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Review by DouglasCofty 
Posted: 6.6 years ago
member for 6.7 years, 41 visits, last login: 275 days ago
 Brinson,Decatur,GA
 $69 per month (12 month contract)
 about 5 days
 "Very reliable, fast connection, no downtime"
 "weather effects signal"
 "very competive...best satellite service...compares to dsl"
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There are alot of reviews out there about starband. Most positive, some mixed, and a few bad. For those who are looking to get service. Starband is a good alternative to dsl. Weather effects the signal but other than that, it is a great service. They are in Chapter 11 but are emerging soon. Are upgrading service and software. Those who have had trouble with starband, 9 times out of 10 it is the users computer. I have been with starband for 2 years and would recommend it to anyone. If interested in the service go to »dacofty.buystarband.net
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Review by JmE9
Posted: 6.6 years ago
member for 8.1 years, 37 visits, last login: 4.2 years ago
undisclosed location
Contract price not specified.
"Available where no others are"
"Initial costs"
"Worth it but only if other broadband service is not available"
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So far, we love it. We used to have cable broadband and moved to where landline broadband was not available. With our caching server setup, it works wonderfully for our needs. Indeed, when broadband is available in our area, we will probably remain on StarBand since we already own the equipment and it seems to work so well. StarBand needs to release a new modem (like the 480??) that runs the mission control software on the modem and gives a nice ethernet port on the other side with no need for special client software. There are work arounds (like we are using now). A linux version of mission control would be nice also.
We ordered the residential package at $69/mo and $499 for the equipment. We also ordered the two room DISH TV package. The setup is nice and uses one dish. The order/install process was nice... all through a local company. The StarBand equipment consisted of the dish, etc and a 360 modem. We purchased on our own (ie not recommended by, endorsed, or supported by StarBand) a $13 used slim Compaq PII system to run the Win XP Pro ICS computer for Mission control and a Toshiba SG20 server ($289-$349) as our router/firewall/more. The whole inside setup that we built is very compact and affords a nice cache and excellent security (a hacker might be able to erase our stripped down XP ICS computer but not gain access to anything else.) The Toshiba SG20 is a browser managed Linux box and the XP ICS box is being managed remotely so there aren't any keyboards or monitors in our utility/access area.
All in all, we are quite pleased.
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Review by patrickp
Posted: 6.7 years ago
member for 7.5 years, 2652 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Hudson,Mclean,IL
$64 per month (month by month)
about 2 days
"speed"
"slow piing times, no godo for online games"
"well worth it for me I'm happy"
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I'm starting into my 3rd year next month with Starband, and its been great out here [13 miles from town] where Cable and DSL will not be available for years or decades more either.
SB has averaged 750K down and 60K up, and up are getting better last 2 months into 90K range lately.
I’ve newer been down more than 20mins from rain or storms here in central IL. a handful times per year.
I pay $64.99 month Starband and $34.00 using same satellite dish for Echostar 150 TV channel combo. together for $99.99 month
This year I was able to get rid of my average $38 month [not counting long distance] copper line, and use $44 only a Cell phone w/free long distance, its cheaper overall than landline for me here.
--
Patrick in central IL.
360-MC4.0.0.15
T7..Cluster 50 SubCluster 2/66
Windows 2k AMD 800MHz Asus A7
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Review by WarmAndSCSI
Posted: 6.7 years ago
member for 7.8 years, 104 visits, last login: 4 years ago
Yellville,Marion,AR
$72 per month (12 month contract)
about 10 days
"Fast downloads, reliable, painless installation"
"Poor uploads, high latency (inherent with satellite connections)"
"StarBand is a GREAT solution for anybody who cannot get wired broadband."
