# internet via satellite



## civilsid (Mar 19, 2014)

I am in Veracruz near Xalapa and I found a wonderful house to rent and it is perfect except there is no internet access. I am continuing to check with different companies but I think odds are slim.

SO... I want to know if anybody has experience with satellite internet down here. I am about 19.5 degrees north of the equator. I really need enough bandwidth to handle Skype or Magic Jack applications (Voice over IP). 

I would hate to lose this opportunity but I may have to pass on the house if the internet is not feasible. Thanks!!!


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Telcel Banda Ancha? Internet Access at a price by mgbytes.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

Is Telmex available at this house? This house has to be rather remote not to have either Megacable nor Telmex. Where is the house located?


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

joaquinx said:


> Is Telmex available at this house? This house has to be rather remote not to have either Megacable nor Telmex. Where is the house located?


A Telmex phone line in the boondocks does not necissarily mean they have internet set up yet.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

In some of the remote communities in Chiapas they use Internet telcel banda ancha.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

You do not have to be in a remote location to have neither Telmex or Cable. Just simply in a community where they think they can't make enough money.

I use a Telcel modem but other companies work depending on where you are. Forget SAT Internet


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## civilsid (Mar 19, 2014)

house is not far from civilization- lat 19.494595, long -96.969078. There is a school about 2.5 km away. Megacable office #1 said "no, we don't think so" so we thought that meant "we don't have a freaking clue". Megacable oficina #2 actually did the legwork to figure it out and confirmed that no, they do not. 

TelMex wanted us to get the number off of the nearest telco pole but it is a CEN MEX pole and so we are thinking no but we have not yet given up. I know telmex has the portable flash drive USB port thing but I used one of those in Guatemala and it is not much good for bandwidth to use skype or Magic Jack. Also, here in Mex, it is 300 pesos for 3 GB download per month.

So... still searching, Hughes is available but costs more money than the house we want to rent. We desperately want to get away from the noise and the car alarms and emergency vehicle sirens and the heavy bus and truck traffic and the 800 dogs on every block.

It is very frustrating, I sometimes think about just going back to the US but now I have this lovely Mexican gal I am madly in love with. We need internet but also enough peach and quiet to save my sanity.


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## Bobbyb (Mar 9, 2014)

You cannot use any VOIP service with satellite internet.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

Bobbyb said:


> You cannot use any VOIP service with satellite internet.


I find it to be difficult if not impossible to use Skype, which is not VOIP, with Telcel.


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## civilsid (Mar 19, 2014)

Thanks to all, I have found a place and I have a Telmex internet connection. I am thrilled to be "off the beaten path" and still have the services I need. 5,000 pesos with everything included.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Bobbyb said:


> You cannot use any VOIP service with satellite internet.


I'm not sure if there is a difference between "satellite" Internet and the USB Internet stick that works off the cell networks. Are they 2 different systems?

In Guatemala I was able to use my MagicJack with a USB Internet stick with no problem.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

The USB stick uses the same Cel towers a Cel phone does. Satellite very different.
VOIP on my Telcel stick works well most of the time


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

sparks said:


> The USB stick uses the same Cel towers a Cel phone does. Satellite very different.
> VOIP on my Telcel stick works well most of the time


Satellite internet requires a dish style antenna that sends and receives signals via a geostationary satellite (a satellite that orbits above the equator at an orbital height that causes it to stay above the same point on the surface of the earth). Because the satellite is about 35,000 km from the surface, there is a delay of at least a quarter of a second for a signal to go to and return from the satellite. 

In contrast, DSL or cable internet connections utilize a network of physical cables that cover the planet (using undersea cables between continents). The delay for a signal to go to the most distant point on the planet by cable is still about half the time required for a signal to go by satellite between any two points. For points close together, like Mexico and the US, the latency is much less for wired communications than for satellite communications.

Communications over a cell phone network are routed to the nearest cell phone tower and then travel by cable, so the latency is that of the cable networks, not that of satellites.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Thank you for the explanation.


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## GordonS (Jan 25, 2013)

We had to start out with banca ancha until Telmex finally got our DSL internet set up. Took 3 weeks even though all the connections were here from the previous tenant who also used Telmex DSL. And that even with having paid the required MEX$500 "tip" to the guy at the office. We are in a fairly large center - Puerto Aventuras, Q. Roo. Still the internet stops working intermittently. One time it was out for 2 weeks - working fine until a Telmex service tech stopped briefly at the service box for our apartment to work on someone else's DSL apparently. I finally had to go out and find a Telmex technician and PAY him to come and restore our DSL. That was another 2 weeks without internet so we used our banda ancha until the DSL was again operational. 
FYI: it appears that Telmex does not have a complaints department. Apparently they are a bit like the Maytag appliance service man and never have any complaints.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

So is banda ancha satellite or over the cellular network?


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Banda Ancha is simply broad band in Spanish. Years ago it meant speed - relatively .... and satellite is not speedy


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## GordonS (Jan 25, 2013)

sparks said:


> Banda Ancha is simply broad band in Spanish. Years ago it meant speed - relatively .... and satellite is not speedy


It is a cellular data plan and you get a SIMM card inserted into what looks like a largish USB key. That inserts into your computer and after the self installing software finishes it's work, then you log onto the page that pops up and you have a data connection. So basically, your laptop has a phone number with a data plan.

One other thing you can do, depending on your phone's abilities is set your phone to being a wifi hot spot and use your phone's data plan. It can be secured using passwords etc and specifying which devices can access your own phone's wifi hotspot. 

That might be just as easy as using a banda ancha USB phone connection. Except if your phone which you've set up as a wifi hot spot is out of range, then the computer cannot access internet.

I've used both and there's not much to choose between using either your phone as a wifi hot spot or using the banda ancha cell network data access. Both are quite slow.


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