity at installation is obtained by rotating the iLNB within its mount on the dish).

The IPmodem is a small plastic-cased mains powered unit with F connectors for connection to both receive and transmit sections of the iLNB. It requires no software on the end user’s PC and connects directly, or via a LAN using a standard RJ45 Ethernet connector.

The terminal acts as a DHCP server for the computer, and provides LED indicators for power, satellite link alarm, LAN connection, LAN data, satellite signal received and satellite transmission. With the dish aligned correctly on the correct satellite, the IPmodem automatically seeks out the initial receive carrier frequency (10.891GHz) and establishes a satellite connection.

To enable an ASTRA2Connect dish to be used for normal satellite TV reception, a "Quad LNB and Multifeed Clamp" upgrade can be fitted to the terminal dish. This comprises a replacement clamp for the iLNB onto which fits an additional LNB clamp for either Astra 19.2°E or Astra 28.2°E, fixed at the correct horizontal separation and adjustable vertically (for the user's latitude). A special four-output LNB is supplied, which contains filtering to suppress interference from the iLNB's transmitter.[11]

Performance

Rear panel of the IPmodem of the ASTRA2Connect satellite broadband system showing the two receive and transmit F connectors and the RJ45 network connection

ASTRA2Connect provides an always-on connection but overall downloaded data is limited by a "fair use" policy. More than 2Gbyte of data downloaded per month reaches the fair use limit, and access speed is then automatically throttled.[12] However, the speed is restored to the maximum at the start of each month. Moreover, tests conducted by German consumer magazine, PC Magazin, found the limit was not a practical constraint: "Despite violent download orgies, we didn’t come up against the 'Fair Policy'. We had the full 1024Kbit/s at our disposal for the whole test period"[13]

German consumer magazine, SatVision declared the ASTRA2Connect speed "Good" with a score of 83.3%,[14] while PC Magazin found "The speed of the data transfer is what you’d expect from 1Mbit/s access. Our tests rushed through the ether at about 115Kbyte/s."[15]

Since these tests, the maximum download speed has been increased and now stands at 2Mbit/s, with a maximum upload speed of 128Kbit/s,[16] which puts ASTRA2Connect on par with practical terrestrial broadband connections.

Potential drawbacks of satellite broadband systems include the lack of security of the download data (which can be received by anyone within the satellite’s footprint) and the delay inherent in the connection – as both upload and download data must follow the route from the ground to the satellite (located some 35,785km above the Earth) and back, there is a minimum total delay or latency (depending on the location of the receive site) of about 0.5 seconds.

ASTRA2Connect data transmission features two-way TCP encryption to provide security, and data compression, TCP-acceleration, and HTTP pre-fetching (at the server and subscriber ends) to alleviate the effects of satellite latency.[17]

Digital Fernsehen magazine’s tests of ASTRA2Connect found that "two-way connection via satellite is unsuitable for lovers of on-line games. The Ping times measured are too long for this application, with values of 578ms-589ms".[18] However, PC Magazin’s tests found: "The echo (Ping) times were around 650ms. For large downloads, that is insignificant and while surfing on the Internet, it’s easy to accept a half-second 'time to reflect'."[19]

