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Grippy2
join:2009-07-09
Birmingham, MI

Grippy2

Member

Skyway dial up

Discovered this company today. I am going to join but need to know about an aspect of the dial-up portion.

Has anyone gotten busy signals when dialing in? Will I always be able to connect?

I am from the old BBS days where filled modems meant no connection.

Any help would be great and if I am unclear let me know and I will get clearer I hope

Grippy

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

2 edits

grohgreg

Member

Well, I'm not a Skyway subscriber. But since no one else chimed in, I'll simply point out that it depends upon how many access numbers they provide for your dialing area. The more there are, the better chance you have of getting through on an early attempt. If none - you're in trouble, cuz the best they will do is give you an 800 number. They're almost guaranteed to be congested.

So I suggest you start by calling Skyway - give them your phone number with area code - and ask for the list of dialup numbers that you can expect to be available at any given time.

That said, there's a newer version of dialup on the horizon. Skyway has a GPRS/EDGE modem that I'm pretty sure equates to a (wireless) G3 connection on your send side where the send side of the modem talks to a cell tower (as opposed to the old fashioned 33.6 or 44k plug-it-into-the-wall dialup to send on). They're talking about transmit speeds of maybe 110 kbps. That's another option to consider.

Is there any reason that you're not considering a two-way satellite connection?

//greg//
Grippy2
join:2009-07-09
Birmingham, MI

Grippy2

Member

I decided against this company. I am willing to spend $30 for "hi-speed" internet but not at a 500MB limit per month. Just virus defs and updates will chunk that good.

I called skyway and they had a hard time understanding the question let alone answering it. They know how to push the buttons to get you to join though.

I wouldn't do Hughes or Wild Blue cause the net isn't important enough for me to spend the money they think their service is worth. So I will do dial-up til things get real. If they don't... well I have done dial up for 15 years and I guess I haven't lost any sleep over it

Thanks for the reply.

BTW there are no 3G towers in range of my house

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

grohgreg

Member

said by Grippy2:

I am willing to spend $30 for "hi-speed" internet but not at a 500MB limit per month.
Well, their RUP (Reasonable Use Policy) is a bit strange to me too - but it's not quite as bad as you make out. It's a 30 day rolling RUP. The $30 plan actually permits up to 2.5GB during any rolling 30 day period - before the full throttle (32K) kicks in. But the fact that they drop your speed in steps on the way to 2.5GB is unconventional. After 500MB at the 256k level (which ain't all that "hi-speed" in the first place), you're dropped to 192K - and step down from there.
Level 1 500MB 256K
Level 2 1000MB 192K
Level 3 1500MB 128K
Level 4 2000MB 64K
Level 5 2500MB 32K
You're never completely cut off. But once the 2.5GB "allowance" is exceeded, you're pretty much stuck in 32K territory till the 30 day clock starts over again.

//greg//
Grippy2
join:2009-07-09
Birmingham, MI

Grippy2

Member

Yes, I read all their policies previously. I am glad you saw my quotes.

I would be willing to bet that their 256k isn't that fast which means there throttled back speeds aren't all that either.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to grohgreg

Member

to grohgreg
GPRS/EDGE only work if there's a cell tower around, and both have latencies significantly higher than dialup. Not as bad as a satellite return-path, and EDGE *can* get up around 220 kbps in real world situations, but more than likely you'll be sitting on a 50-100 kbps EDGE connection, or maybe a 20-40 kbps GPRS one. Don't get your hopes up.
iansltx

iansltx to Grippy2

Member

to Grippy2
Sat internet can easily deliver 256k; don't worry about that side of the equation. However sat-induced latency will make 64k feel in all likelihood slower than dialup.

DarkSol64
join:2005-06-26

DarkSol64 to Grippy2

Member

to Grippy2
skyway and sate is complete fuckin bullshit

just buy another phone line and bond them, then you can download at 100k (10-12kb/sec) all day long which is a much better value than freakin 500mb a month before speeds die

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

grohgreg

Member

said by DarkSol64:

just buy another phone line and bond them,
Don't know what prices are in your neck of the woods, but that makes for a pretty expensive 100k around here. In addition to the one time cost of the bonding hardware, two phonelines and two dialup accounts around here would run over $100/month. ISDN 128 ain't much better.

//greg//

bbinabox
join:2009-02-27
Louisville, KY

1 edit

bbinabox to Grippy2

Member

to Grippy2
Grippy, I know that you've held off your decision yet I wanted to answer your initial question. SkyWay USA's dial-up numbers are through each of the national aggregators: Verizon (formerly UUNet), Qwest, Sprint, Sprint Canada, MegaPop, WorldNet, Aleron, GBL Networks and YNP, so I'm positive that there are sufficient numbers available in their 60,000+ modem pool.

Here's a sample of what's available in your town:

Dial-up Numbers for Birmingham Michigan

+ My primary duty for BnB is to partner with your local ILEC so that also opens up even more POP's on a monthly basis.

RE: RUP

SkyWay's RUP is monthly on EchoStar's AMC-15 satellite, smack dab in the middle of Satellite TV Central. Its not a rolling 30-day. It resets on the day that your modem is 1st activated. Look at it this way, if you don't use the bandwidth during the month its still there until your reset, so USE IT!!!Have fun with it before your 'birth date' comes around, because there's no roll-over (yet -haha). Daily RUP's are lost forever if you don't use them. Our platform's RUP is getting more efficient each and every day. I am happy to say that we've never suspended anyone's service due to consumption, to my knowledge, and every plan above the 256k Bronze package gives you higher than dial-up speeds on the download even on their lowest RUP level and you can continue surfing at that speed indefinitely until your reset date..

