Post by ugashikrobert on Dec 6, 2006 9:19:15 GMT -5
Last week we upgraded our Starband (Satellite Internet) connection to the new Nova series and went with there $129 a month plan for two reasons. The lodge next door is picking up the monthly increase from our old $49 a month rate and the increase in speeds may allow us to use the VOIP function as our phone service. I researched this and it looks like in order to make VOIP work the up link speed has to be consistently above 128KB and ping times in the 600ms or less area. All these are met now with the new package which is the same as the old Starband small office offering. We are currently getting 1.2-1.4 down and .25-.4 up. I don't know about the $49 a month standard offering under the Nova series but we were on the equivalent to that on the 360 and 48X series and it was shaky at best for VOIP and streaming video.
If your not into the alpha-geek techno mumbo jumbo here is what I could glean from looking at VOIP in a nutshell. It is simply taking the audio from your phone call and encapsulating into IP packets that most data on the internet flows in. A program on both ends of the call strips the audio out and through various means the audio is played through your PC speakers and microphone or through an adapter into a regular phone. Most people you call will not know you are using a computer. Several vendors offer packages that replace your current phone system with all the whistles and bells provided by any other phone vendor. I currently using Skype because its free and I can call anywhere in North America till the end of the year. There is lag or latency as its called in a satellite connection like Starband. Similar to watching the live hook ups to the desert on TV. Once the first delay occurs its not that noticeable. The quality is good so far and I've made calls all over the lower 48 using just the cheap speaker and microphone on my laptop and its hard to tell from the regular phone.
In my estimation all of this is very dependent on the speeds of your internet connection. It is the rage in the land of the pavement pounders with high speed internet connections. There are many providers like Vonage,Nortel and ATT who provide the service but at about 1/2 the rate of standard phone service. This includes call forwarding, conferencing, caller ID etc. The other plus is they do not add on all those annoying little charges at the end of your bill that nickel and dime you to death. The word on the street is its just a matter of time before all phone service will go that way. The two big issues in urban areas are 911 service and the fact that when you loose power you loose your phone. No biggie for the average bush rat.
So far it looks good but I was one of the first to get on Starbands Nova transponders and historically the speeds are good till they start loading up the transponders. The other issue is Starband limits bandwidth on there connections so it isn't abused and I don't know yet if prolonged use of VOIP will trigger that. I do know so far that VOIP uses a lot of bandwidth.
If you are currently providing 24/7 power for a internet connection and it is fast enough this my be another option to replace your less than reliable radiophone and sat phone.
If your not into the alpha-geek techno mumbo jumbo here is what I could glean from looking at VOIP in a nutshell. It is simply taking the audio from your phone call and encapsulating into IP packets that most data on the internet flows in. A program on both ends of the call strips the audio out and through various means the audio is played through your PC speakers and microphone or through an adapter into a regular phone. Most people you call will not know you are using a computer. Several vendors offer packages that replace your current phone system with all the whistles and bells provided by any other phone vendor. I currently using Skype because its free and I can call anywhere in North America till the end of the year. There is lag or latency as its called in a satellite connection like Starband. Similar to watching the live hook ups to the desert on TV. Once the first delay occurs its not that noticeable. The quality is good so far and I've made calls all over the lower 48 using just the cheap speaker and microphone on my laptop and its hard to tell from the regular phone.
In my estimation all of this is very dependent on the speeds of your internet connection. It is the rage in the land of the pavement pounders with high speed internet connections. There are many providers like Vonage,Nortel and ATT who provide the service but at about 1/2 the rate of standard phone service. This includes call forwarding, conferencing, caller ID etc. The other plus is they do not add on all those annoying little charges at the end of your bill that nickel and dime you to death. The word on the street is its just a matter of time before all phone service will go that way. The two big issues in urban areas are 911 service and the fact that when you loose power you loose your phone. No biggie for the average bush rat.
So far it looks good but I was one of the first to get on Starbands Nova transponders and historically the speeds are good till they start loading up the transponders. The other issue is Starband limits bandwidth on there connections so it isn't abused and I don't know yet if prolonged use of VOIP will trigger that. I do know so far that VOIP uses a lot of bandwidth.
If you are currently providing 24/7 power for a internet connection and it is fast enough this my be another option to replace your less than reliable radiophone and sat phone.