References

  1. ^ SES ASTRA (September 12, 2008). SES ASTRA Creates New Broadband Company. Press release. http://www.ses-astra.com/business/en/news-events/news-latest/index.php?pressRelease=/pressReleases/pressReleaseList/08-09-12/index.php.
  2. ^ a b SES ASTRA "ASTRA2Connect Broadband internet access and VoIP". (August, 2007). Company factsheet
  3. ^ Holmes, Mark. "2007: Pivotal Year For Satellite Broadband In Europe" Via Satellite (December, 2007) 19-20
  4. ^ "ASTRA2Connect". SES ASTRA. http://www.ses-astra.com/consumer/en/astra-broadband/astra2connect/index.php. Retrieved on April 23 2008. Company website
  5. ^ SES ASTRA (October 1, 2008). SES ASTRA Launches ASTRA2CONNECT In Spain. Press release. http://www.ses-astra.com/business/en/news-events/news-latest/index.php?pressRelease=/pressReleases/pressReleaseList/08-10-01/index.php.
  6. ^ SES ASTRA (January 15, 2008). Satellite Broadband Service ASTRA2Connect Expands To France and Italy. Press release. http://www.ses-astra.com/business/en/news-events/news-latest/index.php?pressRelease=/pressReleases/pressReleaseList/08-01-15/index.htm.
  7. ^ Filiago GmbH http://www.filiago.de German ISP partner.
  8. ^ "ASTRA2Connect End User Prices (Germany)". Filiago. http://www.filiago-shop.de/sess/utn;jsessionid=15481055d4ef14e/shopdata/index.shopscript. Retrieved on October 18 2008.
  9. ^ Newtec Company NV http://www.newtec.eu Terminal manufacturer
  10. ^ SES ASTRA "Manual for the ASTRA2Connect Terminal" version 1.6.5. (March 3, 2007). Instruction manual
  11. ^ SES ASTRA "ASTRA2Connect: Upgrade for TV reception" (October, 2008). Company factsheet
  12. ^ Sülzer, Torsten. "DSL für ländliche Regionen" Kölnische Rundschau (April 3, 2008) (German) "Werden mehr als zwei Gigabyte Daten pro Monat geladen, greift die „Fair Trade Policy“ - dann wird der Zugang automatisch gedrosselt."
  13. ^ Pichl, Günter. "Über-All Internet" PC Magazin (July, 2007) 52-53 (German) "Trotz heftiger Download-Orgien kamen wir mit der „Fair Policy“ nicht in Konflikt. Wir hatten während des gesamten Testzeitraums die vollen 1024Kbit/s zur Verfügung."
  14. ^ Szigat, F. "Das Internet aus dem All" SatVision (August, 2007) 44-46 (German)
  15. ^ Pichl, Günter. "Über-All Internet" PC Magazin (July, 2007) 52-53 (German) "Die Geschwindigkeit der Datenübertragung entspricht dem, was man von einem 1 Mbit/s-Zugang erwarten darf. Rund 115 kByte/s rauschten bei unseren Tests über den Äther."
  16. ^ SES ASTRA "ASTRA2Connect" (September, 2008). Company factsheet
  17. ^ Newtec Productions NV "TP200 Sat3Play Broadband Terminal" (Version R2/01.2008). Company factsheet
  18. ^ Meyer, Thomas. "Praxistest Internet via Satellit" Digital Fernsehen (September, 2007) 86-87 (German) "Nicht geeignet ist die Zwei-Wege-Verbindung via Satellit für Liebhaber von Online-Spielen. Die von DF gemessenen Ping-Zeiten, d. h. die Zeiten, die „Astra 2 Connect“ benötigt, um eine Seite wie www.digitalfernsehen.de aufzurufen, sind für diese Applikation mit Werten von 578 bis 589 Millisekunden zu lang."
  19. ^ Pichl, Günter. "Über-All Internet" PC Magazin (July, 2007) 52-53 (German) "Allerdings lagen die Antwortzeiten (Ping) im Bereich von rund 650 ms. Für größere Downloads ist das belanglos und auch beim Surfen im Internet ist die gute halbe Sekunde „Bedenkzeit“ leicht zu verschmerzen."

See also

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASTRA2Connect"
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Very small aperture terminal (VSAT)

from wikipedia


A 2.5 m parabolic dish antenna for bidirectional Satellite Internet Access.

A Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), is a two-way satellite ground station with a dish antenna that is smaller than 3 meters. Most VSAT antennas range from 75 cm to 1.2 m. Data rates typically range from narrowband[vague] up to 4 Mbit/s. VSATs access satellites in geosynchronous orbit to relay data from small remote earth stations (terminals) to other terminals (in mesh configurations) or master earth station "hubs" (in star configurations).

VSATs are most commonly used to transmit narrowband data (point of sale transactions such as credit card, polling or RFID data; or SCADA), or broadband data (for the provision of Satellite Internet access to remote locations, VoIP or video). VSATs are also used for transportable, on-the-move (utilising phased array antennas) or mobile maritime communications.

Usage

The first commercial VSATs were C band receive-only systems by Equatorial Communications using spread spectrum technology. More than 30,000 60 cm antenna systems were sold in the early 1980s. Equatorial later developed a C band (4/6 GHz) 2 way system using 1 m x 0.5 m antennas and sold about 10,000 units in 1984-85.

In 1985, Schlumberger Oilfield Research co-developed the world's first Ku band (12-14 GHz) VSATs with Hughes Aerospace to provide portable network connectivity for oil field drilling and exploration units. Ku Band VSATs make up the vast majority of sites in use today for data or telephony applications.

