I agree.. not too long ago I saw a really outstanding example of this kind of abuse.
My wife and I were on our way to pick up some Quizno's one night, and a police car pulled up behind us, and followed along on the street. Just before a stoplight, he turned on his lights, and everyone pulled over to let him speed past and through the light. We thought he must have gotten a dispatch, but then we pulled into the Quizno's lot, and there he was getting out of his car. He ended up in line just in front of us inside...come on!
Monthly Price: $129, 1yr term (which includes the $10 extra for static IP)
Monthly Bandwidth: 1GB
Location: BFE Tennessee
Provider: DirecWay via reseller SkyCasters (www.skycasters.com)
Hardware: DirecWay Dish with a 3-part OS-independent DirecWay DW4020 system, to which a SMC Barricade(TM) Wireless Cable/DSL Broadband Router (SMC7004VWBR) connects **
Original Problem
One of my company's operations handles barges of wood and other materials traveling up and down the river system, and recently opened a new terminal (barge loading/unloading point) on the Tennessee River. It was decided that an internet connection was needed at this location, as well as a network camera (we have been installing these throughout our facilities). Due to the location, there is no wired broadband access available, and the phone system is iffy even for voice calls. No cell phone digital data is available service either (even voice cell service is spotty, I had to install a repeater to get decent service at the location, which is a whole other story in itself).
Ordering Process
So this leads us to satellite internet, the only real option. After researching it, I decided to go with a reseller, and SkyCasters seemed to be the best for us. They're based in Akron, OH, but they contract the installation work to the nearest available installer (which happened to be about an hour's drive from our location). SkyCasters deal directly with DirecWay, and according to them, are the only provider that have their servers co-located in the Hughes network facility. The ordering process included an phone interview with a sales person to determine our needs, and then various contracts and such to set up the installation and account.
Installation
I traveled to our location in TN to set up the local network at our facility, and was there for the setup of the satellite system. SkyCasters shipped all the hardware directly to our location via UPS, and set up the install with the local installer. The installer called the day of installation to let me know he was on his way, and got more specific directions for finding us. SkyCasters' installation package includes a setup script for the installer to follow, as well as one for the client to follow, to make sure everything is set up correctly. The installer assembled the dish and mounted it on the top of a stationary trailer that we use there as a storage unit, it has a flat roof. The mount is a non-penetrating roof mount, which involves a flat steel frame, with a rubber mat. Within the 2 sections of this frame, 3 concrete blocks are laid on each side, on the rubber mat, which passes over the middle bar of the frame. These blocks hold the frame down against the roof, as well as preventing any lateral movement - it seems weird but it works very well. To this frame is bolted the mounting arm of the dish, which he pointed and locked without any problem. He also ran the cabling from the dish to inside our office unit, cable tying it and otherwise locking the cables in place.
Then he followed the rest of the script to set up the networking part of the system, by which I mean the 4020 itself. He had a little trouble with his laptop at this point and spent quite a while on the phone with SkyCasters tech support, but did eventually manage to get it working. (this part I blame on the fact that he was using Windows ME on his laptop, trying to get networking set up properly on that is a nightmare) The whole installation took about 4 hours, from arrival of the installer to his departure. Your experience with installation may vary since, as I mentioned before, they subcontract local installers for this.
Setup
Once we had a computer connected directly to the 4020 and
Slashdot Mirror
I agree.. not too long ago I saw a really outstanding example of this kind of abuse.
My wife and I were on our way to pick up some Quizno's one night, and a police car pulled up behind us, and followed along on the street. Just before a stoplight, he turned on his lights, and everyone pulled over to let him speed past and through the light. We thought he must have gotten a dispatch, but then we pulled into the Quizno's lot, and there he was getting out of his car. He ended up in line just in front of us inside...come on!
Forgot a very important vital stat!! Hardware Cost: $1500, one time charge.
Original Problem
One of my company's operations handles barges of wood and other materials traveling up and down the river system, and recently opened a new terminal (barge loading/unloading point) on the Tennessee River. It was decided that an internet connection was needed at this location, as well as a network camera (we have been installing these throughout our facilities). Due to the location, there is no wired broadband access available, and the phone system is iffy even for voice calls. No cell phone digital data is available service either (even voice cell service is spotty, I had to install a repeater to get decent service at the location, which is a whole other story in itself).
Ordering Process
So this leads us to satellite internet, the only real option. After researching it, I decided to go with a reseller, and SkyCasters seemed to be the best for us. They're based in Akron, OH, but they contract the installation work to the nearest available installer (which happened to be about an hour's drive from our location). SkyCasters deal directly with DirecWay, and according to them, are the only provider that have their servers co-located in the Hughes network facility. The ordering process included an phone interview with a sales person to determine our needs, and then various contracts and such to set up the installation and account.
Installation
I traveled to our location in TN to set up the local network at our facility, and was there for the setup of the satellite system. SkyCasters shipped all the hardware directly to our location via UPS, and set up the install with the local installer. The installer called the day of installation to let me know he was on his way, and got more specific directions for finding us.
SkyCasters' installation package includes a setup script for the installer to follow, as well as one for the client to follow, to make sure everything is set up correctly.
The installer assembled the dish and mounted it on the top of a stationary trailer that we use there as a storage unit, it has a flat roof. The mount is a non-penetrating roof mount, which involves a flat steel frame, with a rubber mat. Within the 2 sections of this frame, 3 concrete blocks are laid on each side, on the rubber mat, which passes over the middle bar of the frame. These blocks hold the frame down against the roof, as well as preventing any lateral movement - it seems weird but it works very well. To this frame is bolted the mounting arm of the dish, which he pointed and locked without any problem. He also ran the cabling from the dish to inside our office unit, cable tying it and otherwise locking the cables in place.
Then he followed the rest of the script to set up the networking part of the system, by which I mean the 4020 itself. He had a little trouble with his laptop at this point and spent quite a while on the phone with SkyCasters tech support, but did eventually manage to get it working. (this part I blame on the fact that he was using Windows ME on his laptop, trying to get networking set up properly on that is a nightmare)
The whole installation took about 4 hours, from arrival of the installer to his departure. Your experience with installation may vary since, as I mentioned before, they subcontract local installers for this.
Setup
Once we had a computer connected directly to the 4020 and