Satellite Broadband: Demo it here!
June 27, 2008 – 4:17 pm
Nearly 4,000 of our current customers cannot obtain terrestrial DSL service today. Unfortunately, the prospects for many of these locations are not good for wired access due to very, very long wire distances.
For these rural homes, we introduced satellite Internet access at the beginning of this year. Today we have have nearly 200 customers online with broadband access via a small satellite dish. Satellite access is also available for business locations, and works well for multiple users.
Satellite access is cost effective and fast - far, far better than dialup. For locations which are rural, and where wired broadband is not available in any form (DSL or cable), it’s a wonderful solution.
That said, one of the most common requests we’ve heard from potential customers is “show me!”
That’s a very reasonable request, and we’ve now set up a demo station at our office here in Santa Rosa so prospective customers can take satellite broadband access for a test drive!
For web browsing, email with big attachments (photos and such), and streaming video and audio such as YouTube, satellite access is wonderful. It makes using the Internet far more fun and productive.
It is important to understand the limitations of satellite. Satellite access is not as fast as wired access, and it won’t work for some applications such as Voice over IP (VOIP), video conferencing and gaming.
Satellite access also has reasonable download and upload limits, a configuration called the “Fair Access Policy” (FAP). This is designed to keep one user from using up too much capacity on the satellite. The FAP limits are large - but you can’t download movies, for example, without hitting the limits. (That’s what satellite TV and on-demand are for!)
If you’ve been thinking of switching from dialup to satellite, please stop by our office and give it a try! If you’ve been stuck on dialup, you will really enjoy it.
Our lobby is open from 8am to 5pm weekdays, and we’re at 2260 Apollo Way in Santa Rosa (map).
P.S.: Remember, if you’ve got a “modem line”, an extra phone line for your PC modem, you’ll no longer need this with satellite, and this can really help offset the monthly cost of satellite access. No phone line is required!
29 Responses to “Satellite Broadband: Demo it here!”
Sonic satellite service is many times faster than ISDN dial-up I used to use and cheaper. Satellite connection sometimes takes 10-15 minutes to fire up in the norning but so do I. Bottom line, it’s an excellent option for the very rural.
By m bennett on Jun 27, 2008
That’s a very reasonable request, and we’ve now set up a demo station at your office here in Santa Rosa
Note there’s a typo in the article above … it should be “our office.” not “your office.”
It would also help to put the address in the article, to save us from having to go fish for it.
By vk Marugg on Jun 27, 2008
Oops - fixed!
-Dane
By Dane Jasper on Jun 27, 2008
Our house being just far enough from downtown Calistoga to miss out on DSL and cable, we have Hughes Satellite. I would switch to yours in a minute if it were a bit faster and more reliable. Do you use a different satellite service or are you reselling theirs?
By Ed Johnson on Jun 27, 2008
Sonic.net sells, installs, services, bills and repairs our own service - so yes, I can assure that that it’ll be reliable, or we’ll FIX it.
(We lease our satellite capacity from Wildblue.)
Don’t be satisfied with a product that’s unreliable, and don’t put up with customer service or repair that it not exemplary!
-Dane
By Dane Jasper on Jun 27, 2008
what is the cost for installation and monthly rate?
By charles bello on Jun 28, 2008
How many times faster than dialup is your satellite service?
RB
By RB on Jun 28, 2008
Have been a long time and very satisfied Sonic subscriber (since the demise of Metronet). However, since I live in an area where broadband has not been available through Sonic, a few years ago I finally broke down and subscribed to cable to receive highspeed internet access. I get that from Comcast but still operate my email (via comcast internet cable connection) with Sonic, thereby maintaining my Sonic addresses. I have never used any of the Comcast email options available to me, preferring to stick with Sonic only as my email provider.
Would there be any performance advantage to me
switching to this new Satellite service you are now offering. Additionally would there be any financial advantage as well.
Thanks,
Jim
By Jim on Jun 28, 2008
Re: what is the cost for installation and monthly rate?
The cost of the satellite service depends upon the speed. At the entry level speed, it’s $49.95 per month for residential users. The highest speed is $79.95 per month. These are the total costs, replacing the fee you pay for dialup access.
If you have a “modem” line, keep in mind what you pay for that now, as you’d be able to disconnect that if you don’t use it for anything else.
The satellite equipment is the more expensive part, but we’re currently offering $50 off, so normally $299 for the equipment, now it’s $249. We’re also offering $100 off installation, normally $179, now $79.
For all the pricing info, see:
http://www.sonic.net/sales/sb/
The installation and equipment are not cheap, but they’re a one-time investment that I think is well worth moving from dialup to broadband. That said, being able to demo the system in our office before making that commitment is a nice, because you can actually try the service and experience the speed before you decide. We have the lobby system set up at the middle speed of the three products, so it’s not the fastest or slowest, so you can decide “This is good, but a little slower would be fine for me”, or “I want the fastest!” after trying it.
By Dane Jasper on Jun 28, 2008
Re: How many times faster than dialup is your satellite service?
Our satellite service is ten times as fast as dialup for the entry level product, and thirty times as fast for the speediest product available.
(Speeds available from satellite are 512kbps, 1.0Mbps (which is 1000kbps) and 1.5Mbps. Typical modem speeds range from 24kbps to 50kbps. For this comparison, I assumed the best case for the modem, but often rural phone lines are also pretty bad for dialup, so your dialup connection may be much less than 50kbps, in which case the comparison to satellite would be even more favorable.)
Note that you can upgrade the speed of satellite once it’s installed by just calling us, so you can start out with the entry level, then move up if/when you’re ready to spend more to go faster.
By Dane Jasper on Jun 28, 2008
Regarding Comcast cable versus satellite:
Jim,
No, I would not recommend satellite over cable. The cable service is similar to DSL, and is faster than the satellite access.
Of course first choice would be DSL with Sonic.net, but if that’s not available, I can certainly understand when customers add cable access to their homes! If neither of these is available, then satellite is the next choice.
Satellite service is ideal for customers who cannot obtain DSL or cable.
Note as Jim points out - you can mix and match ISPs, using Sonic.net for everything except your actual connection. This allows you to use email, website hosting, customer service and support here, even in a location where we cannot provide a broadband link as well as Comcast can. We’ve got quite a few customers doing this today.
By Dane Jasper on Jun 28, 2008
I also use a mix of Comcast.net for the connection, and Sonic.net for everything else (including the super reliable e-mail, and super reliable domain name servers). It is handy to be able to connect with a laptop during a blackout using dial-up (plain old telephone service always seem to survive blackouts for some reason!). Though Comcast.net is pretty reliable, there have been a couple of downtimes, one lasting almost a full day. Very handy to dial-in then, too. Another Sonic.net perk I’ve been using lately is the Sonic.net/Cisco VPN software installed on two of my laptops, so that hotspots can be used with security, and without worries.
By Hans Raillard on Jun 28, 2008
I’ve been using Hughes Satellite for connectivity and Sonic for everything else for the last two and a half years. The Sonic part works flawlessly, the Hughes part not so well, with speeds of 45 to 95 kbps much of the day. Apparently Hughes has sold more service than they can provide.
I’d jump to Sonic’s service were it available out here (I’m northeast of Sacramento).
Dane, you might want to give some indication of how far you will go for installs on the web page…it would save having to call Sales every couple of months, only to be told that it’s only available in the Bay area.
Neighbors who use WildBlue find the service faster, but their support to be even worse than Hughes, which is why I’ve not gone with them direct. Much rather to talk to a live, highly skilled person who isn’t just reading from an obsolete script.
By Bill on Jun 28, 2008
The key with satellite service is installation and repair. You’re SENDING a signal into space, not just receiving a powerful signal from space as you do with satellite television. Geo orbit is a long way to send a radio signal. (22,236 miles!)
For this reason, the system must be wired and grounded correctly, and the dish must be securely mounted. We’ve seen some rather surprising problems with parts and materials, grounding (which is very important), and physical mounting on the structure and aiming (trees or other items in the way).
This is the primary value we bring, in addition to our customer service.
As a result, we’re only able to install and service systems within roughly 100 miles of our office. If we were to go further, we wouldn’t be able to complete the installation in a work day, nor would we be able to commit to repair in a timely and cost effective way.
With both Hughes and Wildblue, users are stuck with their installer and their customer service.
When you use Sonic.net’s satellite service, we take care of all of this. Doing our own installations to a high standard of quality and managing our own repair is a huge benefit.
By Dane Jasper on Jun 28, 2008
Dane, does this service support VPN? I access my computers at work over a VPN (PPTP). It runs over dialup, but it is just barely acceptible.
By Jim Heather on Jun 30, 2008
Jim,
No, VPN generally will not work via satellite. The applications that don’t work well are VOIP, video conferencing, gaming and VPN. Due to the fair access policy, peer to peer file sharing would also probably be a bad idea, as you could use up all of your bandwidth.
Typical day to day web browsing, downloading and email use is the primary application for satellite Internet.
By Dane Jasper on Jun 30, 2008
Is there a charge to correct a problem or make a repair on a satellite installation? What is the down time that can be expected if a customer runs into this type of problem?
