New article by Bob Voelcker on the new satellite internet access technology. For questions, contact Bob by email. See earlier article Getting Connected Will Be Easier [July 2000].

WIRELESS INTERNET UPDATE [March 2001]

It has been several months since I wrote my first article on accessing the Internet, by way of satellite technology, without the need of a telephone line. The technology and equipment are now available for you to request and receive information such as e-mail and web pages at a much faster speed than what you may now be accustomed to. Especially if you are now relying on a conventional phone line. However, for the mobile RVer, there is good news and bad news - as we will see.

There is one system now being sold and another that will become available during the first quarter of this year. The first to get online is Starband. This service is being sold through the Dish Network, Microsoft Network and Radio Shack dealers. The other system is an extension of the DirecPC service offered by the Hughes Network systems (DirecTV) and should be available by the time you read this article.

Here’s how it works: Inside your home, or RV, your computer is hooked up to a special modem, which allows you to communicate with the system. This modem is about the size of a hand-held CB. Two cables lead from the computer/modem to a satellite dish that is mounted outside A third cable will bring in your TV signal. The satellite dish is larger than the present day TV dishes you are accustomed to seeing. It is about 27 inches high by 36 inches wide. The dishes typically contain two sets of heads (LNBs), one for receiving a TV signal and one for internet access.

With the system that is now active, the dish is aimed at two satellites that are in geosynchronous orbits - three, if you’re using a premium tv service. With your computer, you request internet or e-mail access through your modem and satellite. This is called "uploading." The information you seek is then sent back, by satellite, to your computer by way of your dish and modem. And this is called "downloading." Compared to access through a conventional telephone line (using a 56k modem), the upload times are running two to three times faster and download is running more than twenty times faster.

Now this may seem very simple and straightforward to someone who has been moving his RV and TV satellite dish around the country. But I can assure you that it is not all that simple when you now have to align a dish to "talk" to a satellite - as you have to do for internet access. There are more critical adjustments and technical stuff to deal with. And be aware that there is a lot of misinformation floating around out there concerning this new technology. Fortunately I have had the opportunity to receive information they don’t have all the answers just yet.

At present it is necessary to have a dish dealer set you up. Only they have information critical to the installation process - such things as alignment of the LNBs with shims (provided by Starband), polarization and timing. Last, but not least, the dealer has to call a special number so that Starband can open a "port" in the satellite in order for it to recognize the upload signal from your computer. Right now it appears that opening a port, so that you can be activated, is the sticking point. In the case of the two RVers I mentioned in the last paragraph, it took 7 hours and 24 hours respectfully to be activated. This is probably because the system is designed for fixed-base users, not mobile RVers like us. (The service reps can’t understand how you can move your dish several hundred miles and still have the same address!) Once you are activated, it takes additional time to fine-tune your system so that you can access the internet at maximum speed and efficiency.

If you would like to take advantage of this technology, I offer you these observations and suggestions:

1. This is a newly emerging technology. You can expect bugs and a lot of misinformation, even from dealers.

2. You do not need a whole new computer to utilize these services. But you will need a computer, or laptop, that has a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port. If your computer or laptop was built in the last couple of years, you should have it. (Note - as of now, the Radio Shack dealers are only selling Starband systems, complete with computers that have the special modem built in.)

3. Be sure to purchase your equipment from a satellite dealer who has been trained and is presently using the satellite internet service. Be aware that some dealers will not sell to the RV user, while other dealers are "RV user friendly."

4. Be aware that as you move around the country, you may have to call in a dish dealer so that your access to the service can be reset (for a big service charge) in order for you to receive the internet service through your dish. Right now I do not know how far you have to travel for this to become necessary.

5. You will be using a satellite dish that is about twice the size of "TV only" dishes and will have to be mounted solidly on the ground. It cannot be mounted on the RV or on anything that could wiggle. However, tests are under way right now for rooftop, automatic tracking systems. The dish requires a 2-3/8 inch mount, which is larger than the "TV only" dish.

6. Since you are looking at more than one satellite, you will need a broader view of the sky. Having just a small hole to peek through, in the trees, may knock you out of business.

7. If your only interest is sending and receiving e-mail, then save your money and go to a service such as Pocket Mail. But if you are a "tech head" and ‘absolutely, positively gotta have it," then start looking for that RV friendly satellite dish dealer. Otherwise, wait awhile, things are bound to improve - once the service providers see the potential in a couple million mobile RVers. [Submitted by: Robert F. Voelcker]

Getting Connected Will Be Easier [July '00]

In the fast moving world of the information age, it can be very difficult to predict the speed of future developments. At last year's inaugural Horizon Owner's Rally, I boldly predicted that 2-way satellite Internet service would be here by the year 2005. I may have missed the mark by 50% or more.

What does 2-way satellite Internet service mean to the RVer? Imagine that you are boondocking in Arizona desert country - miles from civilization. Outside your New Horizon you have a dish antenna pointed to a satellite in the sky. It looks a little different than a present day dish, because it can not only receive, but also transmit signals to that satellite, hovering far above the earth. As you sit comfortably in your rig, you check your e-mail, download pages from your favorite web site (including your hometown newspaper), and upload fresh data to your personal web pages. All of this is accomplished through your satellite dish, without need of a telephone line or cable connection in just a few minutes.

If this sounds like a distant dream.....guess again! Such a system is being tested, even as you read this! Industry giants such as Microsoft (software) and Echostar (satellite network/Dish TV) are teaming up to bring you this technology. In addition to their efforts, no less than a half dozen other space-age systems are either in the planing or development stage. They all have one goal in mind - cut the cord and get your business.

Now, lets get back to our desert country boondocking scenario. As you busily work at your computer, a message pops up on your screen that you have an incoming communication, with images. Because of its larger screen, you turn to your TV, press a button and a live image of your newest grandchild, born just 30 minutes ago, appears before you. H-m-m-m, looks like its time to get on the Internet and book a flight back home for a few days.

Just a few years ago, this would have all been fantasy. Today, all I can say is "Hang on to your britches, the future is right around the corner." (Robert F. Voelker)