01/12/18 - Please check out the latest offers from Tooway. Unlimited internet usage from only €29.99 per month! And, better still, Europasat will pay €230 towards the cost of installation. Please click here for information.
For those who cannot have internet via a traditional telephone line (too far from the exchange, poor speeds, poor quality of line etc), then satellite broadband is a good plan option. As long as you have a clear line of sight to the south/south east then you can have satellite broadband. No telephone line is required.
Much like a satellite TV system, the installation consists of a satellite dish (usually larger than that required for TV services) with a head that can both receive and send data. This dish is connected to your satellite modem (specific to the service being used) and from this modem, you can either cable directly to your computer or attach it to a WiFi router to enable users to work without the restriction of an Ethernet cable.
Please note that you cannot use your satellite TV dish set-up for satellite broadband.
Download speeds of up to 50Mbps can be had, and upload speeds of up to 6Mbps are also available. This is often far, far better than a telephone line based service.
One thing to note is that some satellite broadband packages are 'capped' by a monthly data allowance. This can range from 3GB to 50GB per month depending on the chosen tariff. If you choose a 'capped' service, everything you do (emails, web browsing, social media, movie downloads, phone calls if applicable) eats into it. With this in mind, you need to consider carefully what you plan to use the service for. However, please click here for the latest unlimited offer from Tooway. These do away with the restrictions noted above.
Details of what services use what amount of data are freely available on the internet. However, as an example, 200 emails per month equates to around 0.8GB of data depending on attachments, and downloading music (an album from iTunes for example) can use between 0.25GB and 0.4GB of data for a 10 track album. Downloading a standard definition move could use something close to 1.5GB of data.
However, even if you reach your monthly data cap you will never be cut-off. The service will just run slowly. However, certain tariffs allow you to reset your data counter to 'zero' within the current billing period (this possibility is limited to once per billing period). Of course, this is not an issue with unlimited services like these.
Satellite broadband can also provide a telephone service. This means that your 'home' phone routes through your satellite modem to make and receive calls, rather than use a traditional line supplied by Orange.
The kit is of a DIY nature, but should you prefer to have it professionally installed, then please feel free to contact us for prices.
As always, if you would like further information or have any questions, then please get in touch by phone, email or drop us a line on Facebook.
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