I've had evaluating companies try to break the platform, as I challenge each of them to do when they 1st get into our program, one DL over 1TB over a few months, never was shutoff. IMO if the bandwidth isn't being used its not costing us anything, right? May as well somebody use it.

RUP's are setup so everyone gets steady, consistent throughput, and IMO our's is the best in the business..

There are a ton of planned changes on the horizon. New methodologies which have been deployed throughout Europe on similar platforms are in the works. I'll keep you posted.

Have a great day all...Tom
bbinabox

bbinabox to grohgreg

Member

to grohgreg
You won't believe how many folks I've met throughout the years paying those prices Greg. Not so much lately but I remember a professer from UofL in Lagrange Kentucky paying $118 month for ISDN.

OT: We have access to hybrid ISDN modems. There hasn't been much demand for it here, maybe a few hundred potentials over the past year, yet I just found out that they also work with IDSL!

What do you think about a play with a commercial 144 IDSL/ 1.5 AMC-15 service offering? I don't know. I'll let the telco experts decide on that one.
Grippy2
join:2009-07-09
Birmingham, MI

1 edit

Grippy2 to bbinabox

Member

to bbinabox
bbinabox

That was among the most fact filled to the point replies I have ever had. I can count on one hand the guys that have done that good a job replying. My hat is off and I am in a deep bow.

I will keep watching and checking. I am freeing up $36/month in late August so I will have the funds for the basic plan at that time.

Thank You,

Grippy

ya know I have the wrong zip in my profile...49858 is correct and I can't find how to change it

bbinabox
join:2009-02-27
Louisville, KY

1 edit

bbinabox

Member

Well to compliment you right back, that was the most genuine and respectful post that I have ever received at any of these satbb boards so backatcha brother:)

Thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it and it made me feel goo here, I think that's a first haha!!!

What city/zip are you in I'll run another search for you. eM me at tomw @ bbinabox.com if you want to take this offline.

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

1 edit

grohgreg to bbinabox

Member

to bbinabox
said by bbinabox:

SkyWay's RUP is monthly on EchoStar's AMC-15 satellite, smack dab in the middle of Satellite TV Central. Its not a rolling 30-day.
That just clouds the water even more Tom. How then do you explain Skyway's incremental throttling? Those numbers I posted above were copied and pasted right off their website.

Re the ISDN or ISDL/satellite hybrid, I can't feature either as being cost effective.

//greg//

bbinabox
join:2009-02-27
Louisville, KY

bbinabox

Member

I appreciate your opinion on the IDSL.

Not sure what you mean but if I am wrong, I'll admit it. Please elaborate here.

Thanks in advance.

Have a great day, I am!!!

grohgreg
Dunno. Ask The Chief
join:2001-07-05
Dawson Springs, KY

3 edits

grohgreg

Member

Read my response to Grippy again, the one where I listed the incremental throttling points and speeds. I pretty much copied and pasted that right off the Skyway website. So where are you getting this "not rolling" and "aniversary reset" business? If it's from Skyway, please point out on their website where I might find it.

A 30 day/monthly rolling RUP/FAP does reset by the way; 30 days following the most recent violation. Hence my description "30 day rolling RUP".

Let's say a customer has the Bronze plan, and promptly downloads 2.5GB worth of full length movies. What speed does his connection operate at for the next 29 days?

//greg//

bbinabox
join:2009-02-27
Louisville, KY

bbinabox to Grippy2

Member

to Grippy2
The RUP resets on the day of the month that the account was built. There's no daily or rolling 30-day violations that you have to worry about.

So if a customer DL 2.5 GB the day before their 'birth date', their speed will be throttled to the lowest RUP level (32K) and then is reset back to 256K the next day. If a customer is interested in DL movies all month long, I'd definitely recommend a higher package than the Bronze -OR- better yet, subscribe to netflix:).

Even in terms of DVD quality, the Bronze plan equates out to like 3-4 full length movies (via .avi's not .iso's) per month.

Here is how I recently defined each package:

The Bronze Plan (256k) is great for users who need an affordable way to check email and use the internet for news, research and social media.

The Silver Plan (512k) is perfect for users who are constantly surfing the web, use email all the time and are more interested in browsing multimedia rich websites.

The Gold Plan (768k) is ideal for users that are always online surfing, shopping, downloading music and sharing photos through social media.

The Platinum Plan (1.5MB) is recommended for rural businesses and families who will have multiple users online at the same time. Downloading music and video is even faster. Receiving large files is not a problem.,


While not perfect, everyone is different in how they use the 'net, I'm currently happy with these definitions.

Streaming is what gets a lot of people because they aren't saving the data to a file on their computers, they don't realize that it counts against their bandwidth consumption. E.G. a 128Kbps Shoutcast radio stream DL 1 MB per every 10 seconds, so anyone who listens to 2 hours a day of Art Bell will eat up a whole lot of bandwidth real fast. Once folks realize that everything you do online is a DL, they either start listening to lower bitrate audio (33K for example which sounds fine to me for talk radio) -OR- they go to a higher monthly package.
Expand your moderator at work

dbirdman
MVM
join:2003-07-07
usa

dbirdman

MVM

Re: Skyway dial up

I would be interested in seeing speed tests on skyway AMC-15. Use the Phoenix link on Speedtest (it is downlinked in Gilbert). Maybe then I will understand why someone would use hybrid rather than pure 2-way satellite.

The test below is iDirect on AMC-15. I get better downloads (~1400Kbps) on ES9/G23 out of Cheyenne, but the uploads are often poor. Also currently on the outskirts of Glacier in Montana I appear to be in a 121 signal hole.


bbinabox
join:2009-02-27
Louisville, KY

bbinabox to Grippy2

Member

to Grippy2
I'll post results as soon as I can this week dbirdman....!