WildBlue: Difference between revisions
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'''WildBlue Communications, Inc.''' is a corporation based in [[Greenwood Village, Colorado]]. The company offers [[Satellite internet|satellite broadband]] [[Internet]] services to both home and business customers. WildBlue is one of the newer satellite Internet services, having begun operating in 2005. |
'''WildBlue Communications, Inc.''' is a corporation based in [[Greenwood Village, Colorado]]. The company offers [[Satellite internet|satellite broadband]] [[Internet]] services to both home and business customers. WildBlue is one of the newer satellite Internet services, having begun operating in June 2005. |
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After nationwide beta testing the first residential customers had WildBlue service installed at their home in June 2005. During the summer of 2005 a dealer network was established to provide installation and customer service to clients throughout the 48 contiguous [[United States]]. |
After nationwide beta testing the first residential customers had WildBlue service installed at their home in June 2005. During the summer of 2005 a dealer network was established to provide installation and customer service to clients throughout the 48 contiguous [[United States]]. |
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The K<sub>a</sub> band communication satellite used by WildBlue is [[Anik (satellite)|Anik-F2]]. WildBlue has a second satellite named WildBlue-1 |
The K<sub>a</sub> band communication satellite used by WildBlue is [[Anik (satellite)|Anik-F2]]. WildBlue has a second satellite named WildBlue-1 scheduled to be launched in November, 2006. Built by Space Systems/Loral, WildBlue-1 will be launched into [[geostationary orbit]] late in November 2006 aboard an [[European Space Agency|ESA]] [[Ariane|Ariane 5]] rocket for placement at 111.1°W orbital position. Wildblue recently acquired the funding necessary to make the launch possible. |
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Some real-time interactive applications such as [[First-person shooters|first-person shooter games]] do not work well with WildBlue, due to the half-second [[Latency (engineering)|latency]] between satellite and ground stations, but [[MMORPG]]s, not being real-time, are quite playable with no slowdown most of the time. The first-person shooter requires the location of the node, what weapon and strength the node has, and at whom she/he is firing in real time. MMORPGs are turn-based combat, so the player node bandwidth requirement is far lower. |
Some real-time interactive applications such as [[First-person shooters|first-person shooter games]] do not work well with WildBlue, due to the half-second [[Latency (engineering)|latency]] between satellite and ground stations, but [[MMORPG]]s, not being real-time, are quite playable with no slowdown most of the time. The first-person shooter requires the location of the node, what weapon and strength the node has, and at whom she/he is firing in real time. MMORPGs are turn-based combat, so the player node bandwidth requirement is far lower. |
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Revision as of 21:28, 3 August 2006
WildBlue Communications, Inc. is a corporation based in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The company offers satellite broadband Internet services to both home and business customers. WildBlue is one of the newer satellite Internet services, having begun operating in June 2005.
After nationwide beta testing the first residential customers had WildBlue service installed at their home in June 2005. During the summer of 2005 a dealer network was established to provide installation and customer service to clients throughout the 48 contiguous United States.
WildBlue claims superior performance both in terms of upload and download speed and also latency through its use of newer satellite technology. Specifically, WildBlue uses the Ka band instead of the Ku band used by established competitors such as Hughes Network Systems' HughesNet. For improved performance, it covers the U.S. and most of populated Canada with many "spot beams" instead of a single, broad beam covering the entire market. It has adopted DOCSIS technology to reduce costs while maintaining quality of service. Competitors such as Hughes have also announced their transition to Ka band satellites.
The maximum theoretical transmission speed with the premium subscription is 1.5 megabits per second downlink and 256 kilobits per second uplink. Actual speeds are similar, sometimes exceeding and at other times falling below the advertised figures. The basic package of 512 kilobits per second, at US$50 per month, is approximately three times as expensive as dial-up. The satellite equipment costs approximately US$299, exclusive of the mandatory professional installation service.
WildBlue uses a 28 x 26 in (508 x 660 mm) mini-dish and external satellite modem to bring their service to subscribers nearly anywhere in the 48 contiguous states. The modem connects to a PC's or Apple Macintosh's network card via 10BASE-T (RJ-45) cables, much in the way a cable or DSL modem would. The modem updates its firmware automatically.
The Ka band communication satellite used by WildBlue is Anik-F2. WildBlue has a second satellite named WildBlue-1 scheduled to be launched in November, 2006. Built by Space Systems/Loral, WildBlue-1 will be launched into geostationary orbit late in November 2006 aboard an ESA Ariane 5 rocket for placement at 111.1°W orbital position. Wildblue recently acquired the funding necessary to make the launch possible.
Some real-time interactive applications such as first-person shooter games do not work well with WildBlue, due to the half-second latency between satellite and ground stations, but MMORPGs, not being real-time, are quite playable with no slowdown most of the time. The first-person shooter requires the location of the node, what weapon and strength the node has, and at whom she/he is firing in real time. MMORPGs are turn-based combat, so the player node bandwidth requirement is far lower.
