golfgeek
join:2005-11-21
Bryans Road, MD | Broadband? Not!
First off let's not call it Broadband..........Satellite is not broadband and at times Dial up is better. Thank god for EVDO |
|
zalternate
join:2007-02-22
BC
 ·TELUS
| satellite dead
And don't forget Xplornet in canada...Uses the Anik F2 satellite that Wildblue still uses too..Uggg..Glad I'm not on it anymore....Dialup is so much better.....But the reviews lead to the point that satellite is going to be a dead medium from overselling bandwidth..
Any Xplornet wireless users here?? Post some reviews.. |
|
TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·Comcast
| reply to golfgeek
Re: Broadband? Not!
These people choose to live in middle of nowhere and they get internet service that lets them work from home, browse, email, etc. and for max $85/mo. they get access and they get to live where they want.
--
--
Internet News
My BLOG
My Web Page |
|
powerhog
Stinkin' up the joint
Premium
join:2000-12-14
Owasso, OK
·AtlasOK
| Max of $85/month? You've obviously never used satellite for Internet access- especially not for working from home.
To get consistent connectivity via VPN, you have to subscribe to the higher tiers of satellite service. Before I was lucky enough to switch to a WISP, I was paying $100/month for service. Of course that plan is no longer available and current plans cost even more. |
|
TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| said by powerhog  :Max of $85/month? You've obviously never used satellite for Internet access- especially not for working from home. Wildblue sat prices. Looks like priciest service is $79.95/mo to me.
--
--
Internet News
My BLOG
My Web Page |
|
PDXPLT
join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR
| Good article
Wow, a news article that pretty much gets it right.
quote:
But WildBlue's satellite started filling up, and in November last year, the company changed the way it divided the satellite's capacity. The move allowed the satellite to accommodate more people, but slowed down response times.
"That's when I stopped recommending it," said Cashman.
Which is exactly the same time I stopped recommending it to others, too.
BTW, not everyone on satellite lives in the "middle of nowhere". Alot depends on your telco provider's policies. We have both Qwest and Verizon territories around here. From the looks of things, the outlying neighborhoods in Qwest areas tend to have DSL service (you see those mini-DSLAM cabinets that Qwest uses), but Verizon doesn't bother, even when the neighborhoods are served by modern RT's. This was confirmed to me by a Verizon field crew. |
|
golfgeek
join:2005-11-21
Bryans Road, MD | reply to powerhog
Re: Broadband? Not!
VPN? That is nearly impossible..........degrades tremendously using a VPN to the point of not working. I had the highest tier and that doesn't help.......Latency is the key and with satellite latency is horrible. Nuff said |
|
CMoore2004
Premium
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI
| reply to TKJunkMail
Now that you've shown us the residential plans with very low data thresholds, how about pricing some of the "business class" plans that are actually usable?
If you average out the data rate for the Pro Pak you posted (17GB download), you manage to get ALMOST 56kbit for the maximum sustainable speed. Even the FCC wouldn't qualify it as broadband, but they do since it helps them with their little maps that show everyone can get broadband!
Just a sidenote: Funny that wildblue.com's title describes it as "Satellite Speed Internet".
--
Sprint Mobile Broadband PX-500 | Windows XP MCE SP2 | Mobile AMD Athlon 64 4000+ | 1.5GB RAM | ATI Mobile Radeon X600 128MB | 120GB HDD |
|
GorbGuy
join:2003-09-23
Middleville, MI
clubs:
| reply to TKJunkMail
1.5Mb/256Kb for $79.97/month + $299.00 equipment fee
or
6.0Mb/608Kb for $34.99/month + $0.00 equipment fee.
Over twice as expensive for 1/4 the speed, and let's not mention that little 3 initial "F" word. Living "in the middle of nowhere" sure is expensive. But why is my phone service charge the same as someone living in the middle of say, Detroit? *rant* And why does the phone company have a RT (that was installed 2 years ago,) 1500 feet from my house, with no DSL?? Maybe they drove around the area and saw countless DirecWay/HughesNet and Wildblue dishes on homes and said to themselves "how will we ever compete with that!" I dunno, just seems odd. Perhaps they're just too busy trying to provide TV service to people who already have multiple options. Or maybe it's because they're too busy trying to fight off muni-projects. *rant over*
--
Your mouse has moved. Windows NT must be restarted for the change to take effect. Reboot now? |
|
CMoore2004
Premium
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI
| I'm about 300 feet from an RT also. My aunt, grandma, and several neighbors are still on dial-up. I'm ok with them not knowing about EVDO. Keeps my speeds steady. 
