satellite broadband?

[Grehan]

As in -
http://www.ses-astra.com/consumer/en/astra-broadband/astra2connect/index.php

Anybody got any experience or opinion?

 

[pgurnett]

No experience with satellite, but as i live in a rural area and BT will not upgrade the telephone line I have Radio Broadband provided by QI comm. Cost £30 PM i get a speed of 2MB constant. Good service provided IMHO. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[mixmaster]

Wouldn't work on a boat as the dish is fixed and the coverage area is limited. Inmarsats BGAN is the most viable way but it ain't cheap.

 

[Grehan]

[I am satellite pig ignorant]
Dish is fixed - how so? Can it not be pointed in whatever direction to pick up the satellite?
Coverage is limited? Does it not use the Astra satellite, which is accessible in one form or another throughout Europe? [a little knowledge is a dangerous thing]

 

[RAI]

I've got the Wideye Sabre 1 BGAN terminal. It works well, but the prepaid card is a pain and it's not cheap to run - about the same as GSM roaming charges.

That Astro2 service looks interesting as a flat rate service and its terminal is about half the price.

Both need their antennas pointed accurately at their satellites, so are for stationary use only. Plus no terrain or buildings may break the line of sight to the satellite.

 

[photodog]

We looked a few years ago at Sat broadband , if I recall correctly the satelite was quite low, about 23 degrees above the horizon, but with a clear signal it seemed to work very well, certainly aswell as adsl.... but upload is a bit tardy at 128kbs or so, which you can get on 3g or hspda....

We were actually gonna equip a few vehicles with this and then put in some Wifi gear to offer a sort of mobile wifi broadband facility, for use at breaking news events, etc... but in the end the promise of 3g and hspda made the investment a none starter....

you will need a good clear site line, and the dish is about the size of one of those sky dishes, or maybe a bit larger, but getting it lined up was a swizle , and you can get a motorized kit for it as well..... but any movement in the dish will effect the signal, so if you are in a marina, and get any movment, the signal will be a bit unsteady....

I think that if you can get 3g, your just as well off...

 

[temptress]

yes and no.

You can manually move the dish BUT that's the problem. Unless you are moored fore and aft a boat moves in 3 dimensions and the conection will be unrilable and proably unusable. zi /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[neutronstar]

Ah, someone else who uses sattelite on board !

I can only use mine with the boat tied ridgid, and on a calm day. I have now become able to judge when I will get a signal that works well enough. Without some super motorised tracking jobbie it surely can't be of any main stream use on board ?

 

[RAI]

I have found GSM GPRS/3G to be the most reliable, but currently too expensive for more than email.

 

[rrees]

Thuraya Service

We sell the thuraya service
same size terminal as the Wideye Sabre 1 BGAN terminal working on the same principle but the cost is a lot lower.
feel free to PM me for costing etc.
Works fine on our boat also which is in Greece at the moment.

 

[Anonymous]

That looks really interesting. Previous satellite solutions involved using a phone line for the uplink and satellite for the downlink. This new Astra service seems to be satellite up and down, with modest sized dishes in various EU countries. The dish would have to be fixed and not on a boat -- not even on a canal, I think.

Your alternatives are radio broadband and 3G. I am using 3G from 3 at the moment while we are in the UK and it is fine. Not broadband speed but I can do everything I need to. Also a bit expensive if you tend to leave windows open auto-refreshing which I do when I am in day-trading mode. In Italy, Wind give a good data service and in Spain, Yoigo. France is the problem area for all kinds of mobile Internet for visitors. I have heard that it's not as bad for residents with fixed abode but for those passing through France is a nightmare for mobile broadband.

 

[Grehan]

Hi David - yes, we're also (fairly) happy with 'mobile network' broadband in France, 3G and GPRS (most rural areas). I came across this Astra thingy and wondered what others thought, having zero experience of satellite (tv) other than it seeming to deliver a zillion channels of cr a p (as well as the more 'normal' five or six, and radio, and yes I don't mean they're not similarly full of cr @ p, too . . . ) /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif