TechniSat SkyStar 2 DVB-S Satellite PCI Card

Hi!
I have a problem.I don´t know how can i connect to Internet

through a Skystar 2 DVB-S Satellite Receiver PCI


thx in advance

Hey, sara,

First of all, I'd recommend checking out my review on the TechniSat SkyStar 2 DVB-S Satellite PCI card: here.

Secondly, let's answer your question. I'd like to point out that broadband satellite Internet isn't as good as it sounds, as a matter of fact - almost always it is expensive as hell and the results are very poor. There are 3 types of Satellite Internet connection options: one-way, two-way, and portable satellite modem.

The one-way satellite Internet access works on the basis on dial-up connection (or any other connection). Simply put, this is necessary for the upload - the outbound data is sent through your dial-up modem - to request the incoming streams of data via the satellites. This means you need a separate dial-up connection to a provider which supplies you with the required service (you sign up for a plan at your ISP and so forth). Other than a computer and your TechniSat SkyStar2 DVB-S card you also need a mounted satellite dish, feedhorn, universal LNB (Ku Band), and a feed line. All in all, this is still expensive and it isn't worth it (phone bill and whatnot).

The second option is the two-way satellite Internet access. These kinds of setups must be installed professionally and are notoriously expensive. The professional installation also costs a lot since usually it comes down to the ISP sending out a team that mounts the dish and alligns it on the right way (perfect line of sight between the dish and the satellite - really high precisity is required to eliminate the interference from other satellites). The ISP is also going to sell you a proprietary modem which is yet again really expensive ($800-$2,000). At least with 2-way satellite access you do not need a separate dial-up connection for upload/uplink.

But let's not forget that 2-way satellite access has lots of disadvantages too. First of all, it is freaking expensive. And after shelling out more than a few grands you actually get nothing but a limited access (with stupendous latencies - we'll talk about this later on). This monthly (or even daily) bandwidth limit is determined by the ISP and it can be as low as few hundred megabytes (MBs) per month. Or, other providers sell the data per amount, for example - £0.10p per MB. This is once again a lot. Satellite Internet unfortunately isn't an option right now unless you live in the middle of nowhere and no other option is available and you have unlimited budget and, thus, willing to pay anything for Internet.

Personally, I would rather look into the 3G UMTS options. Recently I have also reviewed a product like this too - the world's smallest portable 3G UMTS modem. My review on it should go live in the next few months. As a hint - I was impressed. 3G UMTS is the way to go right now whencable (coaxial), fiber optical, or ADSL, or any other variation is not possible. Satellite internet is just as expensive as satellite cellular phones. Just think of Iridium. Practically, the price to maintain a satellite cell phone (depending on plan) can reach into the range of $2-3k per month. How this compares to an ordinary GSM (GPRS/EDGE) or CDMA-based, or even 3G, option?

I won't cover portable satellite broadband access because it's even more expensive than the former ones due to its portability.

However, read the following excerpt from Wikipedia's entry. It explains really well why satellite broadband Internet access is, by definition, poor. And there's no other workaround until the satellites are up high in 35,000 km from our planet and since data must be sent back and forth (2-way) this means that 2x35,000, totaling 70,000 km's must be done. Think about it. Due to this the latency times are almost always higher than dial-up ones and are in the 500-1000ms range, which is really high.

This employs a satellite in geostationary orbit to relay data from the satellite company to each customer. Satellite Internet is usually among the most expensive ways of gaining broadband Internet access, but in rural areas it may only compete with cellular broadband. However, costs have been coming down in recent years to the point that it is becoming more competitive with other high-speed options.

Satellite Internet also has a high latency problem caused by the signal having to travel 35,000 km (22,000 miles) out into space to the satellite and back to Earth again. The signal delay can be as much as 500 milliseconds to 900 milliseconds, which makes this service unsuitable for applications requiring real-time user input such as certain multiplayer Internet games and first-person shooters played over the connection. Despite this, it is still possible for many games to still be played, but the scope is limited to real-time strategy or turn-based games. The functionality of live interactive access to a distant computer can also be subject to the problems caused by high latency. These problems are more than tolerable for just basic email access and web browsing and in most cases are barely noticeable.

There is no simple way to get around this problem. The delay is primarily due to the speed of light being only 300,000 km/second (186,000 miles per second). Even if all other signaling delays could be eliminated it still takes the electromagnetic wave 233 milliseconds to travel from ground to the satellite and back to the ground, a total of 70,000 km (44,000 miles) to travel from you to the satellite company.

Since the satellite is usually being used for two-way communications, the total distance increases to 140,000 km (88,000 miles), which takes a radio wave 466 ms to travel. Factoring in normal delays from other network sources gives a typical connection latency of 500-700 ms. This is far worse latency than even most dial-up modem users' experience, at typically only 150-200 ms total latency.

Most satellite Internet providers also have a FAP (Fair Access Policy). Perhaps one of the largest cons against satellite Internet, these FAPs usually throttle a user's throughput to dial-up speeds after a certain "invisible wall" is hit (usually around 200 MB a day). This FAP usually lasts for 24 hours after the wall is hit, and a user's throughput is restored to whatever tier they paid for. This makes bandwidth-intensive activities nearly impossible to complete in a reasonable amount of time (examples include P2P and newsgroup binary downloading).

Advantages
True global broadband Internet access availability
Mobile connection to the Internet (with some providers)

Disadvantages
Very high latency compared to other broadband services, especially 2-way satellite service
Unreliable: drop-outs are common during travel, inclement weather, and during sunspot activity
The narrow-beam highly directional antenna must be accurately pointed to the satellite orbiting overhead
The Fair Access Policy limits heavy usage
VPN use is discouraged, problematic, and/or restricted with satellite broadband, although available at a price
One-way satellite service requires the use of a modem or other data uplink connection
VoIP is not supported.
Satellite dishes are huge. Although most of them employ plastic to reduce weight, they are typically between 80 and 120 cm (30 to 48 inches) in diameter.

Reference: Satellite Internet @ Wikipedia.