Anyone using "Satelite Broadband"?

[Shagga]

I was just looking at the Pro's and Con's of it. I can get a 1Mbit connection installed for a setup fee of £299 and a monthly fee of £34.99/month. I have to say the cost of this sux as you are limited to 1GB of downloads per month, but you can buy additional bandwidth as required i.e. generally £34.99 for 1GB.

Problem is you need an existing ISP and internet connection as you cannot upload via the satelite. Although it's a 128KB connection I was wondering what you guys thought. My gut says, too much £££ too early....Alos, I am aware of it's limitations but was wondering if anyone had first hand use of this...

If I wait for BT and ADSL I'll be very old....

[edit]

Just in case you need a little more information...

 

[buleyb]

I've had experience with both types, and I haven't been impressed so far. Never had it myself, but had friends with both 1 way + dial-up and 2 way sat connections. 1 way is annoying because you get limited by a modem upload (33.6 max), 2 way is poor because of bandwidth caps, and latency times. If you are looking to game over these, don't expect low-pings (there is a consistent time for travel to/from sat)

If it is your only option, go for it, but if you can find other broadband services around you, get them...

 

[MDE]

The latency on satellite connections is horrible, especially for gaming (300ms+)

 

[ShawnD1]

300ms? try like 800. Gaming and satelite internet contradict each other.

If DSL is not available and cable is too expensive; try getting something like ISDN. ISDN is excellent for gaming and it does pretty ok for web browsing. The reason people get high pings on dialup in games is because the dialup doesn't have enough bandwidth. With ISDN, you'll have enough bandwidth for gaming and the ping will match that of high speed DSL

 

[alkemyst]

yeah ISDN....if it is metered overseas (per minute charges for data) then see if any companies do data over voice.

You can send 128K over the voice circuit on the ISDN and get around the data metering charges. That was going to be my option before I moved to a DSL area.

what really sux is in all the rural areas ISDN is not metered, you pay $30-40 per month and get 128K, where I lived you pay $40 per month and get 200 hours of 64K or 100 hours of 128K connect and pay (I think) 1 cents per min / per channel. ($1.20 per hour).

 

[duragezic]

We have a 2-way system at work, so we don't need another provider. I would bet the upload speeds suck, and gaming wouldn't be much good, but it is very fast for downloading. Not that it gets used like that, but even split between 5+ computers, I can download stuff faster than I do at home on cable. Not quite as much now that charter upgraded to 2mbps download, but the satellite still downloads faster. Not bad...

 

[corkyg]

The only time I have experienced satellite broadband was on a cruise ship this summer. It is used extensively for "Internet Cafe" at sea. Quite expensive, mind you. But, when information needs to be transmitted via email, etc., it is a no brainer. Definitely not for those who amuse themselves with computers unless they have very deep pockets.

My own ISP is now offering it at varying rates that are starting to get competitive. See: Link

When I am travelling inside the USA, I now find most good motels and hotels are offering free or reasonable broadband service - usually DSL. The moral of the story is, always travel with NIC and short CAT5 cable.

I now havemy Sprint PCS Vision cellphone that gets me connected anywhere in a cell area - most of the main USA on Interstate routes. That is better than dial-up - and when all else fails, I use iPass worldwide.

iPass

 

[Shamrock]

I've been told that ISDN has a range limit, like DSL.....something close to 17,000 ft. is this true?

 

[NuTechNot]

You guys should feel dang lucky to have ANY options! The "rural"area I live in has 1 choice...
dialup.....I'm too far outside town..no cable, no dsl, no wireless, and Satellite options..
buy ALL your own equipment ($400-$700) then pay $70 month....{{which leaves it NOT
being an option}}
So I'm stuck on crappy dial up with a whopping speed of 26,4 on a good day.
Some days it's so slow web pages time out and won't even load!

I wish those who have the power would push the ?companies, government...the
Electric Cooperatives......anybody!
into getting broadband out in the true "rural" areas and give us guys a life!

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: NuTechNot
You guys should feel dang lucky to have ANY options! The "rural"area I live in has 1 choice...
dialup.....I'm too far outside town..no cable, no dsl, no wireless, and Satellite options..
buy ALL your own equipment ($400-$700) then pay $70 month....{{which leaves it NOT
being an option}}
So I'm stuck on crappy dial up with a whopping speed of 26,4 on a good day.
Some days it's so slow web pages time out and won't even load!

I wish those who have the power would push the ?companies, government...the
Electric Cooperatives......anybody!
into getting broadband out in the true "rural" areas and give us guys a life!

That's why people drink so much out in the sticks... lack of internet.

 

[Joony]

you guys should try to get someone who has broadband is is within line of sight of your home to set up a high gain parabolic 802.11b antenna and get internet wirelessly. You can achieve about 5 miles with good antennas on both sides!