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Starband Files for Chapter 11
PalmKiller writes "Well it looks like Starband is going into chapter 11. I got the email a few days ago. And just when I got CYGWIN with squid proxy working beautifully. With winproxy I rarely got any thoughput on my clients (20-50KBytes/sec or 160-360Kbits/sec), on squid I finally am getting 80-95KBytes/sec (640-760Kbits/sec continuously) and some faster bursts. Well, I guess I will ride her till she falls over and dies." Looks like Echostar's tactics have been successful. And we just did an article a few weeks ago on Starband's service, where most commenters weren't very happy.
I'm sure Adelphia Cable is next. They just got delisted from Nasdaq last week and are apparently involved in a little Enron mimmicking. Something like 2 billion worth of debt was kept off the books. I don't have the links handy but just lookup Adelphia Trouble in Google and I'm sure you'll find a hundred articles.
I was an intern for their marietta office about a year ago now. I tested their new 360 USB/ETHERNET modem. The service worked fairly well on the testing labs. Of course it had it's share of problems with lag time, and down time due to weather. But the service wasn't designed to compete with DSL or Cable Modems. It was designed for people who couldn't get any other form of broadband, and didn't want to use a regular dial-up service for the upstream.
I knew even a year ago that they were having severe financial troubles. They couldn't even afford to pay me and the other interns $10/hour for any more then 20 hours per week. Plus I was kinda offered a job as a tier 3 tech (would handle things no other tech coudl figure out) but it was retracted because they couldn't afford more people.
I hope that Starband works everythign out. Like it or not, it's the only hope for many people across the US to get some form of broadband service.
You could do it the legal way and get a Starband installer cert, it's not hard, and it will make sure you don't blow away satellite TV for the whole eastern seaboard. Some guy with an RV got a starband installer cert for that same reason.
As a side note, you can still do all this if you are so inclined. They are still selling Starband, and this message is being posted from it.
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
What the fuck.
You didn't read the article, and you really don't know anything about this whole thing, do you?
Echostar is a major stockholder in Starband, and they comitted fraud by entering into an agreement with Starband, and then backing out after they got what they could.
The Echostar agreement was that Echostar would sell starband bundled with Dish network packages, and then in Febuary, they were supposed to turn the accounts over the Starband, so that Starband could actually get some revenue. They never turned the accounts over, because they are interested in buying Hughes, which will come with its own satellite Internet, free from pesky things like having to compensate someone you were in a contract with.
Starband filed a suit against Echostar, but when they failed to get an injunctive order to get the accounts, they withdrew the suit. Starband was fucked over by Echostar through deception and fraud. Objectivism does not support fraud and deception, so your drivel is totally baseless.
I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
...it will make sure you don't blow away satellite TV for the whole eastern seaboard
You are sending a 1W signal from a 90cm dish. TV goes at 100W from a 9 meter antenna, so your signal will be 40 dB below theirs. But you won't be able to get it right without their cooperation, it takes a certain amount of interaction with their control center to get the antenna aligned. Even with an installer cert, they'd probably charge you an installation fee every time you moved.
Here's the catch: the antenna must be small, to reduce the cost and make it easier to transport and install. At the same time, radiated power must be low enough to comply with regulations. The consequence is that the EIRP (equivalent isotropic radiated power) received by the satellite is at the very edge of what's detectable. The procedure seems easy because it's mostly automated, but you can't do it by yourself. I know all this because I work for a company that sells exactly the same service as Starband, outside the USA.