# Is SkyWay Satellite Internet any good?



## pakcyclist

I know that HughsNet and WildBlue internet are unreliable ripoffs, but does anyone know if SkyWay is any better?


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## SayWhat?

Never heard of SkyWay.

StarBand is OK.


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## BNUMM

Skyway is satellite down link and dialup up link. Check and see if there is a wireless provider in your area. I have had Starband ( I am a certified installer for Starband and HughesNet ) and I would go with Hughesnet over the other 2 and only as a last resort.


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## Drucifer

Line of Sight would probable determine the most reliable one.

Anyone here know which satellites the four companies use?


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## BNUMM

Starband is 129
WildBlue is 111
HughesNet has several so you would have to call them to find out which one they would be able to put you on.


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## JimDaddy

Most of the negative hype about satellite internet is due to poor installations. Keeping in mind that sat internet is only for those who cannot get DSL or cable, it is extremely reliable when properly installed. I can't hardly see any difference in the speeds from the new HughesNet 9000 modem for everyday internet browsing, etc. If you are a gamer you probably shoudn't try sat internet as you will not be satisfied with the speeds, latency, etc. I have only had 2 or 3 service calls from the 30-40 systems I have installed over the last 3 years.


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## BNUMM

There are problems that are not due to a poor installation. I had Starband and I had quite a few problems that were on their end. I would have preferred that the problems be an alignment or cable problem because I am an installer and I could have fixed them myself.


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## ndole

BNUMM said:


> Starband is 129
> WildBlue is 111
> HughesNet has several so you would have to call them to find out which one they would be able to put you on.


[Most] new Hughesnet customers are being put on the 95W as it's their only Ka bird that they have yet, and it's the only sat compatible with their 9000 (Ka) system. It's been a long time since I put a Wildblue system in, but I think that at the moment they have 2 sats (with a third one on the way) both located in the same orbital slot. I can't remember exactly where they're at, somewhere near the 119W. If you can get the 119, you can almost always get Wildblue1 or AnikF2.


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## BNUMM

ndole_mbnd said:


> [Most] new Hughesnet customers are being put on the 95W as it's their only Ka bird that they have yet, and it's the only sat compatible with their 9000 (Ka) system. It's been a long time since I put a Wildblue system in, but I think that at the moment they have 2 sats (with a third one on the way) both located in the same orbital slot. I can't remember exactly where they're at, somewhere near the 119W. If you can get the 119, you can almost always get Wildblue1 or AnikF2.


Wild Blue satellites are at 111 degrees. If you can get 110 you can probably get Wild Blue.


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## Yoda-DBSguy

I personally despise satellite ISP service. Besides the slow speeds as compared to other providers, their FAP (Fair Access Policy) proves to be a problem for many users. You are limited to certain amount of bandwidth per day; if you exceed that limit, you are capped at dialup speeds for a cetain duration of time.

Between the bandwidth limit, the slow speeds and problems associated with latency (such as the inability to use/play online games and the fact that you can NOT use VOIP services with this type of conenction) it's just not a valid choice for anyone with any sort of other ISP options. 

If you live in a rual area without cable or dsl service, I'd look for wirelss point to point service or cell data plan/data card providers as your solution.


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## SayWhat?

> (such as the inability to use/play online games and the fact that you can NOT use VOIP services with this type of conenction)


Mature adults don't worry about the first part and some VoIP services do work with proper set-up.


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## Yoda-DBSguy

SayWhat? said:


> Mature adults don't worry about the first part and some VoIP services do work with proper set-up.


The fact that you say mature adults don't play games; is immature in and of itself.

And VOIP does NOT work with satellite due to the latency issue. VOIP is useless if you say something and the other person doesn't hear it until 10-45 seconds later. It becomes a garbeled mess of people talking over eachother not to mention the other problems that arise if the upload bandwidth isn't there to even support the call to begin with.

And I quote:

Satellite VoIP
The market of VoIP has been expanding rapidly over the past few years. VoIP allows the transmission of voice signals over the internet, giving the customers great savings in local and long distance fee. VoIP works well with broadband connection such as cable and DSL. However, Satellite VoIP still faces many technical difficulties and its potential is not fully explored. So why is satellite VoIP so difficult to accomplish?

For those who live in remote areas and cannot get access to cable or DSL internet service, satellite internet is their only choice to get high speed connection. Although many satellite internet users would like to have VoIP installed, both the VoIP and satellite companies are still working to solve the technical problems associated with satellite connection.

The main problem with satellite VoIP is the latency issue. Latency refers to the amount of time the data travel up to the satellite and back to earth (about 70,000 km). The round trip will cause a signal delay up to 500 to 900 milliseconds. For high quality VoIP service, the latency should not exceed 250 milliseconds. A longer latency may cause disruption of VoIP signals.

Two other factors that will affect VoIP quality are jitter and packet loss. Jitter is a variation of packet delay arriving at the receiver. Excessive jitter can make speech choppy and difficult to understand. VoIP packet loss occurs when a large amount of traffic on the network causes dropped packets. This results in dropped conversations, signal delay, or extraneous noise on the call.

Satellite internet providers also need to prioritize the voice packets in order to make VoIP work. All packet switched networks are subject to congestion. If the voice packets are not prioritized and placed in specific order, the voice signals will be scrambled, resulting in poor call quality.

In fact, many customers who have tried VoIP service with Satellite reported these problems:

1) they hear the voice from the other end but they cannot talk back

2) dropped calls

3) calls not connecting at all

4) static sound

5) poor call quality as if they are hearing someone underwater

6) choppy voice signals

Both HughesNet and Vonage, the largest Satellite and VoIP provider respectively, have warned customers of the latency issue of satellite VoIP and they do not recommend using VoIP service with satellite at this moment. However, given the benefits of VoIP service for customers living in the rural areas, satellite VoIP is definitely an area worth further research and exploration.


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