Internet in Sat or Live trucks

[micaelb]

I was covering a Homeland Defense conference today and saw a ton of toys aimed at field communications based on internet access. I want to push getting connected to our newsroom system (iNews) through Directtv's or Dish Networks stuff since we have that in a truck just for our programming when we're far from town. Do any of you use either of these systems? Does it work? How useful do you find it? Have another system or idea? What does it cost?
Thanks.

 

[Dedline]

All I've heard about satellite internet is this. Download speeds are good, but anything you upload (search words, forms, emails, etc... ) goes through a regular phone line like dialup. I assume in a truck it would be cell phone dialup. You basically input stuff via cell, download stuff via satellite. That is unless you use a satellite phone, which is a point to point communication and not really surfing the web. I would say the best way to find out is to just call directv or dish network and ask.

 

[FOXLight]

Direct Tv satellite internet system is Directway...The system I use for home/ personal use is complete satellite uplink and downlink of info no phone line required...and it is always there when you start your computer it is on...just like eithernet...a little slow sometimes depends if you are using during peak hours...plus if it is storming you will loose the connection just like regular digital satellite tv...

overall good fast better than dialup...but if you are thinking of getting the system for everyday live use and not just for long camped out stories in the sat truck it might be more of a hassel to depley the dish...then point it south west and fine tune the signal in...

 

[andypoms]

There are several satellite IP services out there that are PURELY satellite based. These typically would require a 2nd (small) dish on the truck unless you are always on one satellite that has your IP service & whatever sat windows you book.

There is also cellular broadband out there - I haven't been able to really dig into it, yet.

I like option 1 for our big SNG Truck, and option 2 for our ENG trucks, but still need to do more research and they try to get the approvals for it.

Try google-ing for "satellite IP" or check out skIP, a service of vendor uplink company PSSI (http://www.pssi-usa.com) to get more info on what I mention above...

 

[Dedline]

wow didnt know you could uplink with them too, but does that mean u need extra equipment to uplink or is it like satellite phones? Sounds to me like cellular broadband might be easier, I'd like to test Verizon's PC card sometime soon. Thanks for the info.

 

[andypoms]

Originally posted by Dedline:
wow didnt know you could uplink with them too, but does that mean u need extra equipment to uplink or is it like satellite phones?

Some systems will work off your main dish (but only if you are always assigned to the bird that it is on. This means you would only need a couple of U's of rack space. If you are on different birds, there are services that use a seperate dish (usually an 18" ellipitical or similar). This would probably require a few more U's of rack space.

However, each service is different, so shop and compare.

With most of these services you can bundle IP Services, Sat Phone Service, and even DBS return.

The cell-broadband option requires a cell siginal, so if your sat truck goes out of range sometimes, this probably wouldn't be the best option for SNG.

 

[satpimp]

There are several options and solutions. The PC card is a good bet when in range of cell towers and pretty cheap. Try to google KVH, nera, inmarsat, iridium and/or globalstar. All make sat phone solutions with internet access. They aren't cheap but do what it sounds like you hope to accomplish. In addition to internet the sat phones sometime multiple lines are great for disaster/crisis coverage in a sat truck when cells are down or even jammed. They usually have rj-11 or Cat 5 jacks so you can put them straight into ifb or pl. Sat phones with POTS line output and internet can run from 2k to 15k depending on how many lines how much bandwidth and whether you want to be immune to rain fade.

Good luck