The largest VSAT network (more than 12,000 sites) was deployed by Spacenet and MCI for the US Postal Service. Other large VSAT network users include Walgreens Pharmacy, Dollar General, Wal-Mart, CVS, Riteaid, Yum! Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's and other Quick Service Restaurant chains),Intralot, GTECH and SGI for lottery terminals. VSATs are used by car dealerships affiliated with manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors for transmitting and receiving sales figures and orders, as well as for receiving internal communications, service bulletins, and interactive distance learning courses from manufacturers. The FordStar network, used by Ford and its local dealers, is an example of this.

VSAT technology is also used for two-way satellite Internet providers such as HughesNet, StarBand and WildBlue in the United States; and ASTRA2Connect across Europe. These services are used across the world as a means of delivering broadband Internet access to locations which cannot get less expensive broadband connections such as ADSL or cable internet access; usually remote or rural locations.

Nearly all VSAT systems are now based on IP, with a very broad spectrum of applications. As of December 2004, the total number of VSATs ordered stood at over 1 million, with nearly 650,000 in service. Annual VSAT service revenues were $3.88 billion (source: www.comsys.co.uk).

Configurations

Most VSAT networks are configured in one of these topologies:

  • A star topology, using a central uplink site, such as a network operations center (NOC), to transport data back and forth to each VSAT terminal via satellite,
  • A mesh topology, where each VSAT terminal relays data via satellite to another terminal by acting as a hub, minimizing the need for a centralized uplink site,
  • A combination of both star and mesh topologies. Some VSAT networks are configured by having several centralized uplink sites (and VSAT terminals stemming from it) connected in a multi-star topology with each star (and each terminal in each star) connected to each other in a mesh topology. Others configured in only a single star topology sometimes will have each terminal connected to each other as well, resulting in each terminal acting as a central hub. These configurations are utilized to minimize the overall cost of the network, and to alleviate the amount of data that has to be relayed through a central uplink site (or sites) of a star or multi-star network.

Technology

VSAT was originally intended for sporadic store-and-forward data communications but has evolved into real-time internet services. VSAT uses existing satellite broadcasting technology with higher powered components and antennas manufactured with higher precision than conventional satellite television systems. The satellite antenna at the customer's location includes, in addition to the receiver, a relatively high-powered transmitter that sends a signal back to the originating satellite. A very small portion of a transponder is used for each VSAT return path channel. Each VSAT terminal is assigned a frequency for the return path which it shares with other VSAT terminals using a shared transmission scheme such as time division multiple access.[1]

An innovative feature of VSAT is that the technology has evolved to the point that something that previously could only be done with large, high-powered transmitting satellite dishes can now be done with a much smaller and vastly lower-powered antenna at the customer's premises. In addition, several return-path channels can co-exist on a single satellite transponder, and each of these return-path channels is further subdivided using to serve multiple customers.

In the system used by WildBlue, 31 different spot beams are used to serve the continental United States instead of the one beam used by conventional satellites.[2] Thus, the same Ka-band transponders and frequencies are used for different regions throughout the United States, effectively re-using the same bandwidth in different regions.

The return path is transmitted from the customer's receiver in the L-band to a device called a low-noise block upconverter. There it is converted into the much higher frequency satellite transmission frequency, such as Ku-band and Ka-band, and amplified. Finally the signal is emitted to the dish antenna which focuses the signal into a beam that approximately covers the satellite with its beam. Because the transmission cannot be precise in these smaller dishes there is some effort to use frequencies for the uplink that are not used by adjacent satellites otherwise interference can occur to those other satellites.

Another satellite communications innovation, also used by satellite trucks for video transmission, is that only a small portion of a single satellite transponder is used by each VSAT channel. Previously a single transponder was required for a single customer but now several customers can use one transponder for the return path. This is in addition to time-based subdivision.

