Something to know about satellite internet service

from Cherryl Wistos, Target Marketing Stategies

I’m writing this today to give you some information about satellite internet services.

Some of you know that for several years, my broadband internet service has been provided by a satellite.

Starband Satellite Internet Service… to be precise.

Now, I’m not writing this email to complain about the service, but I do want to educate you about satellite internet services in general.

So… if you or anyone you know is considering buying a satellite internet service… please read this BEFORE… making that decision.

I’ve had friends ask me how I like the satellite service. They were currently able to get DSL or cable internet… and here’s what I tell ‘em…

DON’T exchange DSL or cable internet for satellite… and here’s why…

It’s really not any less expensive. I have Starband’s Nova Pro 1000 (1024/128)… which means… I’m supposed to
have 1 Mbps download capability and 128 Kbps upload capability… and I pay about $70/month.

In truth… I rarely have 1 Mbps… usually it’s around -750 – 800 kbps. And my upload speed is typically around 60 – 70 kbps.

So… here’s the real reason NOT to exchange DSL or cable for satellite…

ALL satellite internet service providers have limitations on the amount of usage each subscriber can use in a given timeframe.

Starband’s limitation – for my particular service – is 2 Gigabytes (download) worth of usage over a 7 day period.

If I, as a subscriber, go over that 2 gigabytes bandwidth within the 7 days… my internet usage is restricted… to approximately 56 kbps.

And I stay at that restriction for the length of time until I am back under the threshold. Usually… it takes about 3 to 6 days.

Now… if all you do is… browse the net… and read and answer your emails… then you’ll undoubtedly be okay.

But… if you download lots of videos like me… I watch lots of training videos from Lynda dot com – then it won’t take
very long at all for all the bandwidth usage to get eaten up. That may also be true… if you download lots of music.
I don’t download music, so I’m not sure of this.

Also, I have business programs that I’ve purchased that I can only access online…
and when I’m studying those programs… I’m eating up large chunks of my bandwidth.

Ssooo… here’s what the tech support at Starband told me to do to get around all this mess.

Wait until 9:00 pm my time – that’s right 9 o’clock at night – midnight eastern time – and then go online
to study my programs and watch my training videos.

That way I am on ‘off-peak’ hours and it doesn’t register against my bandwidth usage.

So if I want to wait until 9 o’clock at night and work until about 3 o’clock in the morning (3:00am), then I won’t have my usage restricted.

Is it a pain in the neck? YES!

But if you need a broadband internet service and satellite is your only choice… then know the limitations
and restrictions… and if there are any work-a-rounds.

Fortunately… I don’t have to do this ‘work-a-round’ very often… but when I do… at least I know
I can without hindering my overall bandwidth usage.

Now I don’t know what Hughes Net’s policy is. But I DO know that ALL satellite internet services
have bandwidth limitations. But I don’t know if you can go on during ‘off-peak’ hours without hindering the amount of usage.

I do know that the restriction is significant… roughly 82%. It’s like going back to dial-up or worse.

So… BEFORE you or someone you know… signs up for satellite internet service… find out about the limitations
and whether the company offers ‘off-peak’ usage without hindering the amount of usage.

Oh… by the way… Starband’s tech support is really pretty good and helpful. I have no complaints with them.

I hope this helps!

Cherryl Wistos
Target Marketing Strategies
Does your business need help with…
Copywriting, Graphic Design, or
Marketing Solutions?
If so call…
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Tags: satellite internet service

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 10th, 2010 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Informational. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.