Satellite Internet

Satellite configurations utilize state-of-the-art technologies for facilitating high-speed access to bandwidth-intensive resources and time-critical data. Rapidly evolving satellite networks are further distinguished by their provision of on-demand seamless mobile communication services at anytime and in every place and delivery of broadband multimedia applications to subscribers at rural locations.

The popularity of Web services drives demand for faster and more efficient access to the Internet from any location. This demand contributes to the emergence of mixed-mode configurations featuring satellite networks that operate in conjunction with cable, Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), and Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) technologies and configurations.

Satellite services employ microwave technology at very high frequencies for enabling narrowband and broadband implementations. Satellite configurations contain multiple pairs of receivers and transmitters (also known as transceivers) for signal reception and transmission, and enable a diverse array of communications solutions.

CTI (Cornerstone Technologies, Inc.) supports international satellite operations in Ku-band, Ka-band, and C-band frequencies for fostering high-speed transport of video, voice, and data, and for supporting high-quality applications that include videoconferencing, voice telephony, videotelephony, and Web browsing.

Satellite configurations utilize state-of-the-art technologies for facilitating high-speed access to bandwidth-intensive resources and time-critical data. Rapidly evolving satellite networks are further distinguished by their provision of on-demand seamless mobile communication services at anytime and in every place and delivery of broadband multimedia applications to subscribers at rural locations.

The popularity of Web services drives demand for faster and more efficient access to the Internet from any location. This demand contributes to the emergence of mixed-mode configurations featuring satellite networks that operate in conjunction with cable, Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), and Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) technologies and configurations.

Satellites Like the cable TV companies, two satellite TV companies would like to become major Internet conduits as well. Their satellite channels can be made to carry data in both directions. Transcontinental corporations have been using satellites to shuttle voice and data for years. But their service is comparatively expensive for individual homeowners, because to use it a trained professional must first install a yard-wide parabolic dish . Unlike the wired DSL providers, who sometimes give their modems to new customers for free, the dish is expensive. Data speeds are typically 2 Mbps downward, and 500KBs upward, which is comparatively slow. Satellite Internet purveyors have a unique selling proposition. They can deliver wherever a clear shot to the sky exists, including farmlands, forests, and islands that would typically be ignored by the other providers. The long-distance bounce introduces a lag between a request for data and the start of the data stream (called latency), which can interfere with interactive applications. They advertise a completion time of just one week after the order placement.

Satellite television services offered by DirecPC and Starband offer Internet access through their high-orbit outposts via the same technology that gas stations have been using to report your purchases when you insert a credit card at the pump. (You may have noticed that most filling stations sport a meter-wide, oval, skyward-pointing dish these days.) That’s the same kind of expensive parabolic antenna that you will need on your roof, which counts as a disadvantage. In the past, satellite providers relied heavily on the asymmetric service scheme, because users actually used earthbound telephone lines to uplink their requests to the Internet. Only the downlink data came literally down from space. Some users still do it this way, though providers are prodding them to upgrade to a genuine two-way link by citing many of the disadvantages that former telephone modem users are familiar with. Because two-way dishes transmit as well as receive, a professional must install and precisely aim that dish . The installation process will take about an hour and a half. Part of that time will be spent removing your existing satellite dish and running a second (data) cable to the new one. Naturally, you will have to install the provider’s driver software. Your PC will have to be configured as a software gateway if other networked PCs are to concurrently share the satellite link. Gateway computers must be left on continually for the clients to stay online.

The same dish can be used for the pickup of video and data; however, the transmitting satellites are separated by a few degrees in the equatorial Clarke Belt, so focus will be fuzzy on the video side. This usually won’t make a difference except in rainy weather. Otherwise, your antenna will require an unobstructed view of the southern sky. The 44,000-mile roundtrip distance for the bouncing signal introduces speed-of-light drag, resulting in a noticeable (half-second) pause between a request for a feed and the start of the stream. This latency makes a satellite path too clumsy for tasks requiring immediate feedback, such as multiplayer video games. Satellite data speed is often slower than land-based links. Again, this is a theoretical best case. It can be slower when rain fade degrades the signal or when you do not have a completely clear line of sight to the satellite. This happens often enough to merit the installation of a dialup backup if you are running a full-time application. It will launch automatically if contact with the satellite is lost. Your screen will display a message when contact is restored, so you can manually shut down the phone link.

Satellite internet service may either be bundled to include 10 email accounts and 10MB of web page host space.You may be allowed to keep your present ISP, depending on which satellite company you choose. Their ISP cost is $60 per month with a one-year commitment. Equipment and other initial setup costs (typically $300) make it more expensive than your other choices, if you have any. That’s pricey, but if you live in the Yukon Territory, it will get you on the Web, and you can also use it to watch TV during those long polar nights. At least one of the satellite TV companies is selling DSL service that actually comes over a phone line, just like the phone companies. That may sound confusing at first, but it has nothing to do with your satellite dish.