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StarBand is perfect for those who cannot get ADSL or digital cable w/ Internet access and those who are sick of dialup or slow broadband (single-B-channel ISDN, dual-B-channel ISDN, IDSL, 56k frame relay, etc.). My installation went great - the installer had the dish installed in a few hours and I had my modem up and running a few minutes thereafter. I was surprised to see downloads from 500 Kbps to 1.2 Mbps. I even got a "permanent" DHCP-assigned IP address - it will probably never change. Browsing is quite responsive most of the time. I have yet to see an actual outage of service and probably will never see one over a few minutes if this pattern continues. Service is usually maintained during precipitation, but speed definitely decreases.
From the perspective of a networking expert, StarBand seems to be a very feasible solution for people who are beyond the reach of conventional broadband. StarBand's business model of being able to deliver broadband to rural users is a very revolutionary idea and from what I've experienced, they definitely deliver a quality service. The price might seem a bit steep to some, but if you consider that ADSL costs $40-60/month (in most situations) and you add about $20-30 for a phoneline to your monthly expenses, you realize that StarBand really isn't much more expensive. My own financial situation as far as Internet access before getting StarBand consisted of the following: an ISP charging me $100/month for mediocre 28.8 Kbps "dedicated" dialup access plus our monopoly of a local telco charging $25/month for a staticy phoneline. That doesn't even include $90/month for DirecTV satellite TV. With StarBand + Dish Network, the monthly bill is about $115 whereas it used to be ~$215 - obviously a HUGE savings. Additionally, our local ISP/telco's (they are actually the same entity) ADSL is capped at about 512 Kbps and is feeding off of a very small pipe (multiple T-1s (not enough bandwidth for ANY ISP)) plus I can't get ADSL since I'm too far out from the CO. StarBand is a much better solution than the local broadband here.
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Review by cosoft
UPDATED: 6.7 years ago
member for 8.5 years, 161 visits, last login: 345 days ago
Shreveport,Caddo,LA
$60 per month (12 month contract)
"Web and USENET access are decent. Usenet is best when using a non-Starband NNTP server."
"Email is sporadic at best. FTP and TELNET connectivity are ZERO."
"After over 15 calls to customer support, the best I've been offered is"
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Starband promises D/L speeds around 500KBps (with a caveat that during peak periods it may go to 150KBps), and upload speeds around 150KBps.
In reality, 100KBps or lower download is a realistic expectation, with 20KBps upload being a really GOOD connection.
Even so, Web speeds are WAY better than dialup. The best download times I've received have been on USENET when using an NNTP server OTHER than Starband's. Unfortunately, there's a lot more to the Internet than Web and newsgroups.
Email? You can SOMETIMES get Starband's POP3 server to respond and receive mail. SMTP (sendmail) access is less reliable. Don't even bother trying to access OTHER POP3 or SMTP servers....you'll succeed once out of 20 tries. I've also had numerous people complain of getting "bounced" email when trying to SEND mail TO my Starband email address.
FTP and TELNET access are non-existent, and the alt.starband newsgroups are FULL of people trying to figure out how.
A recent response from "tech support" was, no joke....."go to the newsgroups and figure it out for yourself, I can't help you". Is this anyway to run a company?
Bottom line: I've bought a $650 paperweight. My (on a good day) 28.8 BellSouth connection is a MUCH more reliable way of accessing the internet.
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Review by collabsion
Posted: 6.7 years ago
member for 7.9 years, 37 visits, last login: 29 days ago
Stewartstown,York,PA
 Business customer
$99 per month (12 month contract)
about 15 days
"File downloads have good speed"
"Tech Support is terrible, uploads terrible, reliability non-existant, support lies"
"Don't waste your money - go DirecWay"
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Due to lack of options, I have to go with satellite. I went with Starband because they offered a good package (Telecommuter package). Called Install's Inc. to arrange for an installer and equipment. The package stated up to 1MB down and 62K upload speeds between 8am and 8pm EST.
