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Author: Subject: Alternative to Starband or Hughesnet?
Bajabus
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[*] posted on 11-15-2009 at 08:08 PM


here is the deal. SB used to have 5 transponders on G-27. They recently leased 6 new transponders on G-23.

Right now they only are using 2 transponders on the new G23 bird. Both are kind a crowded right now but it's for a reason.

2 days ago they started turning off the line cards and hub equipment that was dedicated to the transponders on G27 (the old bird). eventually only 1.5 transponders will be left on the old bird for cluster 80 Vertical customers using only the newer Nova SE modems. No legacy equipment will be allowed on the old bird...they use up too much bandwidth and are very inefficient.

These line cards and hub equipment are now being put into service for the additional new transponders on G23 the new bird. As new transponders come into service over the next few weeks customers on the new bird will start to see much better speeds as they get balanced out over the 6 new transponders SB has. All in All SB is going from 5 transponders on the old bird to 7.5 transponders in total between both birds.

Also there are some new good developments coming from SB in terms of VOIP but it's all still in beta and protected by NDA's

Other good news is that as customers attrition off the old bird, some dealers will be able to still create new accounts on the old bird so SB will still be available on a limited basis in BCS where the footprint of the new bird does not reach

For auto pointing platforms Motosat is OK, we are a dealer and sell quite a few of them. We just started testing a new unit from General Dynamics that is quite impressive and not much more that a motosat unit. if you really want a bomb proof dependable auto pointing unit you need to look at an AVL/Tracstar unit but be prepared to drop a nice chunk of change on it.

Spacenet is SB's parent company and they are the ones selling commercial service plans. As pointed out they are expensive, offer limited band width at the low end price points but are very stable and robust. Spacenets commercial equipment is much less expensive than iDirect...on the order of $1600 for a complete sys with 2 watt BUC. When i have used equipment which is often you can get set up for under 1K. if you already have a 1.2 dish.....even less. If you already have SB service with the newer SE modem, a 1.2 meter dish and a 2 watt TX then you would have no upfront costs to switch to a commercial service plan. If you have one of the older legacy modems you can upgrade it now for $149.99 directly from SB. They will only ship to a USA address.

Commercial service is a world of difference but the additional expense might not be for everyone.

BTW Spacenet or Starband really does not give a hoot if you are in mexico and you don't have to be afraid to mention it if you have to call in.

If you call and ask about service in mexico they will send you to a dealer with a proven track record of supporting OCONUS customers ( outside the continental US ). There are several of us

[Edited on 16-11-2009 by Bajabus]




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larryC
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[*] posted on 11-16-2009 at 08:40 AM


Max
Thanks for the input, always nice to get your take on things. I'm looking forward to the improvement in the service, here in Bahia we seem to be right on the edge of the footprint where the .75 mtr dish becomes unusable. I'm getting complaints of sync and online lights going out in the afternoons. I am finding that the older phase 2 dishes get a better Ebno than the newer phase 3 dishes by as much as 2 db. (5db with the phase 3 and 7db with the phase 2) so unless I can find a supply of the older dishes some of my customers may have to buy a 1.2 meter dish. Do you have a source for those?

Astro
Sounds like your system is aimed properly so I can't be of any help there, voip reliability and uplaod and download speeds are highly variable and not always acceptable to some customers. All I can say is "welcome to the new sattelite". Hopefully Max is right and the system will improve soon.
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[*] posted on 11-16-2009 at 10:11 AM


Larry there are a few things you can try for customers in a marginal area for the size dish they are using.

1) there are currently two clusters in use on G23. Cluster 90 and cluster 91. you want to make sure that those in marginal areas are on cluster 90. the reason is that cluster 90 uses DVB modulation VS cluster 91 which uses 8PSK modulation. 8PSK is a great modulation algorithm that allows teleports to squeeze a lot more data in a given frequency spectrum however the trade off is a lower Eb no at a given power level. Marginal customers should be using cluster 90 which was specifically set up to help AK and other OCONUS customers avoid low Ebno/loss of sync/loss of con issues and give a better rain fade margin to them.

2).96 meter dish is a lot less expensive not just in price point for the product but also because it can be shipped via regular UPS and FedEx. Shipping a 1.2 meter dish is an expensive proposition because it has to go ground freight on a carrier like Yellow or Conway. We sell both in our online store. The price includes shipping anywhere in the lower 48/USA. Beware that the OD for the pipe is not the same. the .96 and the 1.2 commonly mount on a pipe with a 2.88 OD. You may be able to get by with a .96 there. Of course a 1.2 would be better and give you a much better rain fade margin and Ebno. Spacenets commercial plans mandate an Ebno of 9 or higher in order to guarantee the service level agreements. typically in CONUS areas Ebno is in the 8 - 13 area for SB residential service.

BTW the world teleport association today released a list of the top 20 teleports in the world in 3 categories. I'm happy to say that Spacenet was in two of the categories. Hughesnet didn't make any of the categories.




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astrobaja
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[*] posted on 11-17-2009 at 09:47 AM


Max, thanks very much for the detailed explanation of what is going to be hapening over the next few weeks.
Please let us know when the majority of the new transpnders become active, also good news about some developments with respect to VOIP alternatives!




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