The MacAlba

After a longer than expected wait, and some stuffing around, the 2-way satellite internet access service from BorderNet was installed a few days ago. In a sense the installation process was an anti-climax - it took less than an hour and a half from arrival of the installers, to the home wireless network being connected to, and operational on, the ‘net.

The service plan I chose gives us a 512 kbit/s downlink with a 128 kbit/s uplink. The price includes 5 gigabytes per month of downloaded data, with additional charges payable in excess of that limit.

I note that BorderNet now has a “traffic shapingâ€? option whereby I can opt to have the downlink data usage above the 5 GB quota “shapedâ€? down to 64 kbit/s for the remainder of the billing period. I’ll have to take note of my usage for the next 10 days or so before deciding whether to take advantage of that offer or not.

In terms of performance, so far, the service hasn’t disappointed. The down- and up-link speeds are pretty much exactly 512 and 128 kbit/s respectively. The long network latency imposed by the use of geostationary satellite is rather annoying but can’t be helped.

So, all in all, it’s been good so far.