Skywayusa versus Wildblue real life comparison

[Cori]

I live in one of those areas beyond the digital divide, where the only option besides dial up is satellite internet. I have had Wildblue for three years. It has always been spotty and frequently slow, but has gotten worse in recent months. There are a lot of trees where I live. The dish had been installed at the bottom of the roof with a long slope. I considered that trees had grown and were obstructing it more now. I asked-how about doing a site visit? Our dish-network dish is at the top of the roof. It seemed logical that the Wildblue dish would stand a better chance at the top. The tech eprson said that it wouldn't be worth Wildblue's time to come out. This after we were on theri most expensive plan for 3 years.

I did some research, and took a chance on Skywayusa. They couldn't seem to find an installer in the area, so today I had our handyman install it (at the top of the roof!). My husband and I signed on for the most expensive plan, $79.95 a month, which is the same as we were paying with Wildblue.

It is faster, a lot faster. I just did a speed test that came out at 1700KB, faster than the plan promises and much faster than any test we did with Wildblue, which was averaging under 400 even with the fastest plan, that is, when it was working at all.

It is sunny today. It remains to be seen if Skyway also performs better in cloudy, rainy, foggy conditions (we get a lot of fog). which is one of the advantages they list on their website. I'll post again when I have that data to share. The self-install seemed like a hassle, but it gave us greater control on the dish placement.

Meanwhile, I am looking forward to resigning from Wildblue. The tech person commented in the last call that we had been loyal customers. I don't know about loyal-we didn't have any other option. I know all the satellite internet companies get a lot of complaints and i don't expect that things will be perfect with Skyway, but it sure seems to work much better and faster than Wildblue did for us.

Cori

 

[Stargazer]

If the alignment was off or there was low signal due to blockage then that would degrade the performance of the WildBlue system.

 

[iwc5893]

Are you sure you have no other options, such as a WISP?

California

 

[Stargazer]

A WISP is your best choice in a rural location as you would not have such a low bandwidth cap, faster speeds and probably better pricing as well along with more reliability (depending on the WISP provider).

 

[grohgreg]

It is faster, a lot faster. I just did a speed test that came out at 1700KB...

On the satellite half, perhaps. But I'd like you to report back on your satisfaction level - after you try to email half a dozen photos of your kids to their grandmother.

I suspect your recent Wildblue degradation is a line of sight issue. So many folks are mystified why their satellite connections are so much more consistent in the winter. There are no leaves on the trees. The satellite signal will pass through bare branches, but gets significantly attenutated when they fill out with leaves in the spring. Plus, trees don't stop growing just because you buy a satellite dish. I'm sure yours get taller every year - just like everybody else's.

//greg//

 

[Cori]

First--what is a WISP? My neighbors and I have been searching for an alternative for some time.

Regarding the line of sight issue: Again, Wildblue was not willing to move the dish or even check whether there was a line of sight issue. We are surrounded by mostly pine trees and redwoods, so our connection was not better in winter. We were willing to take down a pine tree or two on our own property if they were in the way. Wildblue was not interested in helping us determine if our connection and speed could get better. The Wildblue connection was intermittently better, and then bad most of the time. A lot of dropped connections.

So far, the Skyway connection is much faster and has not dropped even once. I realize that if I want to send photos or upload other files, I should do it at my office when I am there. I don't do a lot of uploading, so I think this is going to work a whole lot better for us. I do need a half-way decent internet connection on a daily basis for business correspondence and research.

I am not expecting the service to be better with Skyway than it was with Wildblue. We paid for a professional installation. I called again and again to try to set it up. I finally figured out that they couldn't find an installer close enough or willing to drive out our way, so I asked for a refund. I have never aspired to being tech savvy, but have had to gain some knowledge because of where I live. it is part of the price of living in a beautiful place.

Cori

 

[iwc5893]

A WISP is a Wireless Internet Service Provider. They provide broadband internet to urban and rural areas using microwave technology by mounting an antenna on your house and pointing it back to a tower. If you click on the link "California" in my previous post, it will take you to a list of WISP's in California. It will probably take you some time to go through that list and based upon your description of where you live it may not be possible, but you may get lucky.

 

[Cori]

Limited internet options

A few years ago and again recently, we did check out a local provider, Pogowave, that was capable of providing coverage to a lot of people in the area. We would have happily paid them to put one of their antennas on our roof to get connected to their service, which I now realize is a "WISP." They even had a service that could somehow transmit through heavily treed areas. They said, however, that they couldn't transmit through the ridge next to us., so they referred us back to Wildblue. People have been incredulous when we tell them how limited our internet options are, but we are in a valley with no cell phone coverage, even though people have reception just up the street from us. This is the fastest internet connection we have had in five years of living here, so we are pretty happy about it. I hope it stays that way! Cori

 

[grohgreg]

Wildblue was not willing to move the dish or even check whether there was a line of sight issue.

Of course not. And for you to expect them to, is simply unrealistic. Even if you weren't two years out of warranty, no way it would cover such a request. If you want those kinda non-warranty/out of warranty problems fixed, you gotta bypass Wildblue altogether. Go straight to a certified installer, and be prepared to pay the going rate.