Pros and cons of VSAT networks

Advantages

  • Availability: VSAT services can be deployed anywhere having a clear view of the Clarke Belt
  • Diversity: VSAT provides a wireless link completely independent of the local terrestrial/wireline infrastructure - especially important for backup or disaster recovery services
  • Deployability: VSAT services can be deployed in hours or even minutes (with auto-acquisition antennas)
  • Homogeneity: VSAT enables customers to get the same speeds and service level agreements at all locations across their entire network regardless of location
  • Acceleration: Most modern VSAT systems use onboard acceleration of protocols such as TCP ("spoofing" of acknowledgement packets) and HTTP (pre-fetching of recognized HTTP objects); this delivers high-quality Internet performance regardless of latency (see below)
  • Multicast: Most current VSAT systems use a broadcast download scheme (such as DVB-S) which enables them to deliver the same content to tens or thousands of locations simultaneously at no additional cost
  • Security: Corporate-grade VSAT networks are private layer-2 networks over the air

Disadvantages

  • Latency: Since they relay signals off a satellite in geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth, VSAT links are subject to a minimum latency of approximately 500 milliseconds round-trip. This makes them a poor choice for "chatty" protocols or applications such as online gaming
  • Encryption: The acceleration schemes used by most VSAT systems rely upon the ability to see a packet's source/destination and contents; packets encrypted via VPN defeat this acceleration and perform slower than other network traffic
  • Environmental concerns: VSATs are subject to signal attenuation due to weather ("Rain Fade"); the effect is typically far less than that experienced by one-way TV systems (such as DirecTV, DISH Network or British Sky Broadcasting) that use smaller dishes, but is still a function of antenna size and transmitter power and frequency band
  • Installation: VSAT services require an outdoor antenna installation with a clear view of the sky (southern sky if the location is in the northern hemisphere or northern sky if the location is in the southern hemisphere); this makes installation in skyscraper urban environments or locations where a customer does not have "roof rights" problematic

Future applications

Advances in technology have dramatically improved the price/performance equation of FSS (Fixed Service Satellite) over the past five years. New VSAT systems are coming online using Ka band technology that promise higher bandwidth rates for lower costs.

FSS satellite systems currently in orbit have a huge capacity with a relatively low price structure. FSS satellite systems provide various applications for subscribers, including: telephony, fax, television, high speed data communication services, Internet access, Satellite News Gathering (SNG), Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) and others. These systems are applicable for providing various high-quality services because they create efficient communication systems, both for residential and business users.

Constituent parts of a VSAT configuration

All the outdoor parts on the dish are collectively called the ODU (Outdoor Unit), i.e. OMT to split signal between BUC and LNB. The IDU is effectively a Modem, usually with ethernet port and 2 x F-connectors for the coax to BUC(Transmit) and from LNB (Receive). The Astra2Connect has an all-in-one OMT/BUC/LNA that looks like a QUAD LNB in shape and size which mounts on a regular TV sat mount. As a consequence it is only 500mW compared with the normal 2W, thus is poorer in rain.

Training

Modern VSAT systems are a prime example of convergence, and hence require skills from both the RF and IP domains. VSAT specific training includes:

References

  1. ^ http://www.comsys.co.uk/vsatnets.htm VSAT Network FAQ
  2. ^ http://www.wildblue.com/aboutWildblue/how_it_works_demo.jsp WildBlue spot beaming

External links

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StarBand


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

StarBand is a two-way satellite broadband Internet service available in the U.S.. StarBand Communications Inc. was initially a joint venture between Gilat Satellite Networks, EchoStar and Microsoft, and the StarBand service was launched in 2000. StarBand Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002 and emerged from bankruptcy in 2003. In March 2005, StarBand Communications was acquired by Spacenet, a division of Gilat Satellite Networks, which continues to operate the service. As of mid-2005, StarBand had approximately 32,000 subscribers.

The StarBand satellite Internet system is a VSAT platform that uses Ku band satellites for transmission of data from users' PCs to the StarBand network operations center. Two-way bandwidth for residential users is up to 1.5 Mbit/s download speed and 256 kbit/s upload speed, with unlimited usage and online hours. A .75 meter satellite dish is needed; the antenna is sufficiently small that Home Owner Associations cannot prohibit its installation.

StarBand service is designed to provide a superior performance level although it is slightly more expensive than its WildBlue and HughesNet competitors.

Technology

StarBand offered the first residential two-way satellite Internet service in the United States market. Launched in November 2000, StarBand began selling the Gilat Satellite Networks SkyBlaster PCI card VSAT. Initially, the only way to purchase the StarBand system was to purchase a PC with the send/receive PCI card pre-installed as well as hosting software.

In 2001, StarBand began offering service using standalone VSAT units using the StarBand Model 180 (based on the Gilat Skystar Advantage/180 VSAT) connected via USB. The 180 modem was Windows OS-only because it required specialized Windows drivers for the USB interface.