The install went fine. Great installer. Everything was very zippy for about two weeks (late Nov 2002 through early December). After that it went downhill. I have never seen anything higher then 40K on an upload with most days running around 12K. Downloads have never exceeded 650K. I have tested speeds at all hours of the day. Connection drops frequently as well, especially between 12 noon and 5 pm. Repeated calls to Starband tech support have resulted in nothing more then BS answers. One day, the tech slipped and admitted to some problems with my cluster/sub cluster but didn't offer a fix.
Each time I call, they blame the problem on something like the wires (all have been switched out), the transceiver (switched), the pole (give me a break!)... they haven't the first clue. Everything points to problems on their end (such as the 12-5 problem with dropped connections).
Now that I have been reading about Starband on starbandusers.com I am discovering that they have many problems they won't come clean on. My installer has been having problems recently as well (same cluster/sub cluster). I am tired of calling Starband tech support and being insulted or treated with a condecending tone or attitude by their tech morons.
My dial up with VPN attached is faster most days. Pretty sad. In addition to the technical problems, Starband denied having a "Telecommuter Package" and tried to charge me another $30 per month for a three-user office package. I had to have my installer intervene to correct that problem. Starband still denies having the package. They say they never had it, but yet my installer has info from Starband on it. Typical reaction of Starband.
I am very close to making Starband eat the install and take back the equipment. DirecWay is much faster and much more stable. At least they aren't bankrupt.
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Review by darkkuja
Posted: 6.7 years ago
member for 7.1 years, 5 visits, last login: 6.6 years ago
French Creek,Upshur,WV
$49 per month (36 month contract)
about 7 days
"Up to 750kb/s on the home version"
"High latency. It's not good for gaming"
"It's good in rural areas"
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I had a very professional installer. He double checked his work and got the lowest signal to noise ratio possible. I don't know why everyone is dissin them cause it's all I can get and I love it because I'm getting speeds that are not possible down here. DSL isn't here and won't be for over 3 years cable has hit the bordering city but there isn't even a cable line on our road and they refuse to put one down here because of the lack of subscribers. I've never had a down time. The only thing I have trouble with is the mission control softwarer and that's getting rare now and that problem will be fixed with the release of the Starband Model 480 which functions like a cable/dsl modem with all the acceleration software built into it and a 4 port switch integrated. I say if cable modem or DSL is avabile don't get it but if not and you can afford about 400$ up from including installation and 99.99 a month for the first year and 69.99 the following year and 59.99 the year thereafter than go for it. There is no fap whatsoever unlike direcway.
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Review by vpearson
Posted: 6.9 years ago
member for 6.9 years, 0 visits, last login: 6.9 years ago
Prospect Heights,Cook,IL
$69 per month (12 month contract)
"it was the only option in my area at the time"
"unbelievably expensive, horrifically slow , ver poor service"
"look at all other options first"
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I was so excited to finally have an option other than dial-up in my area about a year and a half ago. It was the only option, so I shelled out over $600 for equipment, and signed up for the hefty $69.99/mo rate. The install was horrible. It was 2 guys who didn't speak English, drilled holes all over my wall, couldn't get it to work, spent the whole darn day with me. In the end, I don't think they even had the satellite correctly directed.
Then the connection speed didn't seem much faster than my dial-up. The speedtests indicated things were OK, but it was always painful for me to go online, and I often opted to dial up instead. It was never a pleasurable experience to be online. I contacted tech support numerous times and got the same old "we don't guarantee any certain rate".... I just thought this is the way it had to be, until I experienced some of my friends' true high speed connections...wow, I've been screwed to the tune of a couple thousand dollars.
So when Wide Open West cable internet became available in my area I jumped on it! We already had WOW cable TV, and so it would only cost $15 per month more (yes, fifteen) to add cable internet. It was just installed yesterday, install only took about an hour, and the speed is unfreaking believable. I never thought pages could load so quickly! Our cost for WOW cable TV and internet is only $55/month, so for even less than I was paying for STarband I also get cable TV!
