Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Note
Geosynchronous satellites used for satellite Internet/TV service are visible in the southern
sky for users in the Northern Hemisphere (North America, Europe, and Asia); if you're in
the Southern Hemisphere (South America, Australia, Africa), these satellites are located in
the northern sky.
Satellite Internet services are generally slower and more expensive than cable, DSL, or
fixed wireless and generally should not be considered where those alternatives are avail-
able. However, for people living in rural areas, satellite is often the only type of broad-
bandconnectionavailable.ThemainprovidersofsatelliteInternetintheUnitedStatesare
HughesNet, WildBlue, and StarBand.
HughesNet
HughesNet was originally called DirecPC when service began in 1996, but Hughes Net-
work Systems renamed it DirecWay in mid-2001, shortly after rolling out a two-way ver-
sion of the service, and then renamed it again to HughesNet in 2006. The original version
of DirecPC was a one-way service that used satellite for downloading and a conventional
dial-up modem for uploading. Starting in 2002, this was replaced with a two-way satellite
connection.
HughesNet offers satellite service to the 48 contiguous states and southern Canada using
12 satellites in geosynchronous orbit above the equator, along with multiple Earth-based
gateways acting as up/down links between the satellites and the Internet. HughesNet uses
boththeKuandKabands,dependingonlocation andequipment. TheKubandcoversthe
target area with a single broad beam, whereas the Ka band uses spot beams. New installs
use the Ka band unless location issues preclude it.
The HughesNet hardware usually consists of a 0.74m (29-inch) oval dish plus an external
satellite modem. The modem has a built-in router with an Ethernet connection. A larger
optional0.98m(39-inch)rounddishisavailableforfringeareasorforbusinessuse,along
with an optional higher powered (2W vs. 1W) radio transmitter. HughesNet offers several
plans with varying download/upload speeds as follows:
Residential
•
Basic
—1.0Mbps/0.2Mbps
•
Power 150
—1.5Mbps/0.25Mbps
•
Power 200
—2.0Mbp/0.3Mbps
Business (1-2 users)
•
Connect 100
—1.2Mbps/0.2Mbps
