Bleeding Edge or Expensive Enterprise Satellite Internet?


The State of Satellite Internet in 2005

For those businesses unable can't get T1, Cable or DSL internet service for less than half a year's Gross Profit, vsat (very small aperture terminal) satellite internet is about the only way to obtain decent internet speed. Over the last two years or so many companies have advertised about upcoming solutions to this issue...after all, the business internet industry is huge and growing by giant leaps each year and there are potential profits out there.

Let's take a look at what is currently available and what is on the way:

Available Ku Band Enterprise Systems

This is a "catch all" phrase covering the more expensive equipment and service offered by several large uplink comapnies. It is characterized by larger satellite dishes (typically 1.0 meter or larger), more powerful transmitters (at least 2 watts) and less populated transponders than the "residential" or "small business" setup's available from Direcway, Starband and Wildblue. The result is more consistent, faster service.....what most businesses expect.

There are two general avenues you can take regarding speed and throughput: Shared or dedicated bandwidth - and the difference in price is staggering. For most business applications, shared bandwidth (the less expensive choice) will work fine - giving a company 1.5 kbps downloads and 256 kbps uploads over 90% of the time for prices in the $400-$1500 range. The crucial element of ANY offering is the "contention ratio" - how much they oversell the product or the number of concurrent users they allow on a transponder. Any company that does not put the ratio in writing is not worth doing business with - period...and any company with a contention ratio above 20-1 is not offering you true Enterprise service. With dedicated service (Guaranteed speeds) you will spend over $1,900 per month (up to several thousand per month), but will have service that is nearly bulletproof.

The most tested and dependable Enterprise setup available today in N. America is centered around a modem designed by iDirect Technologies http://www.idirect.net. This is a proven system that will give you what you pay for.

Other systems are coming into the marketplace like the ViaSat Surfbeam DOCSIS setup and another DOCSIS product from Telnor; however, this is very new technology and certainly qualifies as "Bleeding Edge". Only three companies have the equipment to make it work right now and there are bumps in the road. Surfbeam and Telnor's big promise is a better utilization of available ku bandwidth, but no field results have confirmed this yet to my knowledge.

If it provides similar speeds during field testing, it will force iDirect to rethink modem pricing as the DOCSIS setup can be installed for about $500-$1,000 less.

Wireless and Satellite Internet Technology On The Horizon

The Satellite Internet world could be turned on it's head in the coming years as WIMAX emerges. It is a grand plan by Intel and others to cover very large areas of the world with a brand of microwave technology capable of sending data extremely fast to small antennas at homes and businesses. The big difference between WIFI and WIMAX is the distance covered by the main antenna.....the claim is 15-30 miles! Talk about bleeding edge....many of the "Big Boys" including Nokia and Cisco have abandoned plans to invest in it and speak of it as a bad business model to try to replace DSL. They point out that there are currently over 15 "standards" for the technology, not exactly a harmoneous start!

Ka band satellite internet for Enterprise has some real promise. The ability to "reuse" bandwidth, if the concept works, will enable companies to have T1 speeds or greater at any business location for much less than a T1 cost. A unit of SkyTerra Communications - the company managing Hughes Network Systems now, is working on advanced ka band spot beam technology to that end.

The greatest challange facing the satellite internet industry during the next 24 months is figuring out how to make profit.....in the absence of someone finding a business model that can show consistant profit, all of the transponder space allocated to internet will quickly be redeployed to HDTV or other types of profitable communication....bet on it!

About the Author:
Randy Scott has been involved in the bi-directional satellite internet industry from it's beginning as a Sr. Sales Engineer, consultant and business owner. Randy is the founder of VSAT U.S., a consulting and sales organization, representing the most prestigious satellite internet providers in the America's. For more information about current VSAT satellite internet offerings including Ka band, visit http://www.vsatus.com or email randy@vsatus.com

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Broadband Internet Information:

