Volume 4 2019
Satellite Broadband Today
www.sbca.org
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Welcome to Satellite Broadband Today providing policy makers and stakeholders with news and information on the satellite broadband industry.
Satellite Internet is Connecting the World
There are many areas of the country that have trouble finding high-speed Internet. In rural areas, cable is frequently not available and DSL and dial-up options are slow. That’s where satellite Internet service comes in. Now, satellite Internet is not only connecting homeowners and businesses across the country, but also across the world. Satellite service is providing high-speed Internet for the home in various places that have no other options available. In this post, we’ll walk through how satellite Internet provides options for people outside of the cable footprint.

The Opportunities Satellite Internet Provides
Satellite Internet is uniquely optimized for providing Internet for rural areas. Unlike cable service, which relies on wires that must stretch from major cities or developed areas, satellite Internet can function anywhere with a clear view of the southern sky. Set up simply involves connecting a satellite dish on the ground with a signal from a satellite in orbit around the earth, so customers in rural areas can receive high-speed Internet for the home even in the most remote areas.

Satellite Service is Making a Difference
Military Use : Satellite service has been used by the military for many years because of easy set up and take down in tactical areas. In this way, the military does not have to rely on existing infrastructure in the field, and can operate as a closed unit with all utilities and communications.
Disaster Areas : Satellite Internet can also be set up and used in places in which physical cable and telephone infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed. One example is Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. In the wake of the storm, satellite Internet service was used to help coordinate rebuilding efforts on the island.
Connecting the World : Other places where home satellite Internet is gaining traction include Central and South America and India, where diverse challenges have made it impossible or impractical to extend wired infrastructure needed for High-speed Internet in rural areas.
Transportation : The nature of satellite service also makes it applicable for different types of transportation such as railways and airplanes, many of which use it to provide Internet service for their customers. For more on Internet-airline connectivity, please see our  post here .

Satellite internet makes rural smart homes a reality

Thanks to advances in satellite internet technology and improvements to the smart devices themselves, it’s becoming increasingly realistic for folks who live outside of big cities or in more modest abodes to take advantage of smart services that can make their lives better.
By 2021,  more than a quarter of U.S. homes are projected to be “smart.”  That’s up from just 12.5 percent in 2016. While much of this change will undoubtedly happen in urban areas, rural residents will also begin to realize and adopt the benefits of  automated farming solutions ,  energy management networks  and other systems that can have a major impact on life outside of cities.
Rural residents will need a fast, reliable service to connect all of those devices. And they’ll need it soon. That’s where satellite internet like Viasat’s comes in. With nationwide coverage and speeds up to 25 Mbps in most areas, rural residents don’t need to wait for expensive ground infrastructure to reach their homes – satellite is already there. To read the rest of the article click here.

HughesNet Business Internet Provides Reliable Communications to a Public Safety Consultant
Nick Tusa relies on being connected to operate his business. Nick runs Tusa Consulting Services, a national public safety communications firm, from an office on his 10-acre property in Covington, LA. The office is the central hub of a network of consultants that stretches across the US designing radio communication systems for local and state fire and police departments.
Reliable Internet communication is essential to keeping Nick in touch with clients and his consultants in Florida, Kansas City, Atlanta, Nashville, and Lancaster. He also needs it for access to the firm's technology library and customer files, which are stored at two secure remote locations. 
Long Internet outages would be a serious handicap for Tusa Consulting, which must be able to quickly contact clients during natural disasters and other emergencies. His own location, however, can be a disadvantage. Covington is located 40 miles north of New Orleans, which puts Nick in one of the world's most active hurricane zones. When Nick was researching Internet services, durability and reliability weighed heavily in his consideration.
Nick describes his area of Covington as "not well served by the local Internet or cable company." When he learned HughesNet® Business Internet service from Hughes was an option, he contacted people who had the service and like it.
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