Get to know your satellite!
During the last 12 months or so there have been a fair number of satellite ownership changes , name changes of satellites and a few new birds coming into the picture....why should you care who owns the satellite you are pointed to and what it's history is? ...I'll tell you!
The risk of a total failure of most of the satellites in orbit over the America's today is actually very small; however, the performance of the satellites, earth equipment (Network Operations Centers for example) and ground personnel can vary greatly.
During the last few years a good deal of consolidation and financial turbulance has occurred in the ku band satellite world: Loral Space has gone into and out of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Satmex has been on the brink of Bankruptcy for over 2 years and PanAM Sat has been bought by Intelsat. Additionally, Loral has sold several satellites to Intelsat. The only major satellite owner covering the America's with a good degree of stability during this period is SES Americom and to a slightly lesser degree, Intelsat & Telesat of Canada.
There are several teleport operators who have "sprung up" during the last two years as well. A teleport operator is the company that actually links your satellite dish with the satellite you are assigned to and leases the "space segment" from a satellite owner. These operators vary in experience and quality of equipment. There are too many who are "uplinking" with antiquated equipment, inaedequate teleport dishes and NOC personnel with limited training or experience. It's a very good idea to ask your provider how long they have been in the teleport business before you sign up with them!
There are a few satellites covering the America's with what I'll just call "issues". Some teleport operators have chosen these satellites to put customers on because they can lease "space" on them for much less money than more stable birds ...and here is the list:
1. SatMex 5 - This is a decent enough satellite; however, the folks at SatMex don't have any money and have not done a very good job of load balancing, customer support or problem solving for the operators leasing transponders from them over the last year. They need revenue from SatMex 6 (not yet launched) or they will have even more serious problems.
2. Intelsat IA 7 - This satellite is operating fairly stable today; however, it was the satellite that suffered a total failure for about 24-72 hours in late Nov. 2004 which put thousands of Starband internet users in the dark. The satellite was partially recovered and is operating "ok" at this time....but the exact nature of the "anomaly" has not been well explained or understood and it could happen again.
3. Intelsat Telestar 14: This satellite failed to deploy one of it's solar panels during the initial setup and has never been able to operate at full capacity (only using 17 of it's ku band transponders). Although the transponders being used are functioning ok, there will always be power constraints on this bird.
As previously stated, it's a real good idea to know as much as you can about the Satellite Internet Service Provider you are dealing with, their satellites in use and how advanced their Teleport is before choosing them. In most cases you are bound by a 12 month service agreement and a wrong choice can be downright purgatory.
The risk of a total failure of most of the satellites in orbit over the America's today is actually very small; however, the performance of the satellites, earth equipment (Network Operations Centers for example) and ground personnel can vary greatly.
During the last few years a good deal of consolidation and financial turbulance has occurred in the ku band satellite world: Loral Space has gone into and out of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Satmex has been on the brink of Bankruptcy for over 2 years and PanAM Sat has been bought by Intelsat. Additionally, Loral has sold several satellites to Intelsat. The only major satellite owner covering the America's with a good degree of stability during this period is SES Americom and to a slightly lesser degree, Intelsat & Telesat of Canada.
There are several teleport operators who have "sprung up" during the last two years as well. A teleport operator is the company that actually links your satellite dish with the satellite you are assigned to and leases the "space segment" from a satellite owner. These operators vary in experience and quality of equipment. There are too many who are "uplinking" with antiquated equipment, inaedequate teleport dishes and NOC personnel with limited training or experience. It's a very good idea to ask your provider how long they have been in the teleport business before you sign up with them!
There are a few satellites covering the America's with what I'll just call "issues". Some teleport operators have chosen these satellites to put customers on because they can lease "space" on them for much less money than more stable birds ...and here is the list:
1. SatMex 5 - This is a decent enough satellite; however, the folks at SatMex don't have any money and have not done a very good job of load balancing, customer support or problem solving for the operators leasing transponders from them over the last year. They need revenue from SatMex 6 (not yet launched) or they will have even more serious problems.
2. Intelsat IA 7 - This satellite is operating fairly stable today; however, it was the satellite that suffered a total failure for about 24-72 hours in late Nov. 2004 which put thousands of Starband internet users in the dark. The satellite was partially recovered and is operating "ok" at this time....but the exact nature of the "anomaly" has not been well explained or understood and it could happen again.
3. Intelsat Telestar 14: This satellite failed to deploy one of it's solar panels during the initial setup and has never been able to operate at full capacity (only using 17 of it's ku band transponders). Although the transponders being used are functioning ok, there will always be power constraints on this bird.
As previously stated, it's a real good idea to know as much as you can about the Satellite Internet Service Provider you are dealing with, their satellites in use and how advanced their Teleport is before choosing them. In most cases you are bound by a 12 month service agreement and a wrong choice can be downright purgatory.
posted by Randy Scott at 7:58 AM
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