Can't get Cable, DSL, but want High-Speed ?

[Okiewan]

Thought I'd pass along my experience for those of you out in the boonies stuck on a slow dial-up connection....

Background:
Hughes (owns directv and others) offers a two-way sattelite connection. Dish is a little bigger than a typical DSS dish (38" oval)
Until recently, heavy $ to get started ($600 for equipment alone).

They have an offer out there now that I took advantage of, $99 install, $99/month for 12 months. After that, it drops to $59/month. Always on connection, super fast download speeds (I'm averaging 2.2mb/s ..translated in terms of a 56k modem, it's 2100k :) ) Upload speeds (right now) are pretty much like a good 56k modem, but NO PHONE LINE required. No additonal ISP (AOHell, etc) required.

I did the math and will save money with this over the ISDN/ISP/Phone Line charges I've had. Got the install completed a couple days ago, (they have to do it due to FCC, systems that broadcast have to be installed by a pro)... went like clock work.

Negatives: If you play online games, don't get a Sat (ping times too slow for games). In the worst weather, you could lose the signal for a few minutes (just like Sat TV, but this dish is not as picky as DSS).
Upload speeds no better than a decent modem. (I do web stuff and it's not a problem with the files I usually upload).

Positives:
FAST.
You can have them install a DirecTV LNB on this Dish, to combine the two if you already have or want DirecTV.
No (extra) phone line.

In the last 48 hours, speed has been awesome (and I'm used to dual channel ISDN), I have yet to lose a connection and I LOVE the fact that the local Telco is getting ZERO from my web connection.

Would I chose DSL or possibly cable over the Sat if I had a choice? DSL yes, Cable no.

This is a sweet deal if you add up you connection costs, probably not much more than you pay now, maybe even less. Check it out. If you decide to go deeper into it, let me know, I've spent a lot of time researching it.

Anyway... just an FYI.
See: http://direcway.com

DO NOT get this service thru AOL or EarthLink. Big Mistake! Their speeds are drastically less and support blows. Get it Thru DirecTV (that's also Hughes).

 

[JWW]

I will need to pass this along to my buddy. He ordered what sounds like the same package last week but his downloads are only supposed to be around 400 k

 

[Okiewan]

400K is the advertised DL speed...
A few little tweaks (easy ones), speed goes WAY up :)

 

[kingriz1]

Okie,

I am glad you posted this. I am moving out to the farm and I cant get anything. I wish I could afford the T1!! I have been going back and forth between Sattelite and ISDN. I need some info on the tweaks.

Thanks!!

Riz

 

[Okiewan]

Here is where you find everything you need. A couple of free software downloads, enter some info, done.

http://www.broadbandreports.com/faq/satellite

 

[kev_rm]

Current sattelite is not good for any applications that are interactive. The packet round trip times are horrendous - usually 1000ms+ - HTTP is about the *only* thing that runs decent with sattelite.

 

[JWW]

Originally posted by Okie
400K is the advertised DL speed...
A few little tweaks (easy ones), speed goes WAY up :)

Thanks :thumb:

 

[MrLuckey]

I had DirecDuo when in Santa Barbara - had to upload via phone line but it was still close to 56k. I can't remember what I was paying but it was WAY lower than that. I guess I don't understand paying that much when a second phone line is much cheaper? I was normally getting over 1 meg download without any tweaks.

Next question i am curious about is why you would consider DSL but not cable? I have had both - my personal experience with DSL was horrible, I absolutely love my cable connection and its much faster than I ever got with my DSL. I am wondering how much the quality of service for each is an area and provider specific thing?

 

[Okiewan]

A second phone line? You mean 56k? You dial up on 56k!
I'm coming off ISDN. Add the phone line costs, ISP costs and toll charges, I'm saving. Upload by phone isn't necessary, the sat is two-way. The Dish with one way access (DRS) is 39/month. Closer to your number?

Why DSL over cable? Cable is shared. DSL is not. Just wait until all your neighbors are using cable... you'll be wishing for your 56k modem :) I sure don't want to deal with the local cable morons about my connection... Your experience with either relates to the supplier a lot more than the technology. I know people that despise their cable, DSL, Sat... makes no diff, people complain about them all. Again, in a perfect world where all technologies work as well as they have the potential to? I'd take DSL. If they ever offer DSL here, I'll drop the Sat in a heartbeat.

kev_rm: As I said, playing online games is out. I don't do web cams. I upload/download/Browse all day, every day... just not mp3's, videos and other really large files, so the limited upload speed is no issue with me. My dual ISDN got me and average of 100kbs up, the Sat gets me 60kps. In my case it's cheaper, faster and the only choice for broadband where I live.

 

[_SOLO_]

I bet you guys would love my whopping 2k a sec upload and 3-5k a sec download. Ever wanted to know what it is like to be a snail?

