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Amanita
Premium
join:2007-11-03
92173-1522 |  Has anyone used Skype successfully witha satelitte service?
I have Wild Blue. I am trying to get my vonage service to work better. Calls to me work ok, but calling out does not.
Maybe Skype or another similar service will work better. Help please. | |
hortnut
Its been a hard road.
join:2005-09-25
All Over
 ·BCTelco
 ·Qwest.net
 ·Skype
·Comcast
| Not sure if Skype would work in this situation, given the lag [latency} issues.
I checked skype forums here are a couple of threads:
»tinyurl.com/2axoky They say it should work.
»tinyurl.com/2gflkf - here they say problems due to skype taking up a lot of bandwidth - though on my DU meter when I am using skype, I have 2-5K up and same down. Thats not a lot on a 1 meg connection, me thinks.
Here another with a link to wild blue, that says they do not support voip. Though I have worked for qwest on the ISP end and there were a lot of things we did not 'support' - it did not mean something would not work, just that we as techs would not help in setting it up and troubleshoot something,
»tinyurl.com/2hs83v
Hope this helps, Since it is free I'd at least try it. I am always downloading programs mentioned in newsletters from cnet, zdnet, etc. Some of the best proggys I have are free. | |
Amanita
Premium
join:2007-11-03
92173-1522
| reply to Amanita
Hortnut? I love it.......... Well I tried using Skype 3 days ago. Really, setting up Skype is just so simple, dumb simple. Just what I needed! I have many issues going on: just brought up Wild Blue, new router, ect so first attempt DID NOT work. My tech found the new D-link router to be unworkable. (and my tech is good), the omni-ant. 9dB was a joke-bad joke. Beautifully finished-but useless. The box says 1-1/2 miles (in small print-2 units together), but unit, clean line of sight died at 800 ft!
So, a new Linksys/Vonage router went in, and suddenly Skype worked fine! Very nice. Surprisingly nice. WHY? It is doing the same thing VoIP/Vonage is doing-down and up, but Skype has little latency and clear voice.
Question #1 Is it likely that the addition of a VoIP Skype telephone/USB telephone would improve matters over a headset? (I used Dragon Naturally Speaking and use very good microphone, but there may be more involved).
Question #2 I purchased the Linksys / Vonage router WRTP54G to compare its function against my old PAP2. (Unknowingly purchased, Vonage will not activate 2 phone adapters for the same Vonage telephone number.) My next step is to decommission the Linksys PAP2 with Vonage and than have Vonage activated the WRTP, to make a test. Permit my to explain the following:
The Wild Blue system is now operating reasonably well for international telephone calls made to Mexico. Mexico can call me-I can call Mexico. The voice quality is reasonably good. Latency, of course, is annoying but certainly is not unworkable. The service is particularly adaptable between parties who have accommodated to the style. Even a newcomer, told there is a "satellite lag time" quickly falls into ending his sentences with "over". It's no big deal. The sound quality is excellent-the same as Ma Bell.
However, notwithstanding the fact that the system works internationally (my experience is with calling Mexican telephone numbers only-at this point), whether I call them, or they call me, the same is not true for dialing within the United States. There is something fundamentally different.
A US telephone can call my Vonage telephone and the system works great-as above. But when I call them, what arrives at my parties end is just garbled packets-essentially my voice is incomprehensible.
Does anyone have a notion of some strategy, or do I give up?
That "next test" is to try the new WRTP and see if there's a difference. I recognize this perhaps sounds primitive to some of you here-perhaps laughable in reality.
Now, beyond that attempting is the following: At this form, in another thread, I read a conversation of skilled technical people (crackers?) discussing opening up the PAP2. To what end is? Why? Just simply to do it? Or can something be accomplished by obtaining internal access to the program in this device? Did I get this correct? Is that what is going on? Now, could such technical capacity be used to assist with my problem?
Another strategy: When I first brought up Wild Blue, in a conversation with a "willing and able" technical representative, he expressed considerable interest in our success with VoIP, leaving the telephone to discuss my situation with his supervisor. His supervisor suggested that I send Wild Blue pertinent data as to how the system was functioning and improvements, if such improvements were forthcoming.
Does this sound like so much nonsense-or do you think perhaps there is interest in successful VoIP usage among management? Might an attempt be productive to open up a dialogue with Wild Blue management, and report on progress? That is, make inquiry to see if there really is bona fide interest? Or perhaps I'm simply demonstrating my naivety. | |
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