In 2002, StarBand switched to Gilat's Model 360 VSAT which enabled higher speed and allowed USB or Ethernet connections, but still required driver software to communicate.

In 2003, StarBand introduced the Model 480 modem (based on the Gilat Skystar 360E VSAT), which connects via Ethernet, supports multiple computers/OSes and requires no additional software. The 48x series service supports Microsoft Windows PC, Macintosh, Unix and Linux computers. In late 2005, StarBand began selling only Model 480-based services.

In October 2006, StarBand introduced the its next-generation service, the StarBand Nova (based on the Gilat SkyEdge series). The StarBand Nova modems are capable of higher speeds, optimized for VoIP, VPN, and work on a more efficient hub. The SkyEdge modems have one Ethernet port and do not require hosting software for any OS platform.

Previously, StarBand supplied a .74M convergence antenna which picked up two Dish Network signals and the satellite internet signal. StarBand is now supplying a third generation .74M antenna, and users require a separate antenna to receive satellite television signals.

A serious item to consider is that all satellite providers such as Star Band measure the amount of data you transfer. Their policy allows Nova 1500 users to transfer 4 gigabytes per week (Nova 1000: 1.4 GB) before the speeds are limited.


External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarBand"
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O3B Networks

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The O3b system will become operational late in 2010[1]. Thales SA has started construction of 16 satellites for the network.

O3b Networks plans to provide a high-capacity satellite connection to the Internet on which telephone companies and Internet service providers in emerging markets will be able to build their high-speed mobile and Web-access offers.

O3b Networks will offer fiber performance via satellite at prices comparable to fiber in developed regions. 03b stands for the other three billion people in the world who have limited Internet access.

By allowing direct connection to core networks and 3G Cellular/WiMAX towers, the O3b Networks system will completely change the economics of telecommunications infrastructure in the world's fastest-growing markets for communications services.[2]

Latency is reduced by putting the satellites in a low-earth orbit, less than a twentieth of a second away at light speed as opposed to the half second needed to reach geostationary orbit.[3]

References

  1. ^ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aqjBH48FtCbk&refer=news
  2. ^ http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=26391
  3. ^ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/09/other_three_billion/

External Links

O3b Networks

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WildBlue Communications, Inc.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WildBlue Communications, Inc. is a corporation based in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The company offers satellite broadband Internet services to both home and business customers. WildBlue is one of the newer satellite Internet services, having begun operating in June 2005.

After nationwide beta testing, the first residential retail customers had WildBlue service installed at their home in June 2005. During the summer of 2005 a dealer network was established to provide installation and customer service to clients throughout the 48 contiguous United States.

WildBlue claims superior performance both in terms of upload and download speed through its use of newer satellite technology. Specifically, WildBlue uses the Ka band instead of the Ku band used by established competitors. For improved performance, it covers the U.S. and most of populated Canada with many "spot beams" instead of a single, broad beam covering the entire market. It has adopted DOCSIS technology to reduce costs while maintaining quality of service[1].

The maximum advertised transmission speed with the premium subscription is 1.5 megabits per second download and 256 kilobits per second upload. The satellite equipment costs approximately US$299, exclusive of the mandatory professional installation service. They have in place a Fair Access Policy that slows bandwidth to less than 150kbit/s for users who reach predetermined bandwidth caps on usage.

In late 2006, WildBlue modified their calculation of network activity. This change was intended to allow for more accurate measurement of data usage, but it appeared to more than double calculated usage, causing routine usage of some customers to unexpectedly exceed WildBlue's imposed 30-day usage limits. As a result, WildBlue ignored two weeks of bandwidth usage from November 27 through December 11, 2006.

Satellites

WildBlue uses the Ka-band exclusively for both the receiving end and the return path on two satellites using VSAT technology.

Anik-F2

This Telesat Canada-owned Boeing 702 Anik-F2 satellite has a Ka-band payload designed for and leased by WildBlue. It has four spot beams for a total of 38 transponders in the Ka-band. It also has C-band and Ku-band payloads for other customers.[2] It is located at the 111.1° W, geostationary orbit slot.[3]

WildBlue-1

WildBlue-1 is a purpose-built satellite built for use by the WildBlue service exclusively. It has 35 spot beams in the Ka-band.[4]. WildBlue-1, was launched on December 8, 2006 at 22:07 GMT aboard an Arianespace Ariane 5. WildBlue-1 is an LS-1300 was built by Space Systems/Loral and occupies the 111.0° W slot.[5] WildBlue-1, while co-located with Anik-F2, requires subscribers to have separate accounts and different equipment than subscribers to Anik-F2.