 

[Okiewan]

If you ever want to get a look at your connection speed, there are a few sites out there with decent tools, a couple of them are
http://wdc.speakeasy.net and http://nyc.speakeasy.net . Obviously, internet traffic in general and other factors play into these things, but they are a pretty good measuring stick. If you run something like this several times per day, you can get a decent average.

Here are the numbers I just got for an example:

wdc.speakeasy.net
2002-09-08 08:58:38 EST: 2044 / 83
Your download speed : 2044566 bps, or 2044 kbps (2.04mbits/s).
A 249.5 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 83039 bps, or 83 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

nyc.speakeasy.net
2002-09-08 09:07:31 EST: 2109 / 106
Your download speed : 2109090 bps, or 2109 kbps.
A 257.4 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 106809 bps, or 106 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

 

[JWW]

dang Your connection beats my dsl. Do you have any speed tips for dsl users?

2002-09-08 09:15:13 EST: 692 / 73
Your download speed : 692806 bps, or 692 kbps.
A 84.5 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 73882 bps, or 73 kbps

 

[biglou]

2002-09-08 10:51:37 EST: 307 / 106
Your download speed : 307420 bps, or 307 kbps.
A 37.5 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 106241 bps, or 106 kbps.

 

[Treejumper]

2002-09-08 12:15:01 EST: 36 / 23
Your download speed : 36965 bps, or 36 kbps.
A 4.5 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 23571 bps, or 23 kbps.

I hate dialup!

 

[Tony Eeds]

Whew ... my pigeons are really slow!

2002-09-08 15:04:21 EST: 5 / 11
Your download speed : 5036 bps, or 5 kbps.
A 0.6 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 11706 bps, or 11 kbps.

Thanks for the info Okie - I am going to move to West Texas next summer. Maybe, I'll check into it now and move it later.

Tony

 

[KTA]

we had directPC for a while and i didn't like it at all. . it was good for downloading large files but as far as internet browsing goes it was just as slow as my dial up modem (caused by the huge latency of sending the info to outerspace and back)

 

[smb_racing]

here's a nagging question I've had ever since I upgraded to Win XP, how in the world do you find and install Java VM? Automatic installation through microsoft is no longer available due to pressure from Sun, there was supposed to be a service pack to remedy it but I've yet to see it, any thoughts?

 

[Okiewan]

KTA... was it tweaked? I can tell ya, this thing blows away my dual ISDN, yes... browsing.

 

[MrLuckey]

I was just curious Okie, I'll check my cable connection on those sites when I get home - I'm stuck on the hotel 26k connection for a little while longer. I had checked my cable modem at home @ 3-4 sites before and got wildly differing #'s. Can't remember what any of them said. There are also differing guaranteed speed packages that you can get with most cable outifts. The ones I've seen are like silver/bronze/gold with higher speeds = more $$.

 

[Okiewan]

I had checked my cable modem at home @ 3-4 sites before and got wildly differing #'s

That could be due to how the site checks your connection, some aren't as good as others, most use Java and be quirky. The best I've seen (but supplies the least info is http://pcpitstop.com ... all it will show you is download speed, but it uses activeX rather than Java. The other reason numbers can vary wildly is that cable is shared, speeds can/will change a lot minute to minute. Same thing with the sat. Last night I was in the 1mbit/s, this morning over 2mbit/s ... in my case I just look for the average over a period of time. That's where DSL is superior... if you have a 1.5mbit connection, it will always be the same (less any network problems).

 

[70 marlin]

thunder stroms suck! at least for the tv, I lose my satelite every time it rain hard.

 

[firecracker22]

Okie, I'm more interested in the $39/month for one-way. Is that using telephone upload? How does that work? What are the initial/installation charges? Is there a way to back it up with normal dial-up? I'm worried about the potential for it to go out in a storm. We live on top of a hill out in the boonies and get some nasty, nasty weather all year round.

 

[yzeater]

Oh man I love cable internet!!

2002-09-10 17:20:28 EST: 1430 / 169
Your download speed : 1430543 bps, or 1430 kbps.
A 174.6 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 169133 bps, or 169 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

 

[Jasle]

I used the link and downloaded the program and made the tweaks. I went from 440/62 to 1655/94 Tested same time two seperate days.

All I can say is THANKS! I used the MX site to speed up my connection...Who'd a guessed.
Jason

 

[MrLuckey]

My cable connection seems a little sluggish right now but this is what I got at speakeasy:
2002-09-14 15:27:03 EST: 1706 / 330
Your download speed : 1706717 bps, or 1706 kbps.
A 208.3 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 330943 bps, or 330 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

I haven't tweaked a thing with my cable connection and will check it a few more times and post them.

Just checked again:
2002-09-14 15:32:33 EST: 1749 / 326
Your download speed : 1749552 bps, or 1749 kbps.
A 213.5 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 326086 bps, or 326 kbps.
Seems like broadband .. above the 1mbit barrier!

That one ranked me #29 on the first page of the speed results:
63123 earthlink 1749/326 14th 15:xx 217.xx.216.charter-stl.com

I am going to reboot my comp & modem and try again.