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Re: [TCLUG:8403] RE: Other options than xDSL or cable



On Mon, Sep 20, 1999 at 09:50:39AM -0500, Trainor, Kevin T. wrote:
> DirecTV offers a service called DirecPC that uses their satellite net for
> the
> incoming link, though it still relies on phone for the outgoing dataflow.
> Price
> is pretty good compared to xDSL or cable, but the downside is that you'd
> need a Win95/98/NT box for it since there is no *nix client for it. Also, as
> a short-term solution it beats either of the other options since you can
> rent
> the DirecPC boxes month-to-month, IIRC

While DirecPC does work, it has several large problems:  First, you're
sharing 400kbps with everyone else in the country that has DirecPC.  Second,
the latency is horrible -- lightspeed delay alone is ~250ms!  Third,
security is nonexistant -- all your downstream packets are being broadcast
to the entire continental US.

To add insult to injury, it's pretty expensive.  If you're in an area that
can't get DSL or a cable modem, you may want to consider ISDN, as that can
be provided almost anywhere.

> Carl mentioned a wireless connection between his digs and his office.
> When I was working at a satellite data systems company out east whose
> name I won't mention, the CEO had a T-1 line into his house and provided
> a link to the offices about a block away (~500m) by a microwave link that
> worked pretty well unless somebody was using the kitchen microwave at
> his place...took us a month to figure out what the problem was. Anyway,
> the point is that the gear is out there and works pretty well. Not sure
> about
> the cost, though.

The cost of commercial-grade microwave datalink equipment is quite high -- a
single link can be upwards of $5000, not including installation.  There was
a link on technocrat.net recently to plans to build your own link for
~$1000, but that requires quite a bit of skill on the part of the builder,
and experience building microwave circuits isn't exactly abundant...

-- 
David Carter ** dcarter@visi.com
VISI.com Technical Support
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