Help Please Understanding Satellite Broadband!!!

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 12:46pm #1

Hi to all...

I'm a graphic/web designer based in Co. Cork and I'm struggling with my current Broadband provider to get increased speeds and to also get more stable, consistent speeds... my current broadband provider is doing his very best to provide an ever increasing hunger for bandwidth from our local community.... but I can't plan my business around school holidays when kids are at home hogging the broadband... and having to get web projects done and print files uploaded to DropBox under ever tightening deadlines. I also worry my current service will not improve over time and may even deteriorate or even cease trading with new providers entering the area offering much better speeds and deals (I still don't qualify as I can't see their mast)... so this is a real worry for my business.

My current package is Wireless (Line of sight) 3MB down and 2MB uploads with a 100GB monthly cap... sometimes during the day (8am to 5pm) I can get 5MB down and 2MB up (sometimes much less).... but come the evening that can drop dramatically to about 1MB down to 1MB up.... which is so slow and sluggish for WordPress work online and Netflix viewing grinds to a frustrating, buffering ordeal.

I have had every Line-of-Sight provider out here:- Ripplecom.net, Airwave.ie, Novabroadband.ie and no one can provide me with an alternative. I have even tried to get Eircom to install a fresh new landline so that I could get their broadband service, but they couldn't even guarantee me with as good a connection that I have at present as I'm so far away from the exchange.

So... now my only real, viable option is Satellite Broadband. I have contacted numerous providers... they have all outlined the restrictions to me in relation to latency. But the speed being offered seem high compared to what I have... they are between 15MB down to 2MB up... with 75GB to 100GB monthly caps.

Has anyone out there got Satellite as a business and residential solution... and been heavy users of the service... with services such as Heavy Web Browsing, Large Attachment Emails, Skype text messaging, DropBox (large image and video files), Spotify, Tidal, YouTube, Netflix etc....? Are the speeds they advertise what you get...?

Is Satellite Broadband still as bad as everyone says... or is it something worth considering.

Any comments or advice most welcome.

Kings regards,
Desperate Designer in Donoughmore!!

ItHurtsWhenIP · 12-04-2015 3:01pm

Mods may want to move this to the Midband forum.

I would only use Satellite as an absolute last resort. The limits are so low unless you pay lots more and if you are doing lots of streaming video and audio, you will quickly eat up that 100GB limit. Have the companies told you what they will charge when you go over - or do they cut your connection to dial-up speeds?

I used to have a one-way satellite thing (I needed dial-up for upstream connectivity) about 9 years ago as there was no other option available to me at the time. The speeds varied greatly and not just by time of day, but by Irish Weather! :eek: If you got a heavy rain shower, the connection effectively dropped due to a phenomenon called Rain Fade. It was very frustrating. I've since got FWA connection, but stuck on a 3/1Mbps connection.

If no other Wireless ISP can help you, then have you looked at 3G/4G mobile connectivity? Perhaps using an external antenna to pick up a signal. Search the midband forum for examples of this.

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 3:21pm

Thank you MMFITWGDV for your comments and advice.

I didn't realise weather would play such a huge part in the speeds... as we have Sky TV and that always works, even in crappy weather conditions.

9 years is a long time in technology terms... do you think the latest Satellite Services would be much improved....? or that they will be the same...? I have no problem spending big money... well up to about €124 per month for a 100GB cap... if it gets me a better more reliable connection, the future of my business depends on it.

I'm looking at the 100GB tariff... as I'm a commercial business I get the VAT back. I will check with iBUB about what you said are the consequences of going over that limit.... but with unlimited off-peak downloads I wouldn't see that being an issue. I would compromise my usage if I can just get more stable and better speeds.

As for 3G or 4G.... it's in our area for sure.... but we have no mobile signal where we live... we can maybe divine a 1 bar signal if we walk around like we are divining for water.... but realistically.... that's not a solution.

Thanks again MMFITWGDV for your comments.

Johnboy1951 · 12-04-2015 3:24pm

Donoughmore is due to get e-fibre from Eircom within a year.

The difficulty is what to do in the meantime I guess.

mass_debater · 12-04-2015 3:41pm

Schedule your uploads off peak, adapt and learn to cope. Stop trying to upload and watch Netflix during peak hours when you are fighting with contention. You have 5mbit down and 2mbit up during off peak hours, a lot better than lots I know. I'm struggling here with a 0.3mbit upload off peak on ADSL. I can tell you now satellite is definitely not the answer

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 3:41pm

Thank you JohnBoy for your reply and for your sliver of hope about the possibility of e-Fibre broadband coming to my area within the next 12 months or so.... my current provider has been doing all he can to try and respond to the ever increasing demands of his network by businesses such as myself and by local residents gorging on downloads and streaming services.

