Internet by Satellite

[edwierdo]

Does anyone have any expierience of this particular internet method and if so what companies did you use. Our internet connection at the moment is the 1mm from Orange and it just is not fast enough for our needs right now and with no sign of a line upgrade soon I need to start exploring other possibilities.

Ed

[Clair]

Recent-ish threads on this subject:

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/892521/ShowPost.aspx

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/649764/ShowPost.aspx

[Nige]

1 meg connection is nbetter than you are gona get on Sat. For a start the 1 meg will work all the time unlike sat. The cost of upload and download is about £100 per month yes ££££ per month and the set up fee starts at about £600-£1500 depending on the system needed. I would stick with the 1 meg. This is from an IT tech in 17 who is still on Dial up cos we are 2% of FRance who cannot get ADSL 

[Just Chris]

We are in the wilds of Correze (19), and unable to get broadband.  The stupid AOL dial-up connection was next to useless, so I started looking around for alternatives.

The 2-way satellite systems are prohibitively expensive, so that solution was out.

We eventually found SkyDSL (based in Germany), who provide a hybrid system (Dial-up up, and satellite down).  I subscribed to them (minimum six months), and within a week the dish, PCI receiver card and software arrived. (They also supply a USB box if you prefer - ideal for laptops).

The set up was relatively straightforward, and works quite well, especially for surfing and downloading.  The speed fluctuates, but it is apparently possible to download at up to 24 MBs at certain times of the day/night (best I've got so far is 2 Mb !).

They have several tariffs depending upon your needs - we got the all-singing, all dancing version (higher speed, and no download limit), which is around 39 Euros per month.  You also have to subscribe to an ISP for your dial-up.  Not necessarily cheap in total, but well worth it for me for the speed and reliability.

A word of warning - we discovered that it is NOT really compatible with AOL, because of AOL's invasive properties.  We now have an Orange dial-up connection, and it works fine in conjunction with the SkyDSL service.

I am still trying to cancel my AOL account, but that's another story...  if anyone knows of a way to do this, I'd be very grateful.

 

Chris

[SC]

[quote user="Khazi"]

I am still trying to cancel my AOL account, but that's another story...  if anyone knows of a way to do this, I'd be very grateful.

[/quote]

You can generate a letter of resiliation here: http://www.ariase.com/fr/guides/resiliation.html

Send it to AOL recommandé avec avis d'accuser de reception.    

Oh, and then pray!

Steve

[Just Chris]

Thanks for that Steve - a useful site.

I think I may have succeeded with a phone call.  They said they'd confirm it in writing.  I'll wait and see...

 

Chris

[La Roche]

give these guys a shout ............ just follow online instructions and they will work out your tarrif for you in seconds . mine is 9.90 euros

 

http://www.teles-skydsl.fr/order.php?func=tariff_summary

[AnOther]

As expensive as they are you'll find that many of these hybrid systems tend to offer a max of 2mb and are also likely be capped so you'll have to weigh up whether a mere doubling from 1mb is really worth the expense.

Bear in mind also that they are also utterly useless for any type of VOIP so you won't be able to benefit from the cheap or free phone calls typically offered by most traditional terrestrial ISP's.

 

[strebor]

Is ISDN still offered in France ?