Satellite broadband

General Discussion
1

Hello everyone,


We have just moved to France into the Lot Garonne area. The broadband service is likely to cap at 3mg, we are thinking of satellite to overcome this. Any comments, suppliers or other ideas?




2

You need their box for the phone. You will also get French TV via Internet which needs to be connected to their box. You can watch TV in original language so American and UK programs can be watched in English (new programs that is). You can also rent films and watch them in English.

3

Martin,

I have opted for Orange but I am not really sure what the result will be, I am told about 8bps? Anyway it should be sufficient. Are you using your own box or theirs?

4

Thanks to everyone this has been a most informed and interesting discussion. I will be asking more technical questions to be sure!

5

Thanks Al I will do that now.

6

all Macs but have a conferencing application called BBB and might have 6-10 people on it one time. One option is to install my own server! but the connection is the issue?

7

Thats also very useful information, thanks James.

8

Martin,

Thanks so much for such a detailed answer. I will do that. Actually I have VOIP phone so I will want use it in that way as well. I will also want to download movies so a good speed is necessary. How far are from the nearest exchange?

9

Hi, can’t comment on speeds available as it is out if my depth but in department 82 near Agen, we subscribe to Neuf Telecom, about 36 euros monthly including line charges, broadband and free phone calls to most if the world landlines. Always worked fine and nothing to pay France Telecom!
Colin Granville

10

Yes. I understand that now.

When I questioned France Telecom about this during my research they were adamant that my nearest exchange was 14Km away and so the speed might vary a lot. it appears that our choice of place to buy and live has had a unexpected and welcome positive we weren't aware of.

11

Martin, you are near to the exchange (under 2000 meters) which would account for the bandwidth available to you.

12

Have taken remote control at home and performed test. Results as follows.

Informations
techniques

central téléphonique : CUQ-TOULZA
longueur de ligne :1775 mètres
affaiblissement théorique : 26.625dB
état de la ligne : ACTIVE
débit maximum estimé ADSL : 13.36 Mbps
débit maximum estimé VDSL : incompatible

13

My company sells Sat broadband in the UK. If I were talking to you in the UK then I would send you here

http://www.europasat.com/order/#/product=220,currency=EUR (I've converted the currency already).

Are you on Mac or Windows as this makes a difference (Mac requires less bandwidth for video)?

There are some potential GSM type alternatives if you're on a Mac.

14

What does http://www.degrouptest.com say for your number please Martin?

15

Satellite connections have high latency which makes them impractical for certain uses, VC can be one of those uses. Having said that, my satellite connection doesn't, or at least it is imperceptible. Though it may be worth checking with the provider before you invest in the hardware I reckon.

16

Nearest exchange is 14Km So bang goes that theory!

17

Hi James, thanks for your reply. SFR have told me we are unlikely to get 3mg and I have an e learning business and live on video conferences so it is important and the business can pay for the cost. So blisteringly fast would be great.

18

Thanks Simon.

19

The line speed will depend on how far you are from the exchange where the DSlam is located which will be fed by optic cable. We are located some 5km from our exchange and get around 1mbps download. My guess is Martin is near an exchange (say 1 to 2km), the degroup test will tell him how long the cable is.

20

Hi. I’m paying, 34€ per month for everything that includes calls to france land and mobile numbers plus landline numbers to Europe.