How do you know Donoughmore is on such an Eircom rollout list... is there public access to this list...?

Do you know anything about Satellite... is it as bad as the press it gets.... could it be an interim solution...?

Regards,
Desperate Designer

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 3:48pm

Thank Mass_Debater.... for your blunt and very specific view... I totally get that I should be grateful for what I have.... I am very grateful believe you me... but that's not helping my business grow or expand. I have changed a lot of my practices to try and optimise the connection that I have, but the world in moving on and so are the demands on my business.... in the graphics business... files aren't getting any smaller... they are getting much much larger and my uploads and downloads speeds are making the difference between my business being able to deliver or not.

Your comments about Satellite seem to be as negative as everyone elses.... its really seems to be the last last last resort and at that... I reckon from what I can gather, I may not be any better off... maybe worse.

Thanks again Mass_Debater for your comments and feedback.

Johnboy1951 · 12-04-2015 3:49pm

CreativeAnto wrote: »

Thank you JohnBoy for your reply and for your sliver of hope about the possibility of e-Fibre broadband coming to my area within the next 12 months or so.... my current provider has been doing all he can to try and respond to the ever increasing demands of his network by businesses such as myself and by local residents gorging on downloads and streaming services.

How do you know Donoughmore is on such an Eircom rollout list... is there public access to this list...?

Do you know anything about Satellite... is it as bad as the press it gets.... could it be an interim solution...?

Regards,
Desperate Designer

Zoom in on the map and select Donoghmore and a pop-up should tell you Jan-Mar 2016 for e-fibre to the exchange.

http://www.eircom.net/efibreinfo/map/

I never used Satellite for broadband. I did investigate it a few years ago.
My decision was it was very costly for very little, and I stayed with a slow landline connection, which has improved a bit in the meantime. I now get 5Mb/s down and about .4Mb/s up.

mass_debater · 12-04-2015 3:57pm

Just to expand. Satellite providers have pitiful limits but also have throttling systems in place during peak hours. If you download to much during peak hours your speed gets throttled for a time. A satellite has about the same backhaul as a small rural exchange that's shared across the whole of Europe. They can't let you use it during peak hours.
They also use some smoke and mirrors tricks to speed up http transfer, this makes them completely unsuitable for lots of real time protocols, gaming, VPN, VOiP etc

ED E · 12-04-2015 4:01pm

CreativeAnto wrote: »

I have even tried to get Eircom to install a fresh new landline so that I could get their broadband service, but they couldn't even guarantee me with as good a connection that I have at present as I'm so far away from the exchange.

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Donoughmore is due to get e-fibre from Eircom within a year.

Ahh, dont be getting the poor chaps hopes up like that.

If you're far enough from the exchange to get less than 4Mb ADSL then VDSLs chances of reaching you are very slim.

Could be more than a year there too Johnboy. December 2016 is 20 months away.

OP the options you'd have IMO are:
A. try and make a deal for an intendant link just for you to a local FWA, business to business. Expect to pay several times your current subscription.
B. Move, trying to make your living on the internet in a place like that is like trying to sell ski equipment in Egypt.

BTW, we're not far from July, good luck to you when schools close till September.

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 4:06pm

Hi again JohnBOy....

I can't see Donoughmore as a specific shaded area on the map.... but I was able to manually enter my location into the location finder to the left of the map and it said that my area wasn't currently e-Fibre enabled and they would keep my phone number on file. Can you send me a screen shot of Donoughmore being listed in a colour for specific roll-out... as if so... I will contact Eircom again tomorrow and try and get that new phone line installed... as I currently have two phone numbers in my home... but they are both in a carrier line. An Eircom engineer that I met up at our local exchange before said by default Eircom now has to install a proper line... for broadband services... so that might be my next option... once I know the e-Fibre is really coming.

5MB download and 4MB upload would be amazing... are they consistent speeds during business hours... ? I'm self-employed so I work very long hours..... often working on WordPress CMS into the late hours.... but if speeds held.... that sort of connection would be great. I have a neighbour about 6 houses down from me that has a 5MB download plus 2MB upload and that's coming from the Eircom exchange I'm trying to get a new line installed from..?

ED E · 12-04-2015 4:10pm

See my post above. Getting yourself off a carrier might not be possible.

CreativeAnto wrote: »

5MB download plus 2MB upload and that's coming from the Eircom exchange I'm trying to get a new line installed from..?

Somethings wrong there. Minimum for 2Mb Up is 12Mb down, and most of the time you can still only get 1Mb up.

