Catherine Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Hello - I know there are other posts on sat internet but I can't really find naything on this: does anyone know if there I would be better off getting mono-directional or bi-directional sat if Ihave to go down this route? I know the latter is more expensive but if it is more reliable/faster I'm happy to pay as I need it for work. I'm also a little unclear about the fair usage policies - I don't really know how much I need as someone who uses the internet for general browsing most of the day for work but don't download films etc (which I believe you can't do over satellite anyway?) If anyone had any experience or knowledge I'd be really grateful. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domp80 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Hi CatherineI looked into this about 3 years ago when I needed broadband or similar for work but didn't have adsl in my area. I don't remember the finer details anymore but I did finally end up with one direction only. The cost was just far too great otherwise with too many restrictions. I used to look at ariase.com on a daily basis hoping I would get reADSL until I finally was able to receive it. I have SO never looked back!Sorry I can't help more but I sympathise with your predicament!Clare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Upload via Sat is very expensive. I know a few people with Sat download and ISDN upload. It's OK but quite expensive too. As an option, have you looked at ADSL via 3G ? Orange and SFR will sell you a dongle (USB so use on your PC/Laptop/Mac) then off you go from 20 to 60 euros a month. Not blistering speed (3.6Mb) but good enough for most things and of course its portable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Chris Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Hello CatherineWe're in a similar situation, with no broadband prospect on the horizon, and the much-vaunted WiMax system seeming to get further away each time I check.We started with dial-up, but like you, searched for an effective satellite solution. The bi-directional suppliers were far too expensive, so we settled for a hybrid system (dial-up uplink, satellite down).So mid-summer last year we opted for the service provided by SkyDSL. I won't say it's been without issues, but it's a lot better than pure dial-up. Our uplink ISP is Orange. We get fairly consistent download speeds up to 2 Mbs, and it's quite nippy for browsing. They do a number of packages, ours is unlimited and for a few extra Euros, we can download at faster speeds. It'll do, as we have no real alternative. Only drawback is it can't be used for Skype phone calls or 2 way video links, otherwise it seems to be OK. Because we use it a lot on individual machines, we have their SkyDSL box which enables networking to multiple computers. We are also having a second phone line installed as people can't reach us on the existing land line whilst we're surfing...If you opt for this supplier, they send you everything you need including a dish (80cm), and a compass to set it up! The instructions are comprehensive, too.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Something here on this page which might be of interest to those who are unable to get adslworth a look, I thinkDanny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
François Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Here is a site I found that will give you information on satellite broadband in FranceBut watch the costs. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Danny - that looks really interesting, cheaper than club-internet, slightly faster in our case (we get 450 kbps, so I'd be happy with 512 kbps), and most importantly it OUGHT to work 24 hours a day, which our present one (along with most of the rest of the village) doesn't.But I wonder if those upload speeds are fast enough for VOIP type calls? Does anyone know what the lower limit is for that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 VOIP will work on speeds as low as 33.6Kbps but the quality isn't great and of course no video at that speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Video? Don't know the meaning of the word!!Thanks Pierre. The sat version might be a real contender if we find that club internet is as unreliable as ever when we get back to France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I very much doubt that VOIP will work satisfactorarily over any satellite system due to the inherent propogation delays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Good point Ernie. I'd forgotten that. Shame, because otherwise it looks interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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