Commercial / Business-Class Satellite Broadband Provider Cost Comparison
Introduction
When it comes to a choice of an enterprise-class satellite-based internet service provider (ISP) for your home or business, it can be tough to sort out a balance of monthly subscription fees, initial up-front cost (typically, gear and installation), features and reliability. Naturally, most of us want to get the most bang for our buck. To assist you, we offer a price/performance comparison chart for the four major providers in the enterprise-class Satellite ISP business. This is not easy to present - because of the way the respective services are structured, we're making what amounts to apples-to-oranges (well OK - oranges to tangerines) comparisons with respect to price and speeds alone.
StarLAN Consulting Services has partnered with BroadSky Networks of Bend, Oregon to deliver four distinct business and enterprise class satellite-based broadband connectivity solutions. Please don't hesitate to contact us for more information.
Price Isn't Everything (and neither is speed)
Here's what really matters when it comes to satellite-based broadband performance:
Network Transparency. The correct choice for your particular needs should not rest upon price alone. For example, none (let me repeat that - NONE) of the three consumer-class providers - that's WildBlue, HughesNet and StarBand - support VoIP, IPSec VPNs or other sophisticated remote-access protocols. If your livelihood depends upon any of these things, then it doesn't matter how cheap the consumer-grade services are - you're not going to get what you need. So, while you may pay more for what looks like slower speeds when you compare LinkStar versus WildBlue - or even WildBlue residential vs. WildBlue Enterprise - it won't matter at all if you need what LinkStar can do versus what WildBlue can't do.
Contention Factor. Then there's the issue of contention factor - that is, the number of people contending for a given resource. This has a direct bearing on he performance of things like VPN connections, VoIP and other real-time remote access applications. Low contention factor numbers are better, higher ones are worse. Contention factor is one of the primary issues that separates the common run of consumer-grade satellite internet services from the business and enterprise class providers.
Throughput. All satellite-based ISPs and in increasing numbers, DSL and cable providers, limit the amount of stuff you can upload and download. Enterprise-class systems - no surprise - offer much higher overall throughput than residential services. Case in point: WildBlue residential Pro Pak vs. WildBlue Enterprise Gold plans. WildBlue's Pro Pak offers 5 GB upload and 17 GB download. Contrast this with the WildBlue Enterprise Gold plan: 10GB upload and 38 GB download. That's double the effective throughput. Again, if you need what the enterprise-level services provide, then there is no substitute.
Weigh the Intangibles
Finally, There are the less tangible, but equally important issues of service, support and local representation. For example, StarLAN CS is one of the only dealer/installers in the inland Northwest with an extensive IT and data security background. StarLAN CS is also professionally certified in most of the major remote access technologies that business typically use. The majority of your local satellite internet dealer/installers are primarily TV and cell phone dealers. Put it another way: who would you rather have install your system - a $10/hour TV installer or a certified network engineer and Microsoft Partner? It does make a difference.
Support - is it local, is it US-based, and do they speak English as a primary language? That too, makes a difference.
For a more comprehensive comparison of the features that satellite ISPs offer, go to Sat Services Compared on this website.
Disclaimer and Caveat - This list is both limited in scope and changes may occur faster than we can update them. This is as accurate as we can make it.