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 4:18pm

Thanks ED_E

I think I wanna just crawl into a big hole right now!!

When I moved here years ago I had ISDN... the best of it.... and it was no issue... but the internet has changed everything.... even my current service providers system was great also... as nobody had things like iPads or data hogging social media super charged smartphones and Spotify and YouTube didn't even exist... it's only in the last 1-2 years that it been getting so difficult to operate... plus... I love where I live... so moving is not a realistic option. I asked my current provider for that one-to-one style connection.... but he already informed me that he cannot provide this solution.... he would have done it ages before just to get me off his back.

I think I will try Eircom one last time for a new line to be installed... so that if I can get it... it could act as a fall back.. and also if e-Fibre does arrive I'm already on their system.

ED E · 12-04-2015 4:25pm

If you're strongly rooted there you could try load balancing between your FW and an ADSL connection.

To be clear, if you're more than 2km from the village of Donoughmore then eFibre will very likely *never* benefit you. Its too sparsely populated to warrant cabs out in the middle of nowhere. The only benefit you'd see is anyone within 2 clicks of the village currently on your FW provider would likely change back, alleviating a little congestion.

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 4:51pm

Hi again ED_E....

Thanks for all your valuable insights... and comments... I'm totally at my whits end with all this.... I just survived the biggest recession in my professional career... after being in business for 20years... and now a bloody broadband connection is my next challenge and it's looking like it's defeating me everywhere I turn to.

I just jumped in my car again to make sure my estimates were right... and I can confirm I'm exactly 4km from the door of the exchange.... but like I said... my neighbour who is about another 400 - 500 metres away is getting 5MB downloads and between 1-2MB uploads... so would that mean... if I get that new... clean... broadband enabled fixed phone line... I could possibly get that as a Plan B...?

What ya think...?

mass_debater · 12-04-2015 4:53pm

Talk to someone local working for KN or Eircom, see if you are on a carrier and if there's any chance of getting off it.

ED E · 12-04-2015 6:00pm

^ Mass is right. Thatd be the first step, without a real line its all just theory.

Your neighbour is either on 12 down 2 up and only getting 5 due to the exchange being heavily loaded, or he's actually on 5Mb_0.5Mb. its very unusual to get more than 1Mb US on ADSL connections.

Johnboy1951 · 12-04-2015 6:54pm

I wish to correct a misunderstanding ..... I am getting about 5Mb/s down and .4Mb/s up ....... that is 0.4Mb or often about 384Kb/s

I cannot figure out how to attach a pic from my HDD to this post.

So all I can say is that on the link I gave there is an interactive map, and without doing anything else to the page, use the mouse wheel to zoom in to the Donoughmore area and click into it. You should get a popup with the info.

Immediately under the map is a colour chart giving the same information ....... January-March '16 ...... which is about a year's time.
So far Eircom seem to be ahead of estimates, so IMO you would need to be unlucky to be delayed until Dec 2016 as ED E suggests.

Your main problem is that you do not have a good line, so anything you can do to improve that will help.

I honestly do not believe that the Satellite option would suit your requirements.

It might be time to consider begging for a space from someone who has a good connection.
A nephew of mine had to do this until recently.
He travelled every day and back rather than move.
He did have to arrange the workload to suit ..... but he got a lot done at home with a dismal connection.

Ah! Got it!

jimmycrackcorm · 12-04-2015 7:17pm

Op if it is your business then why not rent some where to work that you can get decent broadband access. Are you in commuting distance of an IT that does incubation units?

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 7:18pm

JohnBoy... wow!! Thank you for going to all that trouble... I see it... I see it!!!

I will try and get that brand new Eircom line installed... I am currently on Carrier lines... but I will pay for a brand new, install... hopefully that will mean I will get a broadband enabled line... and even if what I get is 5MB down and 0.5MB up..... in the next 12months I might have the hope of eFibre.... thank you again for all your excellent info on this very frustrating issue.

Thank you...

Johnboy1951 · 12-04-2015 7:26pm

If you do succeed in getting a new 'proper' line in, you should consider getting a router that has two WAN ports and use two lines for hopefully better throughput.

Does anyone know what happens if one of the 'shared' lines is cancelled?
Would the other line improve to 'proper' status?

Just wondering .....

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 7:33pm

Thanks again JohnBoy.... I'm an Apple Mac user... so I have all Apple Mac accessories.... I have spend €600 on routers throughout my house to try and get what broadband I have delivered as best I could.... my current main router is an Apple Airport Xtreme Base Station and I think it only comes with one WAN port.... would you recommend a reliable brand that has two WAN ports and works well with Apple products.

