A small community in Alaska is sharing satellite access and has funded a wireless ISP to provide access to it. Coffman Cove, with about 200 inhabitants, share a Starband satellite internet access through SkyFrames who installed it along with a community LAN connection to provide local access to it.
SkyFrames combines a StarBand VSAT terminal with a WISP-Out-of-Box from Raylink. Raylink’s wireless access connection uses frequency hopping rather than straight 802.11b and flat-panel transceivers at each subscriber’s home.
SkyFrames is a satellite internet provider for businesses, educational, and government. The Company offers two satellite solutions; a low cost proprietary VSAT system that delivers internet broadband at low prices and the proprietary VOS system that transmits broadband in a highly secure, self-healing and survivable manner including applications like Voice over IP (VoIP) for first responders and government agencies.
Both the SkyFrames VSAT gear and the Raylink wireless system make it possible for much of the network monitoring and maintenance to be done remotely from SkyFrames office in Costa Mesa, California. When the company comes in June to install the network it will also train the town’s three part-time employees on how to operate the network and the business.
StarBand’s small business package, for example, can share a five-seat service for $169.95 which guarantees 1 Mbps during office hours and no less than 150 Kbps in consumer prime time. One of StarBand’s wholesale distributors is US Online, a Wenatchee, Washington-based meta-ISP. US Online has over 100 ISP affiliates, serving 400,000-plus subscribers. Affiliates can market the StarBand service, do the installs and continue to manage the accounts through US Online.
The Coffman Cove WISP will be able to deliver subscribers an asynchronous connection of 128 Kbps upstream and up to 1 Mbps downstream. The price to subscribers will likely be $35-$45 a month. Thirty-four residents have already signed up. Another 11 probably will, and more are considering buying computers and hooking up.
Satellite service has high latency due to the 46,000 miles round-trip time, making voice over Internet and online gaming virtually impossible with a 2 second delay or more.
Other wireless LAN access solutions to a single two-way satellite dish might include Proxim’s Tsunami, D-Link’s outdoor access points, Aperto and Alveron gear, Trango Systems and a Vivato outdoor bridge.
There are several approaches to provide satellite access:
- The new StarBand 480 Pro modem is said to provide peak download speeds of more than 1Mbps and upload speeds two to three times faster than current StarBand service. A four-port Ethernet router enables instant networking of multiple personal computers. Starband Users Group says the new 480 modem is a re-labeled 360E modem. Gilat’s Skystar 360E, can provide an always-on connection with downstream rates up to 52.5 Mbps and uplink rates up to 307.2 kbps but satellite providers using the Ku band have only a limited amount of spectrum they must share with thousands of subscribers. That limits the practical speeds of Ku. You can get more speed - but it will cost you a significant premium.
- Hughes provides a self-contained Skycaster satellite Internet data service with their 4020 box providing VPN connections to PC’s and LANs. Skycaster costs $100-$400/month, provides more than 384 kbps and is bundled with multiple static-public IP addresses and firewall support. It’s based upon the Hughes DIRECWAY a 2-way satellite Internet service. The last mile can use Broadstorm’s 802.16a, the first commercial deployment of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) self-install customer units.
- The KVH TracNet 2.0 system ($6,000) can be mounted on an SUV and uses DirecPC receiving Internet-via-satellite at speeds as fast as 400 kilobits per second (Kbps). Full, two-way Internet access is available as far as Alaska and the Caribbean. The server-based TracNet 2.0 includes Ethernet connections and 802.11b (Wi-Fi) access permitting as many as 5 users to surf the Internet from anywhere in, on, or around a boat or vehicle.
- MotoSat’s mobile 2-way dish (FAQ) $6,000, can be mounted on a truck for mobile satellite access.
- Tachyon’s transportable satellite dish is a larger transportable dish that can be setup in a few hours and provides higher speeds.
- Gilat’s Skystar terminal (in the Ku band) supports a wide range of network protocols, including IP, with up to 8 Mbps and 153.6 kbps down and up in the Ku band. Hollywood Video uses them for credit checks. Gilat’s VSAT Ka dish should increase speeds.
- ViaSat also builds many of the small consumer 20/30Ghz satellite terminals. They have a $30 million ground terminal contract with WildBlue and will incorporate DOCSIS cable modems. The dish is likely to sell for $200-$300, subsidized by a service contract like other satellite tv operators.
- Mentat, the leading supplier of TCP/IP to the computer industry, has developed its SkyX Gateway products to overcome the limitations of the Internet protocols when used over satellite networks.
- Immeon users do not need to maintain dedicated circuits, but rather can pay for broadband connections as needed. Immeon service plans include both always on and on-demand capacity that enables customers to pay for data and voice bandwidth based on monthly usage and data rate requirements. Cost is independent of distance and can provide emergency backup or capacity augmentation, which automatically transmits any overflow when terrestrial lines are full. Immeon Networks is a joint-venture by ViaSat and Loral Skynet.
- Connexstar by Spacenet is designed for multi-location businesses in the continental U.S. and/or Canada. This includes retail, restaurant and hospitality chains, as well as franchise owners. It is not available to consumer or small-office/home-office users. Additionally, Connexstar is not designed for providing ISP services or for hosting Web sites.
Satellite-based internet provider Starband declared chapter 11 last year but is still operational. Meanwhile the Hughes-backed DirecPC plans to continue operation although neither Starband or DirecPC are making money.
Spot Beam Satellites may change everything. Spot beams on the Ka band promise fast, economical, nationwide service because the limited, shared bandwidth can be re-used. They offer VSAT point-to-point and multi-point distribution.
- SpaceWay will provide up to 1.5Mbps up and 5Mbps down using spot beams which should make a better business model since spectrum can be shared by more users.
- Wild Blue: The Canadian-built Anik F2, is expected to launch soon with 52 Ka-band (30 Ghz) transponders at 111.1 degrees allowing consumers with mini dishes to receive both broadband Internet access and satellite television from DirecTV or EchoStar’s DISH Network. Wild Blue will reportedly lease 30 of the 45 Ka band transponders on F-2 for 2-way internet access. When they get their own satellite launched, WildBlue will use F-2 as a back-up.
A Seattle to Portland Link might use 2-way satellite links for a “virtual fire lookout”. Wi-Fi could save lives battling forest fires and save money.
Mount Washington Observatory, on the highest peak in the northeast United States, has some of the worst weather imaginable. The non-profit weather research station installed a five-mile point-to-point webcam using ORiNOCO gear to connect a remote Web cam to the Observatory’s wired link to the Internet. Solar power from SunWize Technologies powers it.
Inexpensive Ka band satellite dishes like WildBlue and SPACEWAY on 4-5 relay points could provide redundancy and a “virtual lookout” for the Forest Service. Scheduled to launch service in 2004, SPACEWAY incorporates packet switching, spot beams, and bandwidth-on-demand, operating in the Ka-band. Spaceway will provide full-mesh connectivity for efficient delivery of high-bandwidth services and peer-to-peer architecture. The Hughes Broadband Alliance qualifies equipment for satellite use like D-Link’s video cameras, Amnis remote controlled cameras or a IQEye digital zoom Netcam.
Satellites can Tie Regional WISP Networks Together. Perhaps remote managment of small, 100-200 subscriber ISPs could be made more practical with a satellite backbone and shared 802.11/802.16a community LANs.
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