Satellite Broadband Options

mcdrogo

WARNING: AVOID SkyDSL BANDITS!

I have been a subscriber of SkyDSL Satellite Broadband for a year now. I would strongly advise against signing up with them. Before signing with them I was promised that, like my previous supplier Mediasat, there would be no problem at all for the other 2 PCs on my network to use the broadband connection. After the installation of equipment which was soon to become faulty and its replacement with more faulty equipment, I found to my cost that this was a lie.

Not happy with their service I informed them that I wanted to cancel my subscription in June. They told me that even though my 6 month contract had expired it had automatically been renewed for anther six months and I would have to continue paying until September. When I emailed them again to remind them that my contract was to be cancelled in September, they insist that my contract will be renewed again for another six months because the reminder was not sent at least a month before the end of the contract, eventhough the June request was.

They are not going to get another cent for their pitiful :eek:service. Be warned! Avoid SkyDSL!

bowsie casey

We are looking at getting 2-way 2MB satellite broadband. Looking at the table in Post1, the cheapest supplier by far for this service is Tariam.

Does anybody have experience with Tariam satellite broadband ?

TomaszP

Please, please think twice before you sign the contract
I will do everything to warn everyone else considering them as an internet provider.
I have posted my case on the website www.kilcoole.eu
I hope it's not too late for you.
Regards, Tom

mumhaabu

My recommendation is avoid all Satellite internet providers I used NBB at the ploughing championships recently was unimpressed as the sppeds looked to be around only 512kbps plus the VOIP service was ok but the ping the noticeable and it seemed like the guy on the other end was thinking before everything he said due to the delay and it also is no good for cutting across and butting in on the other guy as I often do on the phone. :rolleyes: My advice is get DSL or cable somewhere and wirelessly link it back to your house, see irishwan.com about it.

mcdrogo

mumhaabu wrote: »

My recommendation is avoid all Satellite internet providers I used NBB at the ploughing championships recently was unimpressed as the sppeds looked to be around only 512kbps plus the VOIP service was ok but the ping the noticeable and it seemed like the guy on the other end was thinking before everything he said due to the delay and it also is no good for cutting across and butting in on the other guy as I often do on the phone. :rolleyes: My advice is get DSL or cable somewhere and wirelessly link it back to your house, see irishwan.com about it.

Most people who sign up to Satellite BB do not do so because they prefer it to DSL or wireless. They do so because their only choice is Satellite or good old 33kbs dial-up. I have been waiting for many years for either DSL or wireless of any description in my area. I doubt if I'll ever be able to get either. You're lucky you have a choice in the type of broadband you want.

Mac 79

i tried that nbb at the ploughing it's really fast compared to what i have at the moment a GPRS connection not even 3g. for me satellite is the only option, it's taken me about 10 minutes to download these three pages

watty

Satellite is better than GPRS/EDGE/3G/HSDPA generally. Two way, not the SkyDSL type services which are dialup accelerators.

There are two main Sat vendors active in Ireland. NBS/Astra2Connect uses 500mW transmitter and the other mostly uses a 2000mW transmitter.

The uplink (uploads) is affected more than downlink by rain, especially on lower transmit power and further away from East Coast. (Except for Digiweb Schools sat as it is same strength all over the Island.).

Good fixed wireless (not Ripwave type services) are better than Satellite.

MunsterCycling

Watty, can I ask you are the Schools that had your service before but are now in a BB enabled area being changed over to DSL or are they stuck with Sat BB due to restrictive contracts? Just a FMI...

MC

watty

I'm under the impression that they do indeed migrate to DSL, Cable, Wireless, Digiweb Metro etc as long as the service meets the specifications.

There is a tighter spec for Wireless etc (terrestrial) than for Satellite service. So any alternative to Satellite is always better. 3G/HSDPA can't even meet the Satellite Spec on latency, jitter, ability to connect, up & down speeds. "Upto" speeds or "downto" latency doesn't cut it.
There are penalties for:
exceeding latency limit (< 800ms for Satellite. HSDPA can be bigger)
Not always getting a connection. (High failure rate on 3G/HSDPA)
Jitter (HSDPA would never meet that)
Upload & Download speed / Contention. (HSDPA has so few connections compared to fixed Wireless, that you can't even talk about contention of 48:1 meaningfully). No way to ensure HSDPA can meet up & Down speed.

Data to/from Heanet must not transit public Networks...

So at least you're safe from Fraudband. See Comments here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/30/mobile_broadband_logo/
and http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/09/30/mobile_broadband_logo/comments/

The EU / Vivienne Redding should ban that logo for 3G/HSDPA use.

mcdrogo

Avoid using one way broadband and especially SkyDSL. I've used both one way and two way sat bb and the extra you pay for two way will more than make up for the cost of telephone calls and the inconveniece of having you phone tied up. Also, the quality of the phone connection was an issue for me with it being cut regularly.

Also, if you decide to go with one way, avoid SkyDSL at all costs. Their support is next to useless if you have a problem, and forget about trying to cancel the contract, even if you're obeying the terms and conditions of the contract. They're trying to string me along for more payments. AVOID!