Equipment

WildBlue uses a 28 × 26 in (508 × 660 mm) mini-dish and external satellite modem to bring their service to subscribers nearly anywhere in the 48 contiguous states. The modem connects to a PC's or Apple Macintosh's network card via 10BASE-T (RJ-45) cables, much in the way a cable or DSL modem would. The modem updates its firmware automatically.


Subscribers' WildBlue mini-dish antenna.

WildBlue satellite modem.

The back panel of a WildBlue satellite modem. The coaxial connections for incoming and outgoing signals can be seen, as well as the Ethernet port for the rest of the network.


Competitors

WildBlue competes with satellite Internet service providers Starband and Hughesnet (and O3b soon). WildBlue distinguishes itself by exclusively using the Ka-band and a comparatively large amount of regionalized, high-power spot beams which both transmit and receive to more customers by re-using the same frequency ranges in different geographic regions.

Real-time interactive applications sometimes perform poorly through WildBlue internet connections (or any GEO satellite connection) because the satellite signal travel distance of 140,000 km (88,000 miles) for a round trip (user to ISP, and then back to user) is very long. Atmospheric conditions such as thunderstorms reduce satellite signal, resulting in less speed and a higher latency. A 0.12 second latency between satellite and ground stations results in an actual end-to-end latency of at least 650 milliseconds (ms) and more typically 900ms to 1200ms end-to-end latency. Latency is measured by the "ping" utility. While web browsing can work fine with this level of latency, many online games and interactive network applications do not.

External links

References

  1. ^ http://www.wildblue.com/aboutWildblue/equipment.jsp WildBlue Equipment Specifications
  2. ^ http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bss/factsheets/702/anik_f2/anik_f2.html#specs Anik F2 Specifications
  3. ^ http://www.lyngsat.com/anikf2.html Lyngsat.com data on Anik F2
  4. ^ http://space.skyrocket.de/index_frame.htm?http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/wildblue-1.htm WildBlue-1 Specifications
  5. ^ http://www.lyngsat.com/wildblue1.html Lyngsat.com data for WildBlue-1
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Qwest

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the current telephone company. For the record label, see Qwest Records. For the Bell Operating Company, see Qwest Corporation.
Qwest Communications International, Inc
Type Public (NYSE: Q)
Founded 1996
Founder(s) Phillip Anschutz
Headquarters Flag of the United States Denver, Colorado, USA
Key people Edward Mueller (Chairman, CEO)
John Richardson (CFO)
Thomas Richards (COO)
Industry Telecommunications
Services Telephony
Internet
Television
Market cap ▼ US$12,528,902,900 (2007)
Revenue ▼ US$13,778,000,000 (2007)
Operating income ▲ US$1,730,000,000 (2007)
Net income ▲ US$2,917,000,000 (2007)
Total assets ▲ US$22,532,000,000 (2007)
Total equity ▲ US$563,000,000 (2007)
Employees 36,519 (2007)
Website http://www.qwest.com/
[1]

Qwest Communications is a large telecommunications carrier. Qwest provides local service in 14 western U.S. states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

Qwest provides voice, backbone data services, and digital television in some areas. It operates in three segments: Wireline Services, Wireless Services, and Other Services. The Wireline Services segment provides local voice, long distance voice, and data and Internet (DSL) services to consumers, businesses, and wholesale customers, as well as access services to wholesale customers. The Wireless Services segment is achieved by a partnership with Verizon Wireless. Qwest also partners with DirecTV to provide digital television service to its customers. In Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City,Boise, and Omaha, Qwest offers Qwest Choice TV. The Other Services segment primarily involves the sublease of real estate assets, such as space in office buildings, warehouses, and other properties.

Qwest Communications also provides long-distance services and broadband data, as well as voice and video communications globally. The company sells its products and services to small businesses, governmental entities, and public and private educational institutions through various channels, including direct-sales marketing, telemarketing, arrangements with third-party agents, company’s Web site, and partnership relations. As of September 13, 2005, Qwest had 98 retail stores in 14 states. Qwest Communications is headquartered in Denver, Colorado at 1801 California Street, in the 2nd tallest building in Denver at 53 stories. The majority of Qwest occupational or non-management employees are represented by two labor unions; the Communications Workers of America and in Montana, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Qwest also has a state-of-the-art development center in Bangalore, India called Qwest Software Services.