I will keep my two current, carrier line phone lines... but pay for a new third one to be installed... but this time not as a carrier line... but as a new, fully broadband compatible version... that would be my hope and goal knowing that eFibre is a realistic possibility now.

I think there's a minimum 12month contract on that anyways.

mass_debater · 12-04-2015 7:37pm

Be aware a eFibre only works 2000m from an eFibre cabinet on a perfect line and only 1800m from an EVDSL enabled exchange

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 7:43pm

I'm exactly 4km from the exchange. So even if I sign up and manage to get a new broadband line installed into my home/office.... that might give me 5MB down and 0.5MB up... if eFibre finally does come to my area in 12months time... I will be 100% no better off...?

mass_debater · 12-04-2015 7:48pm

CreativeAnto wrote: »

I'm exactly 4km from the exchange. So even if I sign up and manage to get a new broadband line installed into my home/office.... that might give me 5MB down and 0.5MB up... if eFibre finally does come to my area in 12months time... I will be 100% no better off...?

Depends on whether your cable passes through a cabinet that in future gets enabled, you'd need to be under 2000m from it to get eFibre and in reality you'd need to be under ~1800m to be any better off to make it worth switching

Johnboy1951 · 12-04-2015 7:51pm

Routers are operating system agnostic ..... it does not matter what OS you run on connecting devices, they can all connect equally well.

You should get a second modem with the new line (if it is a suitable line).

You could then connect both modems to a dual WAN router, which would have settings for load balancing etc.

For best connection for working you should be wired to the router and other users prevented from connecting during working hours.

Trying to use a limited connection for multiple purposes prevents everybody from a good user experience.

mass_debater · 12-04-2015 7:57pm

Johnboy, he's saying his router and wireless access points he already invested in are Apple

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 7:58pm

mass_debater wrote: »

Depends on whether your cable passes through a cabinet that in future gets enabled, you'd need to be under 2000m from it to get eFibre and in reality you'd need to be under ~1800m to be any better off to make it worth switching

I would be confident if I get the new line installed it would be done through the Exchange that is located the 4km away from my home/office as this the exchange that I already waited years to be broadband enabled only to be then told that my carrier lines wouldn't support Broadband.

Thanks again Mass_Debater for all your help and assistance with this.

ItHurtsWhenIP · 12-04-2015 8:18pm

CreativeAnto wrote: »

I would be confident if I get the new line installed it would be done through the Exchange that is located the 4km away from my home/office as this the exchange that I already waited years to be broadband enabled only to be then told that my carrier lines wouldn't support Broadband.

Thanks again Mass_Debater for all your help and assistance with this.

The exchange in Donoughmore is enabled for ADSL2, which can give up to 24Mbps.

As your neighbour is getting 5Mbps, this will be about all you can expect given your distance to the exchange.

As has been said, unless an eFibre cabinet gets placed between you and the exchange at a distance no greater than 1.8KM, then you will not benefit at all from eFibre. Sorry.

However - in years to come you should get picked up by the National Broadband Plan, which looks likely to bring actual proper Fibre to everyone's homes so you get upwards of ... wait for it ... 1000Mbps if you so choose.

However you may have to wait until 2020 for that to happen.

long_b · 12-04-2015 9:19pm

"As for 3G or 4G.... it's in our area for sure.... but we have no mobile signal where we live... we can maybe divine a 1 bar signal if we walk around like we are divining for water.... but realistically.... that's not a solution."

You're absolutely sure about this? You've tried every provider. all around your house, out each window and from your roof ?

CreativeAnto · 12-04-2015 9:26pm

Thanks for your comments Long_B... I have tried all around the house... and yes we can get a slight signal... it flicks between Edge and 3G... 1-2 bars maximum... I'm kinda stuck with Vodafone with contracts... we have QTY 3 x iPhones in the house... all on contract... so another year or more before I can get out of those.

Is there professional service providers available that could harness this type signal and turn it into a workable 3G or 4G signal It is in our area for sure.... my brother-in-law is less than 1km up the road from me and he has it... I'm in a low lying dip where I live... and it's just the pits with getting a signal.

I used to have the Vodafone SureSignal... it worked great.... but stopped one day and I couldn't get it to connect again. Vodafone don't really recommend using their equipment with Wireless and my broadband provider tried everything... opening ports etc to get it to connect but no luck. They send out a new one and still no joy. So now I have no mobile signal inside the house... except for 1-2 bars of Edge and sometimes 3G over in a corner by the kitchen window.

Thanks again for you comments.

Help Please Understanding Satellite Broadband!!!

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