I supply and install Broadband via satellite for people who live in a rural area with no or very poor broadband connection. If this sounds like you then read on.
1. Satellite Broadband is for people who cannot get a good broadband service in their location.
Satellite broadband is deployable pretty much anywhere within the coverage footprint for a given
network (Tooway /SES/ Avanti), assuming the line of sight isn't obstructed. However, satellite
broadband is unlikely to be an alternative for people who already have access to Fibre or good
ADSL networks. Having said that, in some locations, ADSL and even Fibre networks are now so
heavily contended that satellite may be a better solution. It needs to be borne in mind that satellite
too is a contended service with ‘Fair Access Policies’ applying to it and that at peak times speeds will
drop.
2. Satellite Broadband is a ‘need to have’ service with pricing to match.
A satellite solution shouldn't really be compared with terrestrial broadband speeds / data
allowances or prices. It is a solution for households and businesses who are unable to access high
speed terrestrial services or whose terrestrial services are poor (i.e. ‘unserved’ or ‘underserved’).
3. Speeds are described as ‘up to’ and not guaranteed in any way.
Satellite Broadband services, in common with all other types of widely available broadband, are
contended services and speeds available to customers will vary according to various factors to do
with your own account, the amount of activity on the satellite broadband network at a given time,
and issues on the wider internet which are outside the control of the satellite operator. Please refer
to the next point on how activity on their own network is managed by Satellite providers. Customers
will frequently attempt to test their satellite broadband connection with widely available speedtests
online and will in most cases therefore receive an incorrect reading. This is because commonly
available speed tests are optimised to work with the most common technology – ADSL, and do not
work well with the acceleration software used by satellite broadband networks. In order to obtain an
accurate reading, the networks have their own speed tests, for example Tooway’s which is:
http://speedprobe.skylogicnet.com/
4. Fair Usage Policies (‘FUP’) apply to satellite Broadband.
Each network manages usage with Fair Usage Policy rules (also ‘Fair Access Policies’/’Traffic
Management Policies’/Network Quality Policies’/’Acceptable Usage Policy’). It is important that
you are aware of this and understand that your usage will be controlled according to
the relevant policy. These are integrated into the Terms and Conditions the customer agrees to
when purchasing from Aerial View.
5. Satellite broadband has been designed for day to day internet usage such as browsing, emailing and
occasional streaming / downloading (or uploading of larger files such as photos). It is not designed as
a service for regular streaming, for example.
The great majority of individuals using the internet every day are oblivious to the amount of data
they are using. Parents of school age children in particular are often unaware of the amount of data
their children are using on a simple home network - often streaming TV programmes and other
media constantly though peak hours (afternoon and evening). Expectations need to be managed you should try to establish how much data tyou need or you will quickly run out & be ‘throttled back’ to very low speeds (even on ‘unlimited’ tariffs).
For example an SD film of average length will use c.1GB of data. An HD film, depending on the quality, will use between 4GB and 8GB. A household expecting to watch films regularly (i.e. more than once per
week) is going to quickly burn through data and even on unlimited tariffs may well be throttled back.
6. First person online gaming won’t work with Satellite Broadband.
This isn’t strictly true, but because of the 700ms -900ms standard latency (time it takes for the signal
to go from the customers unit to the satellite, down to the internet, back up to the satellite and
down to the customer equipment again) – the user experience for this type of application is
practically useless. This needs to be made clear to you.
7. VPNs and Remote CCTV monitoring.
VPNs will work with satellite broadband systems but because of the latency and the nature of
encryption technology employed on some VPNs, the experience can be poor.
In order to access equipment such as CCTV remotely, the satellite modem needs open ports. These
are not available on all systems so it is important that during the process you establish the likely use
and decide on the correct equipment and tariffs. Also bear in mind that there will be large variations
in the amount of data different CCTV systems will use. Clearly a CCTV system which is colour HD is
going to use a huge amount of data. Satellite broadband standard tariffs are unlikely to be a suitable
solution for remote access to such systems because of the data limits and FUP.
8. Multiple Users
Each system can be accessed by multiple users by the simple addition of a wireless router in
conjunction with the satellite modem. However, each device is sharing the available bandwidth to
that modem with the others. In an average UK household these days there are 4 internet enabled
wireless devices accessing the broadband connection at any one time (eg 1 laptop, 1 PC or laptop,1
smart phone, one tablet etc). Speed & of course data usage will be affected by this.
Eutelsat, for example, advise that only a maximum of 6 devices should be connected per satellite
modem. They cannot monitor this, but they can see the volume of data going through the
connection. Some customers have been known to buy systems on Consumer Tariffs with the (often
unstated) intention of using them as a shared service – say between several properties –or even as
an ‘internet café’ and in some way commercialising the service. This will inevitably lead to overuse
and throttling back as it will contravene the FUP. It will also mean a very poor service for users of
course. Pro services are more suited to this type of use.
Please ensure that you have understood these points. If you have questions I will endeavour to help.
Kevin.
Aerial View
