Internet Satellite Connection

[gkedrovs]

I'd like to know if this is possible:

Can I get equipment and a direct satellite uplink to internet services?

I live in a socialist country where the only isp is the government. Needless to say, service leaves a lot to be desired.

I have cable modumb right now, and get down speeds of 128k and ups of 30k. Pretty good for around here.

I may be moving a little farther out of the metro area, which means I might lose my "fast" cable connection. A friend of mine from the States bragged about his satellite service for 40 bucks a month. If I could get that, I could mount my own equipment and have a nice deal, without out my "local isp" knowing anything about it.

Is this possible? Or was my buddy blowing smoke up my poop chute?

Thanks.
-gk

[FoBoT]

i have tested satellite at the company i work at

it is ok, with two glaring weeknesses

1- upload speed i poor, comparable to the ~33kbps you get on dial up, upload is usually about 40kbps, even though it is advertised as 64kbps

2-latency. if you are just web surfing or getting email/newsgroups , the latency isn't a big deal. but if you want to play games or do anything that requires a low latency connection, it is no good. the signal has to hit a geo-synchranice (sp?) satellite 27,000 miles above the earth and back, so pings are normally about 1 sec, or more

the first system i tested from hughes REQUIRED win98 , it was a USB modem and the only software to run the thing was win98 only

we just got a new setup to test last month, they now include a 3rd box (there is a transmitter in one box, and reciever in another) that has a USB/ethernet interface, so now it sets up pretty much like any retail router that you would buy for cable/DSL

if i lived in the middle of nowhere and wasn't moving anytime soon, i would probably use satellite over dialup, but it will not compete with DSL/Cable

good luck! :)

[bwkaz]

Originally posted by FoBoT
geo-synchranice (sp?) Geo-synchronous.

;)

But yeah, from what I've heard the bandwidth is nice, but the latency leaves a lot to be desired if you're playing games.

But I'm a bit confused on one point -- are you trying to steal service from a satellite? What did you mean by "I could mount my own equipment and have a nice deal, without out my "local isp" knowing anything about it."?

[plattypus1]

Last I heard (this may not be true, but I'll post it anyway), sat internet was only avaliable in the US. Last time I checked the US wasn't socialist. Perhaps there are companies in your area that would provide the service, but it's something you'll need to look into.

[gkedrovs]

Originally posted by bwkaz
But I'm a bit confused on one point -- are you trying to steal service from a satellite? What did you mean by "I could mount my own equipment and have a nice deal, without out my "local isp" knowing anything about it."?

www.racsa.co.cr

That's the gvt owned and run isp. Everything up or down on the net runs through them. They won't even give the national university here (UCR) an up through their own sat equip. I don't mean to steal anything from anyone. I'd like to pay for a service (Stateside?) and be able to use it here (Costa Rica). Why would my isp/gvt have to know about it? That's what I meant.

-gk

[gkedrovs]

Originally posted by plattypus1
Last I heard (this may not be true, but I'll post it anyway), sat internet was only avaliable in the US. Last time I checked the US wasn't socialist. Perhaps there are companies in your area that would provide the service, but it's something you'll need to look into.

I don't live in the US (although it's moving rapidly toward socialism).

If sat internet is available one place on the globe, why wouldn't it be available anywhere on the globe? Seems to me you could "beam up" your info from anywhere but the poles (and that only 6 mos. outta the year).

And, BTW, it looks like I just got the property outside the city here. Gonna build a house. If cable modumb service isn't offered... if I can't get sat hooked up... I'm SOL and back on dial-up... 19k connect speeds here I come!!!

-gk

[S0ulDaDdY]

w8

A friend of mine has sattelite connection...

I`ll call him, if he`s home.

[gkedrovs]

Originally posted by S0ulDaDdY
w8

A friend of mine has sattelite connection...

I`ll call him, if he`s home.

That'd be great. Maybe a site address or somewhere that I could go and get info.

I use the net mostly to keep in contact with people (e-mail, forums, IM [including voice], newsgroups [abpr!], etc.), downloading programs and updates for Linux box, and maintaining a couple web sites. No net games, yet. So, a delay... it'd be better than dial-up!

-gk

[bwkaz]

Originally posted by gkedrovs
I'd like to pay for a service (Stateside?) and be able to use it here (Costa Rica). Oh, OK, never mind then. ;)

[S0ulDaDdY]

Originally posted by gkedrovs
That'd be great. Maybe a site address or somewhere that I could go and get info.

I use the net mostly to keep in contact with people (e-mail, forums, IM [including voice], newsgroups [abpr!], etc.), downloading programs and updates for Linux box, and maintaining a couple web sites. No net games, yet. So, a delay... it'd be better than dial-up!

-gk


No man...sorry, he ain`t..

It`s 22.00 PM here in Slovenia & all of our University bunch went out.....only poor me....
I have a ****ty math exam tomorrow....
...We`ll get wasted tomorrow anyway, so I`ll as him then:)

[Lemming]

Originally posted by plattypus1
Last I heard (this may not be true, but I'll post it anyway), sat internet was only avaliable in the US.

Afaik most of europe can get Satellite, I know for sure that the UK can get it, and there are various isps

[evulish]

I know that the big sat. ISP's are direcpc.com and starband.com (I think). Well...they were back when I was looking for alternate broadband connections (then my local ISP got DSL...and there was much rejoicing (and fast downloading :D)) Those are in the U.S. so you might be able to get a connection on Costa Rica. Not totally positive.

Also, satellites can't be accessed from anywhere...only a small chunk of the world can get access to them. Remember, you need a direct line of site and the world is round. :)

[StaticDischarge]

I used to have Starband www.starband.com and it was ok for websurfing...
but the latency was bad, upload was horrible, and once in a while your downloads get corrupted

good luck to you