Related Articles

Find the Best Broadband Provider for You
To find the best broadband provider for you takes some effort.Like anything in life, doing the research is critical to getting the best product at the best price.
Chat-less
Are you suddenly chat-less now that Yahoo has shut down many chat sites, due to complaints? One complaint was that people where using chat rooms to lure under age kids for sex. While others say the chat rooms were used to promote underage sex.
Understanding Broadband - Are You Ready To Upgrade?
Are you ready to upgrade your residential service to DSL or business service to real broadband or T1? Well, the answer lies in what you need. Before you can realize your needs, you must understand more of what the word broadband really means.
Business Satellite Internet Products Compared - 2005
There are a number of options available for Business Class Satellite Internet connectivity in the U.S.
How to Secure your DSl / Cable Internet Connection Against Malicious Attacks
Securing your Windows Xp computer is done by achieving two main tasks.The first, is to prevent unauthorized users sitting at your computer and logging in through your keyboard.
Wireless Technologies in Mass Transit for Convenience and Safety
Modern Mass Transit is making it easier for commuters, especially with the latest inter connecting wireless technologies. Many buses, commuter trains, shuttles and even trolley cars now have WiFi wireless computer access so no one is out of touch during the travel time.
3 Tips to Fix Unreliable Wireless Connections
Generally speaking, wireless computer connections are reliable. However, nothing is perfect, and sometimes you may lose your connection or experience a weak signal.
Searching for the Right ISP
When searching for the right ISP there are a number of items to look at. How much is it going to cost me? What is the connection like? What are the Features? Is it available in my area? You will soon find that there are many ISP's to choose from.
Ka Band -Affordable Satellite Internet On The Way!
Ka Band VSAT* satellite internet technology has enormous possibilities for telecommuters, rural locations and eventually for Motor Home users around the U.S.
Dreams Come True With The Help Of Global Consciousness On The Internet
Dreams. There are two types of dreams: 1.
Time to Redefine Telecom
Telecommunication, according to Wikipedia, is the extension of communication over a distance. In practice, it also recognizes that something may be lost in the process; hence the term 'telecommunication' covers all forms of distance and/or conversion of the original communications, including radio, telegraphy, television, telephony, data communication and computer networking.
Broadband is State-of-the-Art Internet Access: How Can a Broadband Cable Benefit You?
We are now well ensconced in a time when the Web is riddled with graphics, animations, sounds, and videos, bringing about a necessity for superior internet access such as that which broadband can provide. The fact is that anything less than the speed supplied by a broadband cable has become inadequate for today's Web users.
Broadband Features
Internet service providers are becoming more and more present as the internet makes its way into more and more homes in America. This is making it harder to decide which ISP to subscribe to.
What is Broadband?
Defining broadband can get complicatedThere are many different takes on how to actually define the word: broadband. The first and most obvious way to define it is a transmission medium that allows for multiple pathways and types of data, far exceeding simple voice communication devices.
The Coming Television Revolution
The revolution is just getting started and will be begin to make its mark this year. By 2010, it will begin to take off.
How to Test Your DSL and Cable Internet Connection Speed
There are two measured elements that determine your internet connection speed. They are: The download rate, and the upload rate of data measured in bits per seconds.
Broadband - Will it Affect Your Online Marketing Future?
The coming age of general Broadband use bearing down uponus, minute by minute, is going to leave many changes in its wake. Some will be welcome; others will demand all we can do, just to keep up!Of course, items like high quality graphics, streaming videoand movies on demand will be commonplace.
How to Choose Best ISP for Your Needs
Well, the Internet access industry is starting to shake its way out. The much-anticipated consolidation of access providers is nearing its end.
A Cheap Alternative To Broadband?
Are you a dial-up user looking for a faster connection,but don't like Broadband prices? If so, you should take a look at a new service called OnSpeed, which has received rave reviews in Internet technology publications.What OnSpeed does is to re-route web pages and email viaits own servers, compressing the data on the fly prior to sending it onwards to your PC.
Wi-Fi Hotspot Security
You've set up your Boingo account, you're hanging out at the Home Turf sports bar in LAX and you figure you'll do a little business or check your e-mail while sipping a Chardonnay. Well, that's the point of Wi-Fi hotspots; being able to take care of a few things while in a relaxing atmosphere.