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Showing posts with label Starband. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Starband. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Broadband Satellite Internet Access - Who's Got the Highest Speeds and Best Service?

Broadband Satellite Internet Access - Who's Got the Highest Speeds and Best Service?
By Brian Stevens Platinum Quality Author


More than 30 million people across the U.S. do not have access to high-speed DSL or cable Internet service. Are you one of them? Does that mean you're stuck with slow, erratic dial-up service?

No. Now you can get high-speed broadband satellite Internet access anywhere in the country, and at a price you can afford.

How does satellite service work?

Instead of sending an Internet signal through your phone line, satellite Internet providers broadcast their signals up to a satellite orbiting in the sky. The satellite then bounces the signal back down to a satellite dish attached to a home or business.

The dish captures the signal and sends it to a modem which decodes the signal and sends it to a computer.

In order to receive satellite Internet service all you need is a clear view of the southern sky, and the necessary equipment which some companies will give you for free.

What are the benefits of broadband satellite Internet service?

* It's fast - Satellite Internet is up to 50 times faster than dial-up service.
This means you can surf websites as fast as turning the pages in a book, and you can download files, pictures, movies, and music in a fraction of the time it takes with dialup.

* It's immediate - Satellite service is always on, so you don't have to spend time logging on and waiting to get on the Internet.

* It's independent - Satellite service is separate from your phone line. The benefit here is that you won't miss any more telephone calls. You can take phone calls and talk on your phone while you're online.

Do I really need broadband satellite Internet access?

The Internet is changing. Websites are using more sophisticated applications that require high-speed access in order to download audio messages, movies, music, and flash files. Without high-speed service it can takes hours, even days, to download these files.

To get the full benefits of the Internet, you need high-speed, broadband service, whether it's DSL, cable, or satellite service.

Who has the fastest speeds and best service?

Of the four major providers, HughesNet is the fastest, with speeds up to 5Kbps. That's 50 times faster than 56K dialup service.

Their nearest competitor, WildBlue, offers speeds up to 1.5 Mbps which is 15 times faster than dialup. As for the other two competitors, Skyway also offers speeds up to 1.5 Mbps, and Starband offers speeds up to 1Mbps.

As far as service is concerned, HughesNet has been in business for 31 years, and has more than 400,000 satisfied customers. And they're the only company that offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Their nearest competitor, WildBlue has been in business 7 years, and does not offer a money-back guarantee.

The Bottom Line

Why be left behind in the digital age? Why not enjoy all the benefits of the Internet by making the switch from dialup to broadband satellite Internet service today?

With prices starting at less than $2 a day, and with a money-back guarantee, how can you go wrong?

Visit http://www.thesatellitetvguide.com/satellite-tv-internet-service.htm or click on the following link for more information on broadband satellite internet plus where to get the best deal on satellite Internet service. You can also see a Satellite vs. Dialup comparison chart and order satellite Internet service online.

The author, Brian Stevens, is the senior editor for TheSatelliteTVGuide.com and has written a number of articles on broadband satellite Internet access.

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Friday, March 27, 2009

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

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