RB
By RB on Jun 30, 2008
Hello,
I was told some time ago that I was eligible for DSL in rural Petaluma. Based on that, I bought software needing DSL or a highspeed connection to install. Then SONIC told me I was NOT eligible, making the software unusable.
What is the monthly cost of this service and is access to it less flaky that the DSL false promise previously advertised? This is not the first time that “newer/faster/better” has been mentioned by SONIC. The question is- will it work for me? So far, not.
Is there a monthly dish rental and is there an install fee?
Thank you.
By steve b on Jul 1, 2008
RB,
Installation is warranted for 90 days, and equipment for one year. During that year, there would be a fee for the service call however.
Or, for $10/mo, we offer simple and comprehensive coverage of all equipment and all service calls, so there are never any fees. This is available in the area within 100 driving miles of our Santa Rosa office.
-Dane
By Dane Jasper on Jul 1, 2008
Steve,
Availability of satellite requires a view of the Southern sky. And, as with all broadband services, availability is not assured until it’s actually installed.
Pricing can be found on the satellite product page:
Residential: http://www.sonic.net/sales/sb/
Business: http://www.sonic.net/sales/business-sb/
By Dane Jasper on Jul 1, 2008
Dane,
I live in Mendocino, 95460, just beyond Comcast and DSL. So I’m about 100 miles from Santa Rosa, which you state is your outer limit for service/install. Can you provide service to my home? I currently have HughesNet which is not terribly reliable, has poor tech support, and an unreasonable (I feel) FAP. Your business has a vary good reputation and I’d much rather send you my payments that some faceless corp. entity!
thanks, Jim
By Jim Moorehead on Jul 1, 2008
Yup Jim, just give sales a call (707-522-1000) or sign up online, and they’ll get you sorted.
If you’re over
10050 miles, there’s a nominal mileage cost out to a total max of150100 (beyond that we can’t get there, get the installation done and get home in a working day.)-Dane
(Edited to correct distance - at 100 miles, we’ve got about four hours of driving, round trip. Installation of satellite service takes four hours in most cases, so this is our maximum distance in an eight hour working day.)
By Dane Jasper on Jul 1, 2008
Dane,
I assume you are reselling satellite service. Who’s your provider?
Adam
By Adam Scheblein on Jul 1, 2008
Adam,
We’re leasing satellite capacity from Wildblue.
All other services are our own, from installation and repair to customer service and billing.
And, of course, our Internet services such as email, shell, news, hosting, etc.
This is similar to DSL; we lease end-user loops from AT&T - then we deliver our products over them.
By Dane Jasper on Jul 1, 2008
We’re on a rural road outside town, so no DSL or cable is available. For the last four or five years we have had 128kbps ISDN with Sonic.net. It’s been quite reliable but still frustratingly slow for today’s standards. And between the phone company’s charges and Sonic, it’s very expensive for the speed you get.
Our connection is critical as we use it for our business (web design, graphic design).
When I read here about the top-end satellite connection being 1.5Mbps, it sounded great! That is for download speed, right? What is upload speed?
Most importantly, do you recommend this as a reliable enough connection (year around, including during winter rainy season) for a business that depends upon Web connectivity?
Thanks,
Christina
By Christina on Jul 2, 2008
Christina,
If it’s a business location, you’ll opt for the business product, which includes a larger dish to assure maximum signal strength.
If it’s a residential location, you’re eligible for either business or residential services, speed and bandwidth tiers and prices, and even with that dish, we’ve seen great reliability. Satellite is never going to be as reliable as a wired product, but it’s close.
I’d also suggest opting for the $10/mo service plan - this way, if you have any problems, we’ll come out at and do any required repairs without a service call cost.
-Dane
By Dane Jasper on Jul 2, 2008
Dane wrote: “If you’re over 100 miles, there’s a nominal mileage cost out to a total max of 150 (beyond that we can’t get there, get the installation done and get home in a working day.)”
Looks like I’ll give sales a call tomorrow. They had previously told me my location was way out of range, but according to my Nuvi I’m 91 miles (by road, much less as the crow flies). Perhaps an end to Hughes part time service.
By Bill on Jul 2, 2008
Bill,
Excellent - glad to hear you’re going to sign up! I’m sure you’ll be much happier with our service than with what you’re using now.
-Dane
By Dane Jasper on Jul 2, 2008
We LOVE our speedy connections in the hills west of Occidental. What a difference it makes. And we get Sonic’s stellar service – always the best!
Thanks, Sonic, for being our cyberspace connector with excellent service at home and at Solar Works.
By Laura Goldman on Aug 15, 2008