Broad Sky Pricing Second Quarter 2008
North American Coverage
| Max Bandwidth (Kbps) Throughput/FAP (GB) (6) | |||||||
|
Service Type |
Carrier |
Download/ out-bound |
Upload/ inbound |
Down Up Total |
Dish / BUC |
Hardware(1) |
MRC(2) |
|
SkyLink (WildBlue Enterprise) |
|||||||
|
SkyLink 500 |
WildBlue |
512(4) |
128(4) |
Down 13 Up 3 = 16 |
.67m/.05-4W |
$ 399.95 |
$ 69.95 |
|
SkyLink 100 |
WildBlue |
1000(4) |
200(4) |
Down 20 Up 5 = 25 |
.67m/.05-4W |
$ 399.95 |
$ 99.95 |
|
SkyLink 1500 |
WildBlue |
1500(4) |
256(4) |
Down 24 Up 6 = 30 |
.67m/.05-4W |
$ 399.95 |
$ 129.95 |
|
SkyLink 1500 plus |
WildBlue |
1500(4) |
256(4) |
Down 38 Up 10 = 48 |
.67m/.05-4W |
$ 399.95 |
$ 199.95 |
|
ENTERPRISE (ViaSat) |
|||||||
| ENTERPRISE(7) | Viasat(5) | 500(4) | 128(4 | Total 2 GB monthly | 1m/3W | $ 1,799.00 | $ 129.95 |
| ENTERPRISE(7) | Viasat(5) | 1000(4) | 256(4) | Total 5 GB monthly | 1m/3W | $ 1,799.00 | $ 179.95 |
| ENTERPRISE(7) | Viasat(5) | 1500(4) | 256(4)) | Total 7 GB monthly | 1m/3W | $ 1,799.00 | $ 249.95 |
| ENTERPRISE(7) | Viasat(5) | 2000(4) | 384(4) | Total 9 GB monthly | 1.2m/4W | $ 2,499.00 | $ 299.95 |
| ENTERPRISE(7) | Viasat(5) | 3000(4) | 384(4) | Total 12 GB monthly | 1.2m/4W | $ 2,499.00 | $ 399.95 |
| ENTERPRISE(7) | Viasat(5) | 2000(4) | 512(4) | Total 16 GB monthly | 1.8m/4W | $ 3,349.00 | $ 499.95 |
| ENTERPRISE(7) | Viasat(5) | 4000(4) | 512(4) | Total 20 GB monthly | 1.8m/4W | $ 3,349.00 | $ 749.95 |
|
Enterprise Plus (iDirect) |
|||||||
| ENTERPRISE PLUS | iDirect(5) | 500(4) | 128(4) | See CSA for details | 1.2m/3W | $ 1,799.00 | $ 269.95 |
| ENTERPRISE PLUS | iDirect(5) | 500(4) | 256(4) | See CSA for details | 1.2m/3W | $ 1,799.00 | $ 329.95 |
| ENTERPRISE PLUS | iDirect(5) | 1000(4) | 256(4) | See CSA for details | 1.2m/4W | $ 2,699.00 | $ 349.95 |
| ENTERPRISE PLUS | iDirect(5) | 1000(4) | 512(4) | See CSA for details | 1.2m/4W | $ 2,699.00 | $ 499.95 |
| ENTERPRISE PLUS | iDirect(5) | 1500(4) | 512(4) | See CSA for details | 1.2m/4W | $ 2,699.00 | $ 549.95 |
| ENTERPRISE PLUS | iDirect(5) | 2000(4) | 512(4) | See CSA for details | 1.2m/4W | $ 2,699.00 | $ 599.95 |
| The Bottom Line |
SkyLink (WildBlue Enterprise) |
LinkStar (ViaSat) |
iDirect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost including equipment, current promotions and 'standard' installation, and NOT including tax and shipping. | $800 - $1000+ | $1850 - $3000+ | $1850 - $5000+ |
(1)
All equipment is based on three year term. Add $100 for two year and $200 for one year term. Some Enterprise and EnterprisePlus services require a 4 Watt BUC. Enterprise at 384Kb upload may require 1.2m dish and 512Kb will require 1.8m dish.
(2) Shipping. Taxes and Installation not included. SkyLink tn-pod installation $299.95. All other standard installation $499.95 and
includes non-penetrating roof mount. Add $100 for 1.2m installation dish and $200 for pole mount. 1.8 meter installations quoted per individual site evaluation.
(3) Best effort over shared network architecture. Average speeds 70% of listed bandwidth over a one month period. Some services
have CIR’s available upon request and additional fees. Some locations may require larger dish.
(4) Enterprise, NetLink and Enterprise Plus all support IP Sec VPN’s and some VoIP. SkyLink by WildBlue does not.
(5) Up to 5 static IP bundle requires a onetime set up fee of $75. SkyLink requires a $9.95 monthly charge for all static IP’s (no set up).
(6)
SkyLink and Enterprise FAP are based on 30 day rolling average. Refer to Commercial Services Agreement for details.(7)
Enterprise can be AcceleNet enabled to allow provide 4-8 times service acceleration when running File Shares, Outlook/Exchange,HTTP, Lotus Notes, Citrix (ICA/RDP) and TCP. AcceleNet is $49.95 for up to 5 user license (must be loaded on all PC’s requiring
optimization).