Now that we all have laptops and AccessPoints equipped with 802.11b gear mecca has become a mobile source for internet access. Until recently there have been very few sources for this, now a few are starting to emerge. -- AdamShand

Here are some resources for a SatelliteTruck:

• http://www.sdots.com/wireless/kointv.jpg

• Company: Imark
  • Service: eHighwayman mobile satelite

  • URL: http://www.ehighwayman.com/

  • Bandwidth: 400Kb down, 128Kb up
  • Cost: Unknown (heard $200/month)
• Company: Satcom
  • Service: PASSPort MDBS-AA2000

  • URL: http://www.satcomweb.com/mobile.htm

  • Bandwidth: Unknown
  • Cost: Unknown
• Company: Sky Gate
  • Service: low-cost 1-way or 2-way flat antennas

  • URL: http://www.skygate.nl/p+s.htm

  • Bandwidth: Unknown
  • Cost: Unknown

• Company: [http://www.motosat.com/twoway_001.htm Motosat]

  • Service: Automatic Pointing to the DirecWay Satellite

  • URL: http://www.motosat.com/twoway_001.htm

  • Bandwidth: DirectWay (64-128K up, 500K down)

  • Cost: Dish about $5k, service $70/mo

• Company: [http://www.Swe-dish.com Swe-dish]

  • Service: Portable 2-way internet dish (US)

  • URL: http://www.Swe-dish.com

  • Bandwidth: (128kbps-2Mbps)
  • Cost: Dish about $5k, service varies
• Company: Voice Stream
  • Service: 3G cellular service

  • URL: http://www.voicestream.com/products/services/istream/overview.asp

  • Bandwidth: approx 50k
  • Cost: Ungodly (approx $10/MB plus service charges)
• Company: Verizon
  • Service: 3G cellular service

  • URL: http://www.verizonwireless.com/

  • Bandwidth: approx 50k
  • Cost: Ungodly (approx $10/MB plus service charges)
  --

  The main consumer-level ($50-$100/month) 2-way satellite internet providers are [http://www.earthlink.net/broadband/satellite/ DirecPC] and [http://www.Starband.com/ Starband]. [http://www.Echostar.com/ Echostar] wants to merge both and is holding satellite internet access ransom. Another issue is mobile access. Both Hughes and Echostar say they can't do access from RVs although 3rd parties have been advertising just that. The most reliable 2-way satellite service is through a provider like [http://www.tachyon.net Tachyon] but their portable dishes can cost $5,000 and data rates are costly. The new generation of 20/30 Ghz satellites, when launched in 6-12 months may make mobile internet access cheap, fast and easy but it remains to be seen.

More information is available at [http://industryclick.com/magazine.asp?magazineid=5&siteid=3 Satellite Broadband Magazine].

Cellular 3G service seem far more practical for mobile access. It has one big drawback - cost. If 1XEV-DO (Data-Only) were available in Portland for $50 "wireless DSL" as it is in Seattle, that would seem to be the clear choice for mobile, high-speed backbone connections from a van.

-- Satellite Carriers include:

• [http://www.earthlink.net/broadband/satellite/ DirecPC] and [http://www.Starband.com/ Starband] use the Ku (14Ghz) band. [http://www.wildblue.com Wild Blue] will have 2-way satellite uplinks for $70/month using the Ka band (20/30Ghz) with spot beams. [http://www.geamericom.com/ GE Star](5) with 384K-40M/up/down in Ka by 2002. [http://www.netsatx.net/ NetSat] with 384K-1.5M/up/down in Ka with .3meter dish by 2003.

[http://www.hns.com/direcway/for_small_business/business_edition/intro.htm Hughes DirectWay] and [http://www.hughes.com/home/transition/states.xml Spaceways] with 384K-6M/up/down in Ka by 2002

• [http://www.teledesic.com/tech/tech.htm Teledesic] and [http://www.ico.com/system/index.htm ICO] (available now)

Satellite carriers like [http://www.cyberstar.com/ Loral's CyberStar] skip most of the congestion of the terrestial internet for Enterprise users and ISPs. [http://www.cyberstar.com/products/products.cfm?pageID=clearstreamlive Loral's ClearStream WebCast] is available in packages of 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 simultaneous live users at a variety of data rates including 56 Kbps, 100 Kbps and 300 Kbps.

Other satellite carriers include: [http://www.tachyon.net Tachyon] [http://www.cidera.com Cidera] [http://www.hughes.com/home/transition/states.xml DirecWay] [http://www.ibeam.com i-Beam] [http://www.microspace.com/index2.html MicroSpace] [http://www.panamsat.com/media/pressview.asp?article=1160 NET36][http://www.ico.com/system/index.htm New ICO][http://www.pgtv.com/default.asp?flash=true Pegasus]

The [http://www.motosat.com/twoway_001.htm two-way Motosat dish] (below, left) automatically finds the DirectWay consumer satellite service ($70-$90/mo) on the road and the [http://www.Swe-dish.com/ Swe-dish portable dish] (right) can be carried nearly anywhere ($5,000) and uses commercial satellites like G-Star.