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[edit] History

Founded in 1996 by Philip Anschutz, Qwest began in an unconventional way. Anschutz, who owned the Southern Pacific Railroad at the time, began installing the first all-digital, fiber-optic infrastructure along his railroad lines and connecting them into central junctions in strategic locations to serve businesses with high-speed data and T1 services. In 1998, the Southern Pacific Railroad was merged into the Union Pacific, in which Qwest gained access to UP's railroad lines to lay fiber-optic cable for its telecom network. At that time Anshutz had a contract with MCI to lay nationwide fiber for them along the railway lines, he took advantage of this situation and laid his own fiber along with that of MCI.

Qwest Communications grew aggressively, acquiring internet service provider SuperNet in 1997, followed by the acquisition of LCI, a low cost long distance carrier (located in Dublin, Ohio and McLean, Virginia) in 1998, and followed again by the acquisition of Icon CMT, a web hosting provider, also in 1998. This launched Qwest as not only a provider of high speed data to the niche market of corporate customers, but also a quick-growing residential and business long distance customer base that it quickly merged into its data service.

USWEST Corporate Logo, 1984-2000

Qwest merged with "Baby Bell" US West on June 30, 2000 through an apparent hostile takeover. (See article on US West for more information); Philip Anschutz owns 17.5% of the resulting company.

As a condition of this merger, Qwest had to spin off its long distance operations actually located within the Bell Operating Company boundaries of Qwest Corporation. The resulting company was named Touch America, Inc.

One of the historically significant mass complaints regarding Qwest involved allegations that the then-long-distance-only company switched local telephone service customers over to Qwest's long-distance service without their permission, an illegal practice known as slamming. In July 2000, Qwest paid a $1.5 million fine to the Federal Communications Commission to resolve slamming complaints. In April 2001, they paid a $350,000 fine to the Pennsylvania Bureau of Consumer Protection after the state cited them for deceptive advertising and slamming practices.[2] The company's settlements included a requirement that all of its sales employees sign a pledge stating that slamming was barred-and conditions for dismissal from Qwest employment.

The company was also involved in accounting scandals, and was recently fined $250 million by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to be split into two $125 million payments due to the poor state of Qwest's current financial health. Among the transactions in question were a series of deals from 1999-2001 with Enron's broadband division which may have helped Enron conceal losses. In 2005, former Chairman and CEO Joseph Nacchio, former President and COO Afshin Mohebbi and seven other former Qwest employees have been accused of fraud in a civil lawsuit filed by the SEC. Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty was accused but later cleared of accepting bribes from Qwest. Separately, Nacchio was convicted of 19 counts of insider trading in Qwest stock on April 19, 2007.[3]

In May 2007, the telecommunications sector as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) scored Qwest and Verizon with increases to 72, but Cox dropped six points to 70 and AT&T (70) and Comcast fell to 67.[4][5]

Qwest's original slogan was "Ride The Light", which was meant to portray the company as technologically advanced. In 2002, Richard C. Notebaert, who took over as CEO that year, introduced the "Spirit of Service" campaign which promotes the company as being refocused on customer satisfaction.

In 2004, Qwest became the first Regional Bell operating company (RBOC) in the United States to offer Standalone DSL (also known as Naked DSL), i.e. DSL Internet service that does not require the customer to have local landline phone service.

Around 1999 SBC was first to offer naked DSL in the 5 state Ameritech region. The merger between SBC and Ameritech formed Ameritech Advanced Data Services, Inc or SBC Advanced Solutions, Inc.

Qwest also offers a cable system in Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Omaha. This service is called Qwest Choice TV. As of October 2008, Qwest Choice TV customers were in the process of being migrated to DirecTV.

