Business Satellite Internet Products Compared - 2005

There are a number of options available for Business Class Satellite Internet connectivity in the U.S. today. New offerings seem to launch every week in 2005 and it is becoming a bit confusing for the business owner who cant obtain traditional high speed internet or cant afford the expense of running a T1 line to a location off the beaten path. Ive outlined below several options for business with the positive aspects as well as negative where applicable. Each company and heavy individual user has different needs, so no one platform is a one size fits all. I will outline them and you decide:

1. iDirect Platform:

This is a proven enterprise platform which provides a wide range of dependable speeds for most any business, government or heavy use individual. download speeds from 64 kbps to over 2000 kbps and Upload speeds from 64 kbps to over 1000 kbps are available. The platform supports shared bandwidth or guaranteed QOS bandwidth at much higher pricing. In the U.S. a 1.2 meter dish is standard. Equipment Cost: Equipment A 2 watt system will cost about $2,700 installed. A 4 watt system is about $4,300 installed. Monthly Service: A minimum circuit is about $250. A typical setup of 1000/256 kbps is $499 per month for a shared bandwidth-no FAP setup. For about $350 per month you can get 2000/500 kbps service with a 3 GB throughput allowance per month. There is a cost of $.09 per MB thereafter. The shared bandwidth package is far more predictable with the iDirect platform than with DirecWay or Starband setups. You can expect to see the advertised speeds 85 % of the time or better.

2. Surfbeam Platform:

This product is in the process of being introduced in America. Surfbeam uses the same platform basically that a cable or dsl provider would use, except it is satellite internet. It is much less expensive than Enterprise grade systems. There is only one provider ready to launch this platform in the U.S. and they should begin shipping equipment by April 1, 2005. In most cases a 1.2 meter dish will be utilized with a 2-3 watt transmitter. download speeds of 1500 kbps and uploads in excess of 500 kbps are the advertised speeds; however, this hasnt been verified in the field as of this article date. Equipment Cost: Ranging from $1,295 - $1,995 including installation. Monthly Service: Ranging from $95 - $400.

3. Starband 484 Platform U.S. :

This is the beefed up version of Starband service designed to attract small businesses and heavy individual users. This is DVB (digital video broadcast) technology which is converted to IP the conversion process is the problem. It adds to overall latency and even with higher upload speeds than their consumer products (they advertise up to 256 kbps in Turbo Max mode- unclear what that really is), they dont support VNP traffic or voip connections. download speeds are listed as up to 20 times faster than dialupwhatever that means. Dish size is 24x36 and transmitter strength not given. Equipment Cost: $900 + shipping + installation (price not given) Monthly Service: $160

4. DirecWay Business Plus Service (U.S. only):

This is the DirecWay beefed up version of service. The only meaningful difference between this platform and the Starband setup above is DirecWay has more experience massaging the DVB conversion to IP and possibly more advanced acceleration techniques. They will support some types of VPN and voip, but it requires expensive equipment ($2,000+) to be placed at the satellite location and at Headquarters for a VPN circuit- often to the chagrin of the IT department at HQ. Inadequate upload speeds for heavy VPN chatty programs still plague this platform. You can expect download speeds ranging from 800 kbps to 1500 kbps or more. Upload speeds range from 29 kbps to 90 kbps. This system uses a .98 meter dish and 1 watt transmitter. Equipment Cost: $900 + $375 installation (shipping included) Monthly Service: $129+

5. Ka band Satellite Internet:

When this technology becomes available the summer of 2005, it could literally shake the foundation of the satellite internet world or not! It is a technology that has been many years and over 1.5 Billion dollars in the making. There will be 30 spot beams aimed at the U.S. and 5 used by uplink centers with the initial satellite (Telesats Anik F2) which will be operated by Wildblue Communications, a Denver, Co. based company. It is being targeted to small business operators and consumers in rural areas through a network of rural electric operators (NRTC) initially and through two national distributors as the year progresses. If it works as advertised it will permit telecommuters to successfully VPN into home office much like they would with a cable or dsl connection except at somewhat slower speeds (due to about 500ms of latency). Still, it has a lot of promise for the small businessman. They will not offer an enterprise solution for some time- if ever. With a satellite dish about the size of a trashcan lid (.67 meters) and a two watt transmitter, users will be able to download at speeds up to 1500 kbps and upload at speeds ranging from 128 kbps to 256 kbps. Equipment Cost: $300-$500 installation: $ ?? Monthly Service: Three plans with varying download speeds

$49 500 kbps download speeds

$69 1000 kbps

$79 1500 kbps It is unclear whether the upload speeds shown above will apply to all service levels.

At this time, I am recommending that small and medium businesses needing connectivity right away, go with the more proven iDirect platform. You can learn more about it and other offerings at www.vsatus.com or email sales@vsatus.com .