• http://www.universitypark.org/hope/twowaysatdish.jpg http://www.universitypark.org/hope/swedish.GIF

Spot beams in 2003 will lower cost and increase speed.[http://www.hns.com/products/advanced_platforms/spaceway/overview.htm SpaceWay] will provide users with up to 30 Mbps down and uplink rates ranging from 512 Kbps for individual users, to tens of Mbps for a business or major hub. [http://www.wildblue.com/ WildBlue] will offer similar Ka band services; consumer-level service with 400K up and 3 Mbps down for $50-$100/month and 30Mbps for $1-2,000/month.

A wireless link from the Van to OHSU or the KGON tower could provide a high-speed MAN in lieu of remote, high-speed satellite or 3G access. A short leased line from OHSU to the Pittock Building might be utilized. The unlicensed 2.4 or 5 GHz band could supply a 22-54 Mbps backbone. A van with a 2-way dish could also be semi-permanently assigned as a hilltop "Teleport" for PersonalTelco or provide emergency back-up.

Satellite backbones have latency issues but sharing 5 Mbps downstream link that would cost $200/month might be shared by 100 people. That lowers the cost to $2/month. "Unplugged expeditions" might be infrequent. The capacity would normally be shared. It would also be used for emergency backup. Cost sharing with other groups (like hams) might also be feasible.

Shared satellite ISP service is available from [http://www.tachyon.net/ Tachyon], [http://www.nwfusion.com/news/tech/2001/0903tech.html WorldCom],[http://www.wildblue.com/ Wild Blue], and [http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0111/18bssspaceway/ SpaceWay]. [http://www.mentat.com/pr/WildBlue070901.html Wild Blue] and [http://www.hughespace.com/factsheets/702/spaceway/spaceway.html Spaceway] are digital IP network]s that will [http://www.mentat.com/pr/sxgv3-102601.html multicast]. Small, two-way VSATs are available from [http://www.tachyon.net/ Tachyon], [http://www.landseasystems.com/land3080a.htm LandSea],[http://www.motosat.com/twoway_001.htm Motosat], and [http://www.radiotvnet.com/featured.asp Swe-dish]. Spot beam satellite platforms like [http://www.wildblue.com Wild Blue], and [http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0111/18bssspaceway/ SpaceWay] will lower cost. [http://www.house.gov/smbiz/hearings/107th/2001/010524/cook.html SpaceWay] expects to serve 1 million businesses with satellite broadband. If 500 people share a $1000/month satellite connection with [http://www.hughes-escorts.com/mediaroom/HNSEarnsAward.htm 3 Mbps up and 30 Mbps down] cost per user would be $2/month. Premium entertainment may be offered by [http://www.mp4.com/ MP-4] sites. Spaceway also provides [http://www.convergedigest.com/satellite/archive/010918boeing.htm full-mesh connectivity], allowing users to communicate on a single-hop, peer-to-peer basis for collaborative interaction.

A shared 2-way dish located at OHSU (about 1000 feet above sea level) could also be accessed via [http://www.wmux.com/company/news/2001/091001Multipoint.html 5.8 GHz unlicensed bridge] that would be mounted on the van. [http://www.wmux.com/company/news/2002/011602Proxim.html Western Wireless], which merged with [http://www.proxim.com/ Proxim], offers a wireless solution. Their [http://www.wmux.com/company/news/2001/091001Multipoint.html Tsunami Multipoint] can support 6,000 subscribers per cell site using the 5.8 GHz frequency band at 60 Mbits/second. It complies with the emerging IEEE 802.16 standard for broadband wireless access. This wireless backbone solution delivers connectivity for nodes on roof-tops, utility poles or a van. A 60 Mbps base station (at OHSU for example), costs $10,000 while the 60 Mbps receiver unit (in the Van for example), costs about $2,000.

The community might also be served from this 60Mbps wireless backbone.

[http://www.magisnetworks.com/ Magis Networks] uses a IEEE 802.11a-compliant Air5 wireless LAN chip which uses proprietary physical and media-access-control to deliver 40 Mbits/second and up to [http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20020115S0026 five standard-definition digital TV channels simultaneously].

[http://forms.real.com/rnforms/products/tools/producerpreview9/index.html Real's Producer 9 Preview] is the latest. [http://www.realnetworks.com/company/press/releases/2002/rv9.html RealVideo 9] is said to provide 30% bandwidth savings over RealVideo 8 at all quality levels. Pocket PCs have the [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/default.asp Microsoft MediaPlayer] built-in, of course, but Real also has [http://www.realnetworks.com/resources/howto/audio_video/video_file_pocketpc_stream.html a player for Pocket PCs].[http://www.realnetworks.com/company/press/releases/2001/mpeg4.html RealSystems now includes MPEG-4 support].[http://www.realnetworks.com/solutions/leadership/mpeg.html Real's MPEG-4 page] explains their [http://www.envivio.com/solutions/ess/ server] and [http://www.envivio.com/solutions/etv/etv.html client-side] plug-ins using [http://www.envivio.com/ Envivio’s MPEG-4] and others. [http://dv.com/features/archive.jhtml;jsessionid=YVTIEHXYOFDYQQSNDBGCFFA Constructing a 40 hr/wk streamcast] might not be such an outrageous idea.

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