VOIP with Hughsnet -

[colleenw]

I have a HN9000 modem with Hughsnet for satellite internet. My plan is the $79.99 - 1.5 mbps. I've been doing alot of research & saw that NET2PHONE has partnered with Hughs for VOIP - starting in Africa! Of course, there's nothing on Hugh's website on VOIP. I've emailed them but they say VOIP doesn't work due to latency speeds & yet I've seen some posts of other people who have used SunISP & other companies but all the posts are at least a couple of years old. Does anybody have any new information on any of the companies that will work with Hugh's? I live in a very rural area & would love to have VOIP. Thanks!

[stardust3]

I install hughes systems on a regular basis. The official stance is no, but, many customers report good results with it & many don't. The only thing you can do is try it & see if it works. Don't forget to monitor your daily f.a.p.

Welcome to the site. This is a great place for anything satellite related.

[grohgreg]

For VoIP to work competently over HughesNet - in the US market - you need to be connected through a VoIP accelerator at the NOC. To get hooked to the VoIP accelerator at the NOC, you must have a HughesNet business account (and pay extra). Same for VPN, same for SSL. But just because the word "accelerator" is used, doesn't mean there won't be lag. They can doctor the signal at the NOC, but they can't get the NOC any closer to the satellite. //greg//

[colleenw]

Thank You for the info! So any idea when Net2Phone & Hugh's might offer VOIP here in the U.S.?? I would think the call for it would be big. I certainly would jump on it if possible, as it would allow me to work at home. They created it here & then they offer in Africa - bizzare. Anyway, I could go with a business plan I guess. We went with the HN9000 because we are out of the country part of the year & suspend our service while we are gone. Apparently, the satellite is fixed - I was hoping it was more of an 'upgrade' where VOIP might work better. Any suggestions who I should try? I see some companies also are able to reduce the bandwidth, thus less FAP. I know nothing about this except my research so any info is appreciated! Thks.

[grohgreg]

Thank You for the info! So any idea when Net2Phone & Hugh's might offer VOIP here in the U.S.??

Likely never.

I would think the call for it would be big. I certainly would jump on it if possible, as it would allow me to work at home.

You've clearly never experienced VoSI; voice over satellite internet (I just made that up). Consider this; it's 22,300 miles to the satellite, 22,300 miles back down. The called party's response travels the same distance back. So you're talking about a two-way transmission path that's nearly a combined 90,000 miles long. Compare that to a terrestrial call where the path is often measured in yards rather than miles. The resultant satellite "lag" usually causes both ends to talk over each other, it's aggravating as hell. For the most part, only those who live in areas with no landline telephone service OR cellphone service at all - are willing to put up with it. VoIS is definitely a case of something that you need to "try before you buy". One way to simulate that is find an acquaintance that may already have HughesNet service. Ask him/her to conduct a SKYPE video chat with a 3rd party, then watch/listen over his/her shoulder.

Any suggestions who I should try?

Yes. Stick with terrestrial phone service if available.

I see some companies also are able to reduce the bandwidth, thus less FAP.

I don't understand this part, perhaps you misread or misunderstood. Reducing bandwidth reduces cost, yes. But in typical satellite internet plans, the lower the bandwidth the higher the FAP threshold.

//greg//

[AlanRT]

colleenw may be referring to reducing VoIP bandwidth.

The trouble with HN is that its VoIP support is mostly erratic to nil - Like stardust13 said, it works OK for some users some of the time, for a few most of the time, still others none of the time. It's the luck of the draw, depending on what satellite/transponder you're assigned, time of day, what your computer is doing while you're trying to make a call, type of VoIP service you're using, and its bandwidth setting.

Both Net2Phone and Vonage have an optional low bandwidth setting, and you can adjust it down in a control panel online. By default, they're both normally set to high bandwidth. Net2Phone at low bandwidth (G729 codec) uses 16 to 20 Kbps, and "seems" to work a little better over satellite than others, and is the service we'll install with VSAT systems. Skype states it needs a minimum of 30 Kbps but recommends 100.