SatSig topic:

Mobile Internet via Satellite in UK

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Jun 19^th, 2005 at 9:08am

Hi,

I am interested in providing mobile Internet via Satellite in the UK. I come from an ISP background however I do not have any experience in satellite Internet, so am posting here for some pointers.

I am looking for speeds of 1Mb download / 512Kb upload. I have seen a service provider called Avonline which seem to resell a service by Satlynx? However the installation costs are quite high, and also I don't really need it installing as I want it to be mobile.

Is it possible to buy the equipment myself seperately, and then subscribe to a service? And what would I be looking for? I see different standards such as TDMA, DVB-RCS etc and it appears as though the various modems available only work on certain services?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Dan

Jun 19^th, 2005 at 11:03am

Vehicle mounted antenna, manually or automatically raised and pointed. This is intended for use only when the vehicle is parked. This is one example of a UK supplier - there are other suppliers.

Transportable ground standing mounts are also possible, with manual alignment.

An any case the set-up skill required is one step further than that for a satellite TV dish. Pointing and polarisation adjustment requires more accuracy. The transmit beam is narrower than the receive beam and you must not cause unacceptable interference to other satellite services on the opposite polarisation transponder or to services on the adjacent satellites. If automatic pointing is claimed you need to verify that it actually works and that the accuracy achieved (particularly cross-pol isolation) meets the requirements of the relevent satellite network operations centre.

True mobile operation - as used on millionaire type luxury yachts, cruise ships, naval vessels etc - is possible but the costs are very high. The antenna is mounted in a radome and is continuously moving relative to the ship, as required, to track the satellite. SeaTel are experts at this.

Low bit rates (a few kbit/s) are possible using small notebook sized terminals - investigate terms like RBGAN, BGAN, INMARSAT and SATELLITE PHONE in Google. Such low bit rates are suited to small sailing boats, expeditions, news reporters in Afghanistan etc

Get the equipment and monthly service from the same supplier. Regarding bit rates ask about sharing ratios. Dedicated 1M/512k might be say £8500 per month but 10:1, 20:1, 30:1 sharing etc will be correspondingly lower cost, but with risk of congestion.

Best regards, Eric.

Jun 19^th, 2005 at 7:02pm

Eric,

Thanks very much for the reply. I have seen that there are a number of providers od sat. internet, all using different satellite systems. Names I have picked up are ViaSat Linkstar, Hughes, iDirect etc. Does it make much difference which satellite system is used? i.e Are certain ones known to have better performance than others? Sorry if thats a bit of a vague question, I'm just trying to get a grip of the differences between certain providers.

Regards, Dan

Oct 29^th, 2005 at 9:07pm

isn't Transportable ground standing mounts with manual alignment actually illegal? or is that just hype by satellite providers to stop you doing it yourself?

Oct 29^th, 2005 at 10:35pm

When you set up a terminal, fixed or temporary, the installer is required to talk to the hub and get them to verify your dish pointing, polarisation alignment and distance to the satellite, to make sure your service works but also to make sure that you are not going to cause unacceptable interference with other services, including those operating on the opposite polarisation and on adjacent satellites. If you move a dish without telling them, your transmit burst timing will be wrong and you will overlap with other customers on the same frequency - causing both their service and yours to fail. If you can convince your hub that you are competent and can do the adjustments correctly they will allow your terminal into the network. A VSAT installer training course is recommended to develop the required competence. If you are going to be driving around and activating your terminal in many locations you should be trained initially and will soon, with experience, become well qualified - but the person needs to be of a competent and responsible nature - like a Radio Amateur, Maritime Radio Operator etc. The radio licencing for VSATs requires that they be operated so as not to cause unacceptable interference to others. The hubs enforce this and might well prohibit customer movement of their terminal if they get fed up with them moving them and being incapable of repointing them with sufficient accuracy. In the US only qualified installers are allowed to move dishes - so you need to get qualified if you move about - as many DirecWay users do - who live in caravans and move camping sites.
Best regards, Eric

Nov 29^th, 2005 at 11:57pm

Eric is right to mention the special attention required for licences but there is a url which if you have a transportable lic for the UK gives you permission for 24hrs. Setting up near airports, mod establishments or other sensitive areas is a big no go.

If you need more information on the transportable lic, post a reply and I'll put up the details

Jan 14^th, 2006 at 7:35pm

Dear Sir ,

You are kindly invited to visit our site , we provide a mobile two-way services via inmarsat .

https://www.jinsat.com

ahmed@jinsat.com

Jan 15^th, 2006 at 3:49am

Hi Dan

Have a quick look at www.transportablevsat.com
and drop me a line if you have any queries

Jan 17^th, 2006 at 6:15pm

please can you post details of how to obtain a transportable licence

Jan 17^th, 2006 at 11:56pm

You can find the application for a transportable earth station licence at:
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/ifi/licensing/classes/satellite/applications/ofw101.pdf

this is the currrent regime that includes Vsat - a type 3 licence cost £200 a year. Talk to your service provider to see if they run any schemes to licence occasional use transporble applications under their network licence

The licencing system for transportable vsats is currently under review with an active working party (sometimes boring but the sandwiches are nice), but is typically rather a slow process that may lead to a new class of licence at some point later in the year, but indications are that it will follow the format of the TES licence.

Elsewhere in Europe things are rather easier as the ETSI sub 50 dBw rulings apply

Jan 18^th, 2006 at 5:48pm

thanks fo info