Satellite Internet

[bijian]

Hi all,

As a follow up to my thread regarding internet speeds, have you tried Satellite Internet in China? Is the access time to US website better than ASDL service?

I hear the service is quite cheap from 5am-11am in Beijing (only $3 per gigabyte).

However, the equipment (satellite dish, LNB convertor, DVB receiver, PentaMedia [?] Pent@NET, Penta@OFFICE or TechniSat [?]: SkyStar-1, SkyStar-2, etc. see this website) may cost up to $200. A wikipedia article has some more info

Do you recommend getting satellite internet access in Beijing as opposed to regular ADSL ?

Thank you in advance.

Have a great day.

[cdn_in_bj]

So how does this work, you have to bring the equipment with you? Or are there places in China that sell the receiver/dish?

I can see one advantage of going with satellite, and that is full and uncensored 'net access.

[Senzhi]

Satellite internet is never advisable over DSL or cable internet, as it has a high latency.

Clouds, trees and building obstructions (even sun flux) will cause signal to deteriorate significantly at times.

In more human words: don't expect to do any gaming or streaming with a satellite connection.

However, it can be a good idea in remote locations ... or even the only available option.

But in Beijing I certainly wouldn't choose it over DSL.

In general, anything wireless still can't beat a telephone line or coax cable with regards to data transmission speed and consistency.

[gato]

Awfully expensive for the speed.

http://satgate.net/en/services/yamal200pr.php

Name CIR(Commited Information Rate) MBR (Maximum Bitrate) USD / month

Leecher-384 384 Kbps 2048 Kbps $1199

Leecher-512 512 Kbps 2048 Kbps $1449