--
Sprint Mobile Broadband PX-500 | Windows XP MCE SP2 | Mobile AMD Athlon 64 4000+ | 1.5GB RAM | ATI Mobile Radeon X600 128MB | 120GB HDD |
|
TechieZero
Tools Are Using Me
Premium
join:2002-01-25
Wesley Chapel, FL |  #1 For Broadband Choice!
The Huges commercial on TV claims that they are the #1 choice for broadband. How misleading. |
|
nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
·Comcast
| reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Broadband? Not!
said by TKJunkMail :These people choose to live in middle of nowhere and they get internet service that lets them work from home, browse, email, etc. and for max $85/mo. they get access and they get to live where they want. Exactly! People that live in rural areas don't deserve fast internet - it's the American way. |
|
Fox McCloud
Crazy like a fox.
join:2006-07-23
·Embarq
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| reply to CMoore2004
said by CMoore2004 :I'm about 300 feet from an RT also. My aunt, grandma, and several neighbors are still on dial-up. I'm ok with them not knowing about EVDO. Keeps my speeds steady. yup, I'm in a similar situation; I'm 4250 feet from one RT (sadly, not lit with DSL yet), so, when ADSL2/ADSL2+ is deployed, I'll be able to get really nice speeds...but, that's just the problem, the RT isn't lit yet.
Either way, I have EVDO Revision A, too, and I have been very very happy with it; a fairly consistent 1250-1280k down and 200-250k up (would be around triple this, but the router limits upload speed...it's just a bug) with a ping of around 100ms to www.google.com.
If I play on the right gaming server for Battlefield 2, I can get a ping around 150-160 ms; not the greatest in the world, but it sure beats dial-up!
I just can't wait until Sprint optimizes their network next year to allow gaming and VoIP applications to get the necessary latency they need. (and EVDO can have a ping around 60-70 ms, so that's pretty doggone good). |
|
djrobx
join:2000-05-31
Valencia, CA
 ·PHONE POWER
 ·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T CallVantage
·Time Warner VOIP
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to PDXPLT
Re: Good article
quote:
but Verizon doesn't bother, even when the neighborhoods are served by modern RT's
Verizon is not big on RTs in general. They don't even service DSL to some very rich, reasonably dense areas out here that would be obvious money makers. They seem to be looking at the longer term goal of FTTH.
--
Laser eye surgery rocks! I love frickin' laser beams. |
|
DrModem
Premium
join:2006-10-19
USA
3 edits | reply to TKJunkMail
Re: Broadband? Not!
you have seriously never used satelite.
That screen shot doesnt include the 2gb monthly usage cap. and you people think 160gb is ridiculousy low. Hughes is even lower, at 200MB |
|
SierraRob
join:2007-01-10
Prather, CA
·Unwired Broadband ..
2 edits | Service seems to have improved somewhat
I've been using HughesNet for about 3 years now, and am currently on their highest business plan (1500/512), on satellite IA8. It seems to me that in the past few months their service has actually gotten better, with ping times below 800ms pretty much all day (before, it regularly hit 2000+ in the afternoon). And I've been able to VPN into my company's network using the Cisco VPN client. It's slow, but usable. So I'm not complaining as much now as I used to. |
|
PDXPLT
join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR
| reply to djrobx
Re: Good article
said by djrobx : Verizon is not big on RTs in general. They don't even service DSL to some very rich, reasonably dense areas out here that would be obvious money makers. They seem to be looking at the longer term goal of FTTH. I think you're right on that. Verizon seems to have deployed DSL where they were forced to, or loose customers to cable. But their big focus is selling TV (like the cable cos., highly profitable) and deploying FIOS in order to do so. Qwest in contrast seems to have made their bet on deploying DSL.
This was confirmed in my talk to the Verizon crew, who told me they are told that they're "not in the DSL business" and that's why my RT won't get DSL (no cable competitor in this neighborhood).
In contrast, my weekend/vacation place, which really *is* in the middle of nowhere, has Qwest DSL (they put it in last year)! |
|
iamfury
join:2000-11-18
Bradford, ON | bearable?
The truth will set us free.
The service just sucks.
It's no secret. |
|
jervin123
join:2005-04-14
Philadelphia, PA | Until you start paying carrier grade prices for ISPs in africa and the like it's pretty bad but still then it's pretty bad.... |
|
Kenstar15
join:2007-05-09
Brooker, FL
| WTF
I had Hughes Net service for about 2 months...........THEN I came to my senses. I was paying 120/month to be on a connection that sometimes was completley out. At least on my dial up conn. i dont dc when it rains. The whole situation makes me sick to think about. I have windstream for dial up provider so there is probably a better chance of me flapping my arms and gettin to the moon than getting dsl, but i believe im fixing to take the matter to court. I have been asking for dates for dsl and it is always about 2 months away FOR THE LAST 4 YEARS. so if you believe satellite internet is an acceptable alternative you should be kick in the damn head. |
|