About the Author:

Randy Scott is the founder of VSAT U.S., a Colorado based sales and consulting firm which provides VSAT satellite internet platforms to business and heavy individual users throughout the Americas and most of the world. Randy has over 10 years experience in the high technology field, both in bi-directional satellite internet and industrial computer hardware as a business owner and Sr. Sales Engineer. You can reach Randy by email: sales@vsatus.com or toll free@ 1-866-978-4613.

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Traveling To Goa For A Vacation

There are people in America that have a special liking towards the Asian culture. Especially Goa, this is known to be a tourist spot for many years. There are many tourists all over the world who spend their vacation or holiday in Goa.

Goa is one of the famous exotic places, it is not only reasonable but people genuinely enjoy there. There are many families who travel there, it is also a very safe location to travel to, and over the years there has been Police security especially for the tourist in Goa.

Hindi is a national language and it is advisable to know a bit of Hindi before making traveling plans. English is also very well spoken in Goa and so it wont be a problem most of the time, to be on the safe side it is very important to know a bit of national language.

It is understood, when going to Goa, Families also would like to go shopping one very important thing is to understand is how to bargain bargain shop on different 'soil'.. Goa being tourist place, there are many stalls aside the beach of various kinds. price for clothing or a gift item is always exaggerated than its original price. Therefore it is important to know, whatever price is told, have to bargain twice less than the original price.

Usually people do get corned, when shopping and so it is important that people are aware about bargaining.

If you choose to go to Goa to spend your holiday, let me guide you to some of the best places in Goa

Some of the best beaches in the North of Goa are, Anjuna beach, Candolim beach, Dona Paula beach, Miramar beach, Baga beach, Vagator beach, Sinquerim beach, Bambolim beach.

Some of the best beaches in the South of Goa are, Colva beach, Benaulim beach, Bogmalo beach, Verca beach, Palolem beach, Agonda beach, Cavelossim beach, Benavali beach.

All the above-mentioned beaches have different kind of houses with varieties of different restaurants. Some of the preferable houses are right towards the beach and they are made of bamboo shoots. Some have toilets attached and some have general ones. Good thing about them is after having a swim; families dont have to go far, after being tired and can just go and crash in their beds.

Goa also has many traditional church buildings that attract the tourists too. one of the famous churches is of St. Francis Xaviers church that is one of the oldest churches in Goa. This is for the ones who are interested to know about churches.

In conclusion, Goa has good ratings to spend a holiday so why not consider it.

Cathy Peterson writes about http://www.traveldealsdiscounts.com, http://www.traveldealsdiscounts.com/discount-travel-deals/Site59.com and http://www.traveldealsdiscounts.com/discount-travel-deals/Hotels.com/.

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Go Online for a Terrific One-Stop Shopping Experience

online shopping isn't new, but it continues to grow. An increasing number of people are letting their fingers do the clicking rather than head out to the mall or to a specialty store. Moreover, online shoppers are choosing boutique one-stop shopping sites over the Web's traditional e-commerce giants. Why? Because, in doing so, they can support entrepreneurs while taking advantage of wholesale prices and dropship bargains.

What can you find at these one-stop shopping online stores? just about everything. These sites typically have everything from jewelry, electronics, and leather goods to automotive parts, supplies for pets, and toys. And, just like the mega sites, they have brand names in virtually every category imaginable.

You might, for example, find a Magnavox widescreen LCD TV with an integrated dvd player as well as Britney Spears' latest fragrance. You could find novelty items from your favorite sports team along with Olympus digital cameras. Or, you could shop for the latest Xbox 360 game along with a gorgeous pair of designer earrings.

online Buying Tips

How do you choose which online store to patronize? When I'm looking for a site, I first look for selection and brand names. Unless I'm looking for a rare item, I always go for the online store that has at least 5,000 items in stock. Next, I look for organization. I like to shop at sites that organize their items by easy-to-find categories. I don't want pet supplies to pop up when I'm looking for jewelry, or to search for personal electronics and have outdoor furniture appear in my search results.

I'm also a big fan of sites that dropship. When my items come directly from the manufacturer, I find that they arrive faster and in better condition. Plus, since the site doesn't have to worry about stocking inventory, the owners tend to pay more attention to customer service.

Since I'm somewhat of a privacy nut, I prefer to shop on sites that don't sell or disclose my personal information to third parties (other than the shipper) without first giving me the opportunity to prevent my information from being shared.

Security is also extremely important to me, especially since I'm sharing sensitive information like my credit card number. So, before I click, I always make sure the site uses a secure server with encryption technology. If a site accepts PayPal, that's even better.

If you've been stuck in the online mega-store rut, I encourage you to give the smaller one-stop shopping sites a try. You'll likely receive better service, and have an overall better shopping experience.

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