PeterC
Member
Can anyone tell me please in the real world for internet access how slow is this service? (Immarsat BAGAN) For example how does it compare against uploading a typical web page over a 3G mobile network.
Thank you
Thank you
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
Immarsat and BAGAN
- Thread starter PeterC
- Start date
D
Deleted member 36384
Guest
I cant help you specifically but we use Bagan in the deserts of Saudi. Crisp, clear and reliable. We only use it for voice on early scouting trips, not internet or video as my Company uses Vsat for this type of service once we establish a base.
goboatingnow
Well-Known Member
I presume both of you mean Inmarsat BGAN ( broadband global area Network). BGAN was originally really designed for non-mobile applications, ie fixed small terminals, though some companies have got mobile versions. Newer generation satellittes have however gone along way to offset this.
The sucessor to BGAN for marine applications ( though its BGAN technology) is Inmarsat Fleet Broadband ( FB150 , FB250 , FB500). These provide 150kbs, 284kps and 432kps ( though the comitted rate is less in some cases.
In my actual experience, thoughput can be lower then advertised in the FB150 systems yo can get periods of 32-64kps.
Note its nothing like 3G, which has far higher effective rates. Also FB150 is orders of magnitude more expensive, around 12-15 dollars per megabyte!!. ( with 3G at less then 50cents per megabyte or lower) FB150 terminals seem now to be available in the 4000-5000 dollars range ( sorry my experience is in dollars).
In my experience unless you have lots of dosh. web browsing is not cost effective. Also with modern web pages using more and more bandwidth, response times at 64Ks or even 100kps+ still make for a very slow webpage ( ignoring the cost). Its hard to give a quanitative answer, as some many web pages are different. I found that FB150 was not really usable for normal wen page browsing, ignoring the horrendous costs
I have no experience of the FB 250 and 500 systems, hardware costs are huge though.FB250 and certainly FB500 are certainly getting to sppeds that are closer to 3G ( effectively) , but again committed rates are lower and actual throughput various a lot due to contention, user load, etc etc
Note that VSAT satellite terminals are capable of close to broad band speeds, but there is the problem of the provision of the back channel and also if you can afford a marine version, you dont need this forums advice.
The sucessor to BGAN for marine applications ( though its BGAN technology) is Inmarsat Fleet Broadband ( FB150 , FB250 , FB500). These provide 150kbs, 284kps and 432kps ( though the comitted rate is less in some cases.
In my actual experience, thoughput can be lower then advertised in the FB150 systems yo can get periods of 32-64kps.
Note its nothing like 3G, which has far higher effective rates. Also FB150 is orders of magnitude more expensive, around 12-15 dollars per megabyte!!. ( with 3G at less then 50cents per megabyte or lower) FB150 terminals seem now to be available in the 4000-5000 dollars range ( sorry my experience is in dollars).
In my experience unless you have lots of dosh. web browsing is not cost effective. Also with modern web pages using more and more bandwidth, response times at 64Ks or even 100kps+ still make for a very slow webpage ( ignoring the cost). Its hard to give a quanitative answer, as some many web pages are different. I found that FB150 was not really usable for normal wen page browsing, ignoring the horrendous costs
I have no experience of the FB 250 and 500 systems, hardware costs are huge though.FB250 and certainly FB500 are certainly getting to sppeds that are closer to 3G ( effectively) , but again committed rates are lower and actual throughput various a lot due to contention, user load, etc etc
Note that VSAT satellite terminals are capable of close to broad band speeds, but there is the problem of the provision of the back channel and also if you can afford a marine version, you dont need this forums advice.
Last edited:
npf1
Well-Known Member
Anyone here any experience of the Thuraya GPRS equivalent?