Since 2002, The NewsMarket has utilized Qwest for its hosting space. [6]


[edit] NSA spying

In May 2006, USA Today reported that millions of telephone calling records had been handed over to the United States National Security Agency by AT&T Corp., Verizon, and BellSouth since September 11, 2001. This data has been used to create a database of all international and domestic calls. Qwest was allegedly the lone holdout, despite threats from the NSA that their refusal to cooperate may jeopardize future government contracts,[7] a decision which has earned them praise from those who oppose the NSA program.[8]

U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor on August 17, 2006 ruled that the government's domestic eavesdropping program is unconstitutional and ordered it ended immediately. The Bush Administration has filed an appeal in the case which has yet to be heard in court.[9]

Former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio, who was convicted of insider trading in April 2007, alleged in appeal documents that the NSA requested that Qwest participate in its wiretapping program more than six months before September 11, 2001. Nacchio recalls the meeting as occurring on February 27, 2001. Nacchio further claims that the NSA cancelled a lucrative contract with Qwest as a result of Qwest's refusal to participate in the wiretapping program.[10]

A social media experiment and website covering the Qwest holdout, Thank you Qwest dot Org, built by Netherlands-based Webmaster Richard Kastelein and American Expatriate Journalist Chris Floyd, was covered by the CNN Situation Room,[11]USA Today,[12]New York Times,[13][14]International Herald Tribune,[15]Denver Post,[16][17]News.com, [18] and the Salt Lake Tribune [19]

[edit] Qwest Communications Corporation

Qwest Communications Corporation is a long distance subsidiary of Qwest that was, until 1995, known as Southern Pacific Telecommunications Company. Qwest Communications made an agreement with CSX in which it could use its railines as a right-of-way for a fiber-optic system. Qwest Communications International, the holding company, took the slogan Ride the Light as a result of this.

[edit] Namesake buildings

The Qwest corporate headquarters in Denver.

Qwest currently owns the naming rights to the following buildings:

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Qwest Communications International, Inc.". Google Finance. http://finance.google.com/finance?q=Q. Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
  2. ^ "Qwest to pay fine for slamming". Denver Business Journal. 2001-04-27. http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2001/04/23/daily41.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
  3. ^ Frosch, Dan (2007-04-20). "Ex-Chief at Qwest Found Guilty of Insider Trading". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/20/technology/20qwest.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
  4. ^ Staff (2007-05-21). "Qwest and Verizon rate high in customer satisfaction survey". New Mexico Business Weekly. http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2007/05/21/daily4.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
  5. ^ Butsunturn, Chaat; Courtney Porter (2007-05-15). "Customer Satisfaction Growth Slows, Many Companies Struggle to Keep Up" (PDF). http://www.theacsi.org/images/stories/images/news/0507q1.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
  6. ^ Qwest and The NewsMarket Strengthen Ties
  7. ^ Cauley, Leslie (2006-05-11). "NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-10-nsa_x.htm. Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
  8. ^ Smith, Jeff (2006-05-12). "Qwest defies NSA". Rocky Mountain News. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_4692718,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
  9. ^ Mears, Bill; Andrea Koppel (2006-08-17). "NSA eavesdropping program ruled unconstitutional". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/17/domesticspying.lawsuit/index.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
  10. ^ "Nacchio says feds punished Qwest: report". MarketWatch. 2007-10-13. http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/story.aspx?guid={EA55E07E-79BF-4DBB-BE89-DE832F079DAD}.
  11. ^ Blitzer, Wolf (2006-05-12). "Surrounding NSA Tracking of Phone Calls". CNN Situation Room. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0605/15/sitroom.01.html. Retrieved on 2008-08-07.
  12. ^ Armour, Stephanie (2005-05-15). "Phone companies' customers offer their take on assisting NSA". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-05-15-phone-customers-nsa_x.htm. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  13. ^ Zellor, Tom (2005-05-15). "Qwest Goes From the Goat to the Hero". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/15/technology/15link.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  14. ^ Belson, Ken (2005-05-15). "Qwest's Ex-Chief Is Suddenly Cast as Defender of Privacy". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/13/business/13qwest.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  15. ^ Zellor, Tom (2005-05-15). "Qwest achieves some customer respect". International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/15/business/Link.php. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  16. ^ "Qwest Stand Wins Praise". Denver Post. 2005-05-15. http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_3827036. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  17. ^ "Qwest Finds Favor over NSA Flap". Denver Post. 2005-05-15. http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_3825616. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  18. ^ Zellor, Tom (2005-05-15). "Qwest's ex-chief suddenly cast as privacy defender". News.com. http://news.com.com/Qwests+ex-chief+suddenly+cast+as+privacy+defender/2100-1023_3-6071958.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  19. ^ Oberbeck, Steven (2005-05-15). "Phone Snoop Creates Uproar". Salt Lake Tribune. http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3814000. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qwest"
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