Satellite Internet

While DBS systems primarily offer television services,satellite Internet access is growing in popularity.The Direcway satellite internet from DIRECTV(Hughes)provides download speeds up to 500 kbps.The Direcway system is based on the Directv system,in which users receive a digital broadcast TV signal on an 18-inch VSAT(very small aperture terminal) mounted to a rooftop or areal.a modified 21-inch dish allows both TV and data access.PCs are connected to the dish via an internal adapter or an external device that connects to a PC's USB (Universal seriel bus)port.Because the system is designed for download only,a separate modem connection is required to make web requests.

Note that web requests(called the upstream signal) are transmitted over the phone lines to an ISP and then to the Direcway NOC(Network operation center).The NOC sent the request to the appropriate web server on the Internet;receives the response;and then sends the response to its satellite,where they are beamed to the customer's dish at up to 500 kbps.

This whole scheme is a departure from the normal HTTP protocol.The Direcway software in the user's computer directs requests to the Direcway NOC and the NOC changes the IP packet header information so that it looks like the NOC is the source.The web server then returns information to the NOC and the NOC sends this up to the Satellite.

This scheme works well because the bulk of information travels to users in the download,which can be transmitted back to the user over the high -speed satellite link.The upstream requests are usually minimal in size,and so can travel over the modem links.The only real problem is the inconvenience of having to connect to the Internet via two seperate links and the need to pay two different service prviders,althogh Direcway now provides a single billing option.

Benefits of Direcway Satellite TV Internet

Satellite Internet service is great for customers seeking up to 40 - 50 times faster download speeds (depending on the service plan) than dial-up can provide. With Residential service download speeds of up to 500 kbps, downloading a file that used to take 10 minutes with dial-up can now take as little as 30 seconds

With DIRECWAY, your super-fast, always-on satellite Internet connection is ready when you are – no dialing in, no waiting. So you can download files in seconds, network multiple computers, quickly access and play audio or video clips, and surf faster than you ever imagined – no modem needed! Because DIRECWAY gives you instant Internet access via satellite, it won't tie up your phone lines like dial-up.

Best of all, with no software to load and compatibility with Windows and Mac, you'll be surfing the Internet at blazing fast speeds.