Is Starband equipment company specific?

I just bought a Starband 360 system off the net. I have a certified installer, I am contracting to point the dish.

Is the starband system, dedicated to that service, or can I use others, like WildBlue, or Skycasters if I can get the coordinates for those providers?

The 360 modem will only work with Gilat hubs and the only ones using them in the states are Starband and Spacenet. 

The 360's are extremely old technology and very temperamental.  Work only on Windows boxes, they require proprietary software to run on your PC that has a history of bugginess and are difficult to network because you have to use windows ICS.

Also be aware that since Spacenet/Starband introduced the new skyedge IP Nova service they will be stopping sales of 360, 481 and 484 modems on Nov 15th 2006.  They will also stop commissioning these modems on their network on Dec 31, 2006.

You have to be careful when purchasing used 360 or 48x series modems also because you will get charged an activation fee of around $35 to set up the account.  Considering that you can get a factory refurbished 481 right now for $169 with a 6 month warranty and no activation fee it would be hard to justify the 360.

Just my 2 cents here.