What you're going to spend on Skyway would probably have paid for a Wildblue installer visit.

//greg//

 

[Cori]

Then I believe I have spent my money wisely. It was a professional/paid installer who put the dish at the bottom of the roof. Unless you have someone personally recommended, it is the luck of the draw on paying a professional. Frankly, my handyman did a better job than the professional who installed the Wildblue dish. I'm getting that I'm on a forum in which a lot of professional installers post. Nothing personal to you, but no matter what the profession, there is a wide spectrum of skill levels and professionalism. I'll assume you guys are at the high end. I bothered to register for this forum and post because when I was researching my options, I couldn't get any information on a comparison between different satellite internet services that involved a comparison at the same site, rather than a chart of "up to" speeds that often have little to do with the actual speeds that users experience. The Skyway connection has been much faster than Wildblue ever was, and I've had no dropped connections. I thought this would be useful information for someone else exploring their options. Cori

 

[Stargazer]

Another good thing about SkyWay is that it is easier to setup and you can move the dish if you learn how to tune in the signal. They even allow self installs. With WildBlue, it has to transmit back to the satellite, therefore has to be aligned more precisely, which is why they usually require professional installation.

 

[apsc]

I personally was amazed with skyway

I am really a Hughesnet techniciian to the bone but skyway amazed me with how well it worked for a one way system they appear to have gotten the program together and does'nt seem so bad now the only downside to all that i see was posted is that if you had good credit you could of got Hughesnet for 69.99
a month and 99.00 down with approved credit and a service plan.
with a much higher elevation than Wild Blue you could have overcame the tree obstacle most likely. Just my 2 cents for what its worth.

 

[Cori]

I didn't know about Hughes satellite being at a higher elevation than Wildblue. If I'd known, I might have given them a try. It is good information for their company to get out there, especially in rural areas with trees and ridges to contend with.

In the meantime, I have been pleasantly surprised by how well the Skyway connection is working. It would have been nice to not have to sacrifice a phone line to get on line. Cori

 

[grohgreg]

I didn't know about Hughes satellite being at a higher elevation than Wildblue.

Yup. It's a simple exercise in plane geometry. Think of the isosceles triangle. Wildblue has service from only two satellites, both orbiting over the equator above 111W. Skyway sells service from only one satellite, orbiting over 105W. Hughes on the other hand sells service from over a dozen satellites orbiting between 72W and 127W.

I don't know where in FL you live, so I'll pick Tallahassee as an example. From there your dish elevation for Wildblue service is ~44 degrees. Skyway is a bit closer to Tallahassee, so dish elevation is ~48 degrees. But HughesNet service can be had from several satellites requiring dish elevation of over 54 degrees. Whereas tree trimming can be required to prune back line of sight issues with Wildblue and SkyWay, with HughesNet all you have to do is get your account moved to a satellite that your dish can "see" better.

//greg//

 

[Cori]

Thanks and --Where do old satellite dishes go to die?

Thanks, Greg, that's good to know. I have neighbors that have been waiting to see how our experience goes, and I can pass that info on to them. But I live in Northern California, not Florida. I don't know if that makes much of a difference.

I've retired my Wildblue account. Now they offer me a free service call. I do wonder how much of the change for the better in my connection (from Wildblue to Skyway) is due to the dish being at a higher elevation and how much is due to the combo of dial up for uploading and satellite for downloading. Any guesses out there?

I signed on to Wildblue when you had to buy the equipment. They are willing to buy back the modem for $50, but not the dish. Since they have gone to lease only on their equipment, I don't imagine there is much of a market for a used Wildblue dish? Is that right? Does anyone recycle them? Any info on this appreciated. I would have started a new thread, but couldn't find the link to do it.

Cori

 

[Stargazer]

I wonder if they want you to sign another commitment if they come out to do the free service call. Maybe they should notate the account, if they will do so, that you shut the service off and switched to SkyWay due to them not wanting to fix their problem. You could give it a shot if they don't try to make you sign a commitment and compare the two services side by side and see which one works better but I'm sure SkyWay has you under a one year contract now.

 

[grohgreg]

I live in Northern California, not Florida. I don't know if that makes much of a difference.

Actually it does. I obviously looked at APSCs geoloco, and mistook it for yours. sorry. From northern CA, it's more likely a function of azimuth (east/west orientation of the dish). Again not knowing your specific location, let's use Redding. From there to Wildblue service takes an Az/El of roughly 163/42. To Skyway it's about 154/40. And of course Redding folkscan be assigned to any of 14 HughesNet satellites. Note the Skyway elevation is actually two degrees lower than Wildblue from Redding. So looking OVER the trees wasn't the issue. But the azimuth difference is 9 degrees, meaning the Skyway dish might be "seeing" around the trees.

I realize this is all academic now that you're jumped ship. But perhaps the object lesson in azimuth and elevation may come in handy when your neighbors decide which way to jump.

Oh, and without the modem - the outdoor unit is pretty useless. But there is a market for used TRIAs on eBay (that's the electronic stuff on the feedarm). And shipping a TRIA is a heckuva lot less hassle than shipping the whole ODU.

//greg//