[Hidden-tech] Does anybody have HughesNet or DirecTV satellite webaccess?

[RA Cohen]

I neglected one last item in my previous post on the above subject: 
HughesNet FAP (Fair Access Policy)

You've got to watch this like a hawk. My plan provides 500 MB (that's 
megabytes download/upload totalled) per rolling 24 hour period. If you 
exceed this amount you get 'fapped' - which means you are throttled back 
to near-useless speeds for a 24 hour period - a punishment, if you like. 
There are various and sundry ways to keep your eye on this. I run a real 
firewall where I can check traffic over the interface; you can also 
enter your acct no at HughesNet's site to get a their official totals 
(but they are 2-3 hours behind). To HughesNet's credit, they have 
instituted a 'fap-free' period (2AM-7AM for my bird) where traffic does 
not count towards the fap. It's the perfect time slot to schedule 
Windows updates or any other large downloads.

Practically speaking, this means I am constantly on the case of certain 
family members to not download video clips at all. They always manage to 
grab an easy 30-50 mb worth anyways. My daughter and her fiance were 
visiting and I noticed the modem lights going crazy. I went into the 
kitchen where they were eating saw their half-opened laptop was 
unknowingly in the midst of a 130 mb Mcafee update (which I immediately 
stopped). The previous time they were here I came in to the end of them 
watching a two hour movie (I think it was 400+ mb or so). I gently but 
firmly try and explain the situation each time but for them living in 
the city with what seems to be endless bandwidth, it will take more time.

Some last miscellanea: vpn's are not really pleasant, Windows remote 
connection is quite useable, and I use putty (ssh) all the time with 
usually good results. And finally, I've read WildBlue hasn't been in the 
business long enough nor have enough birds in the sky to really compete 
with HughesNet.

So now you know everything about HughesNet. Good luck to whoever embarks 
upon this noble adventure. When you think about it, you can understand 
all the issues - problems on the bird are much harder to repair than on 
earth, you are sharing the connection with potentially many times more 
subscribers than when on cable (hence the strict fap), and it is much 
harder and more expensive for the provider to increase bandwidth. 
Satellite internet is still the only viable option for many earthlings 
and will probably be with us for a long long time. President Obama, if 
you are on this maillist, please get us some infrastructure here in 
Western Mass soon! :-)

-- 
Roy A Cohen
Network Advantage LLC
413.330.9568
www.net-vantage.com