Satellite Internet systems are appropriate when high speed Internet is desired and terrestrial high speed Internet services such as DSL, Cable, T1, or Wireless are not available or as a backup to a primary high speed Internet service.

Satellite Internet systems use geosynchronous satellites that orbit 22,300 miles above the equator. As a result of the distance to the satellite, the of constraints of light speed, and the protocols and programming used to provide satellite Internet, all traffic is delayed greater that 1/4 second and the round trip is delayed greater than 1/2 second. This delay can result in reduced performance in certain high security applications such as SSL and VPN connections commonly used in banking and corporate networks among others. This delay also affects interactive gaming in such a way as to what you see is delayed and your responses to actions are also delayed.

In an effort to minimize the effects of delay on TCP/IP traffic flow, satellite Internet systems spoof TCP/IP responses. As a result, packets lost in transit are not retransmitted which can cause occasional missing graphics or data on a webpage requiring the refresh button to be pressed to display the page correctly.

VOIP does not work well on any of the systems priced below $200.00 per month. VOIP will connect, but the connections tend to yield undesirable voice quality much of the time. The more expensive systems do provide good VOIP performance partly by limiting the number of users per satellite hub. Hence, the higher price.

Typical Weather, rain, falling snow, and clouds do not adversely affect communications, but heavy rain, snow, and dense clouds can disrupt communications. Wet or slushy snow accumulation on the dish can also disrupt communications. Dry snow accumulation is less of a problem. Larger aperture antennas (larger dishes) significantly reduce the effects of weather on communications. In snow country, dish location should be selected with snow clearing in mind. Dishes placed low on the side of structures, or poll mounts tend to be easiest to clear.

Sun Outages occur during a several day period twice each year (Spring and Fall). Sun Outages occur for up to several minutes when the satellite passes between the Sun and the satellite as viewed from the satellite terminal antenna. Larger aperture antennas (larger dishes) reduce the effects of Sun Outage.

Typical Sun outage days per period and longest outage in minutes (middle day in period):

0.75 Meter Antenna: 8 Days - 12 Minutes
1.2 Meter Antenna: 5 Days - 8 Minutes
9.0 Meter Antenna: 2 Days - 3 Minutes (SPACENET/StarBand Hub – Atlanta Georgia)

For additional information on Sun Outages and links for tools to predict Sun Outages see our Satellite Communication Literature and Tools page.