Comments on: With new satellite tech, rural dwellers get access to true broadband http://gigaom.com/2012/10/01/with-new-satellite-tech-rural-dwellers-get-access-to-true-broadband/ Thu, 23 May 2013 05:18:18 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: mike knight http://gigaom.com/2012/10/01/with-new-satellite-tech-rural-dwellers-get-access-to-true-broadband/#comment-1032159 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 21:00:53 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=568440#comment-1032159 I work at a small website company in Oregon who has a few subscribers living ‘outside the city’ where the only choice they have is satellite connectivity. A few months ago Wild Blue started their Excede service and it has been a nightmare. Note that the website I support is an on-line database and it is not the smoothest implementation but with that said it works fine on dsl and cable connections. But because this has been my closest experience with satellite I would caution any user to do your home work before contracting such a service. Satellite compared to any other type connection seems very apples to oranges.

]]> By: Kevin Fitchard http://gigaom.com/2012/10/01/with-new-satellite-tech-rural-dwellers-get-access-to-true-broadband/#comment-1032057 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 20:13:16 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=568440#comment-1032057 Yeah, these satellite plans are never going to be friendly to heavy broadband users (then again the wirelines guys are increasingly becoming less friendly to heavy users). I looked at my consumption household consumption and I consume between 41 GB to 89 GB each month. We’re definitely not heavy users, but my wife and I both work from home, we download a few 720p HD movies a week and occasionally go on Netflix binges (which explains the huge variation month to month). Sadly underserved areas are always going to be one step behind the capabilities of their urban broadband counterparts, but I also look at this way. If I did up and relocate to the middle of nowhere, I would now be hopeful of getting a decent connection so I could do my job (but I’d be renting or buying a lot more DVDs).

]]> By: Paul Natsch http://gigaom.com/2012/10/01/with-new-satellite-tech-rural-dwellers-get-access-to-true-broadband/#comment-1031779 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:42:45 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=568440#comment-1031779 The other problem is the proliferation of digital downloads for software and updates. I recently purchased Empire: Total War from the Mac App Store and it was a 12 GB download! And there is also software updates. Now I don’t buy games like that all the time so in my case the 40 GB plan would probably suffice as long as I stopped using services like Netflix and HBO Go and just stuck with software updates, the occasional digital download software purchase, and maybe a few YouTube videos. This would have to be spread across several devices (iMac, iPad, and iPhone). It wouldn’t be easy, and I would be giving up a lot, but the 40 GB cap would at least make it possible to survive even though it’s kind of pricey.

]]> By: Kevin Fitchard http://gigaom.com/2012/10/01/with-new-satellite-tech-rural-dwellers-get-access-to-true-broadband/#comment-1031625 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 17:56:43 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=568440#comment-1031625 Hi Paul,

You can do a lot with 40 GB it seems to me, but I agree with you that the policies definitely punish streaming. While you can schedule downloading in the middle of the night, a service like Netflix is immediate and unless your a night owl, it’s used exactly during peak BB hours.

]]> By: Paul Natsch http://gigaom.com/2012/10/01/with-new-satellite-tech-rural-dwellers-get-access-to-true-broadband/#comment-1031606 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 17:51:46 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=568440#comment-1031606 It certainly has improved but I still can’t help but feel really sorry for these people. I understand in many cases they have no other choice though. Those data caps really wouldn’t allow you to do much of anything. Forget about Netflix.

]]> By: Kevin Fitchard http://gigaom.com/2012/10/01/with-new-satellite-tech-rural-dwellers-get-access-to-true-broadband/#comment-1031603 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 17:50:55 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=568440#comment-1031603 Hi Kindroid,

DishNet is separate service requiring separate equipment. You’d have to order a special dish that send as well as receive signals (which go to a completely different satellite)

]]> By: Kindroid http://gigaom.com/2012/10/01/with-new-satellite-tech-rural-dwellers-get-access-to-true-broadband/#comment-1031599 Mon, 01 Oct 2012 17:48:30 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=568440#comment-1031599 I have Dish for my entertainment source. I get the satellite beam down. Does anybody know how the upload works?

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