Strengths of VSAT Networks

• Available nearly anywhere - Rather than relying on the presence of telephone/cable infrastructure for the local connection, VSAT networks use wireless links to satellites in geosynchronous orbit over the equator. Therefore, they can provide broadband access from essentially anywhere that there is a view of the Southern sky - from cities to mountaintops.
  
• Total control over the "last mile" - VSAT network operators don't have to rely on third parties (like local telephone or cable companies) to reach a site. Therefore, they have complete control and can troubleshoot 100% of the link between the satellite hub and the customer site.
  
• Perfect data multicast - VSAT services like Spacenet's which use DVB outbound broadcast provide a native-multicast medium, capable of sending data simultaneously to tens, hundreds or thousands of locations. This makes VSAT the perfect solution for distributing data, files, video and more with electronic delivery receipts and immediate distribution.
  
• Transportable solutions - VSAT solutions are available that can be mounted on vehicles or deployed rapidly in fixed locations, then packed up when you move on. Retailers or other businesses with location turnover can take their VSAT service from one location and have it installed at another when needed.
  
• Uniform service levels - VSAT offers the ability to deliver the exact same speed/service level to every single one of your locations, across the state or across the world
  
• Centralized network management - Because of the hub-and-spoke architecture of VSAT networks, Spacenet can control the entire network from one of its redundant earth station locations. This means that we can provide firewalling, virus scanning, intrusion detection, network management and more for an entire customer network in a completely centralized fashion.
  
• Physically diverse path for backup - Another reason that Spacenet VSAT services are perfect for backup/failover connectivity is their use of a completely diverse physical path for transmission. Instead of relying on a single phone conduit or Central Office as a point of failure for their primary and backup connections, companies can use VSAT for a critical additional level of redundancy.
• Easy scalability - Spacenet VSAT networks scale easily from a single site to more than 10,000 locations.
  

Where VSAT Isn't the Best Option

• VSAT may not be the best choice in situations involving very latency-sensitive applications. Even at the speed of light, it takes about 1/4 second to make the trip to the satellite and back. Nearly all of our customers report no problems with performance of their applications (and Spacenet can help tune customer networks or even rework applications to be more satellite-friendly), but certain "chatty" applications like NTLM authentication or ultra-latency-sensitive uses like online action games may not run adequately over satellite. If you have questions about whether your key applications would work well with satellite, contact us for a consultation or even pilot testing of your network over VSAT.
  
• Similarly, certain encryption technologies are not compatible out-of-the-box with VSAT acceleration technologies. Although Spacenet has solutions for many of these technologies (VPN, SSL, etc.), they do require special setup, and are not guaranteed to be compatible with all vendor implementations.
  
• While the price/performance equation of VSAT services have improved dramatically over the past several years (you may be surprised how affordable business-grade VSAT is today), it is still not at the same level of absolute low costs as consumer-grade DSL or cable modem services. Spacenet Connexstar services are priced very competitively with other business-grade solutions, but customers should not expect the same pricing as your local phone company or cable operator offers for residential-grade broadband with no equipment costs. Contact us to find out more about pricing for our business-grade services.