Avanti - Hylas satellite upload as well as down?

I've just read the BBC news item on Avanti's plans for broadband satellite, with Hylas proving 2Mb for 300,000 people at £300 plus £15/month.

Unfortunately it reads like a PR release and the reporter fails to say whether the satellite is two way - i.e. do you need a phone line as well? Some satellites have the huge disadvantage of needing dial-up running all the time you use it for uploading/making requests for web pages.

In reply to a post by rbeal:

I've just read the BBC news item on Avanti's plans for broadband satellite, with Hylas proving 2Mb for 300,000 people at £300 plus £15/month.

Unfortunately it reads like a PR release and the reporter fails to say whether the satellite is two way - i.e. do you need a phone line as well? Some satellites have the huge disadvantage of needing dial-up running all the time you use it for uploading/making requests for web pages.

It's two-way. So that's 600ms latency to factor in. I feel sorry for anyone that has to rely on satellite broadband but it's better than dial-up.

I use mobile BB but I'm out in the sticks so it's like dialup as I'm in a 2G area.
When I go into town with my laptop I get faster speeds with 3G.

I'd give BB sat a try if it's two way and a reasonable price but I don't get the £300 bit.
I can put up a dish and align it to the proper sat so all I need is the modem etc to connect to my laptop.

Edited by deleted (Wed 17-Jun-09 22:38:43)

£300 would be for your equipment, dish, and setup by a qualified engineer. But you wouldnt get much bandwidth. Id say your looking at 3-5GB at most. Might be as low as 1GB if its from PR!

I don't need an engineer and I wouldn't pay £300.

In reply to a post by RebeccaLovejoy:

I don't need an engineer

Yes you do. Satellite uplink has to be done professionally. It's rather more complicated (and potentially much more dangerous) than your average Sky dish.

Zeb, don't take this the wrong way but can you explain how sat uplink is "dangerous"?

I have half a dozen dishes in my back garden all pointing at different sats to get the foreign tv stations.
I installed them myself.
If I've to pay £300 for an engineer to come to my house then I won't bother with sat internet.

I think they would insist of installing it and connecting it themselves. Bit like Virgin Media and their cable guys. They know how to get in the system so they give you the right speed, cannot give out the whole network config to a customer.

You seem very stuborn. Why fo you have 6 sats?! One or two is enough, they can be mirrored you know.

Good luck getting connected with that attitude.