If you're thinking of going with Starband anyway, I have a satellite dish and modem that I'll sell you for a lot less than the $600 they'll charge!
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 Review by NicoleDiana6
UPDATED: 7 years ago
member for 8.7 years, 455 visits, last login: 6.3 years ago
Barney,Brooks,GA
$60 per month (12 month contract)
"Available to rural customers; Installed the day after ordered (from local dealer)"
"Slow uploads; DNS failures; poor tech support; lack of communication"
"Competition in the 2-way satellite service may convince Starband to fix their problems."
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Starband's service is one big mess! They are forcing updates to our modems on a daily basis and have quit communicating with their customers. The support is so bad that when you call, you are generally told to check the newsgroups and/or starbandusers.com (which is run by another member) for help. Starband is so intent on signing up new customers that they are leaving the rest of us in the dark. We have days where there are NO upload capabilities, constant DNS failures, 1500 or longer on our ping times (or pings "time out")...and on and on and on.
When you talk to someone at Starband, they will tell you of a pile of "known issues" and say "we are working on them but don't know when it will be fixed." They tell us to be patient. Sure, while our bills are racking up $60-$70 a month for service that works *sometimes*.
The ONLY thing that has kept me here beyond my 30 trial days is (1) a 15 day extension and (2) the owner of the company that installed Starband. Had he not been so determined to help me get this fixed, I would have been long gone after week #1 ... which, by the way, was when I couldn't send/receive email at all!
Update I cancelled my Starband service not long after I posted my initial review. My service never did improve and although a tech tested and reported that my problems "could be duplicated", the company never agreed to correct the problem(s). I would simply be told "We're working on it but have no estimated time for completion." After being offline for 4 full days while they "worked on it", I gave up and moved on.
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Review by Acid_Bassist
Posted: 7.1 years ago
member for 8.6 years, 16 visits, last login: 7 years ago
Farmersville,Collin,TX
$70 per month (12 month contract)
about 20 days
"Decent download when it works"
"High Downtimes"
"Do not buy"
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I started off with starband back in the model 180 days;where, I was actually impressed with there service. Let me start from the Begining...
When I first moved to this extremely small town with no D-SLAM I was forced to look into a broadband solution for a limited access area. The first and only product that was aval. was the Hughes DirecPc system. This was a decent setup with minimal downtimes, and moderatly fast downloads(40-60KB). I always continued looking for a lower cost option, Half-Duplex Sat. Service adds up. Hughes cost 49.99 a month, ATT cost 14.99 a month, and another phone line@34.99 a month adds up. When I first heard of starband I was enthralled by this service. After paying a couple hundred for the dish and the model 180 modem i found the service to be great for ~5months. The only problem I had in the begining was that the installer was a complete idiot that didn't ground crimp and even mount the dish right. After that someone bad experience I had no problems at all. Hell I could even network with ease on the model 180. After the splended 5 months of starband I ran into my first few problems, they didn't support win2k when just came out of RC stages and had about 2 weeks of downtime that I still can't figure out what went wrong. Around November-December 2001 a notification came in the mail about the new 360 modems. Between the time I got this notification and rec the new modem several problems like this occured
After rec. the new modem first thing i noticed was i could not get it to network thru my router so I was forced to build a gateway comp so the rest of the house could enjoy this $60 a month investment.After having the 360 modem I could not use most p2p software. If i did use any p2p software it wouldn't let the file comethru and when it did it was 4-20KB. For around 4 months it was constant down/uptime and now 3months out of contract "some" hardware in the system broke. The qualified and competent installer(relying more on competence than qualifications) foung nothing was wrong with the system and the Techs @ starband do not know what is wrong. For about 4 weeks all i have done is stare dismally at the power and pc connection lights hoping that the connection and other lights appear.
With all these events in mind I would not recommend starband to anyone. I don't think this small review gives any clue to how many hours i have worked on trying to get the system to work(~75+hrs of work)
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StarBand Communications Inc.
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