Understanding Satellite Internet Speed
Satellite internet is a godsend to those of us that live and/or work in parts of the country that do not have copper or fibre infrastructure.
It removes that foreboding sense of isolation by providing us with a reliable internet service that connects us to friends and family, enabling us to surf the web, do online shopping, online banking and social media, enjoy entertainment and run our businesses remotely.
MorClick now offers affordable, state-of-the-art customised satellite solutions optimised for express requirements like online meetings, security, internet back-up, mobile events and even hospitality establishments. With such sophisticated services available, it is easy to presume that satellite internet speed is comparable to fibre internet speed.
It is not, and here is the reason why.
Firstly, satellite internet bypasses the need for terrestrial infrastructure (like copper and fibre). It does this by sending and retrieving data through a communication network that starts with your device (computer, laptop, cell phone) and travels through the provided modem and satellite dish, out to our satellite in space, then back to Earth to ground network operation stations known as NOC’s. From the ground station, data travels back through the network – out to space and then back to the satellite dish on Earth – to deliver data to your device. As you can imagine, this takes a little time. Around 550 milliseconds. These milliseconds are commonly referred to as latency.
The second factor at play is something called Bandwidth.
Compare satellite bandwidth to water pressure in a tap.
If all you need your tap for is to brush your teeth and fill the kettle, you would need no more than a trickle, but it certainly wouldn’t be worth your while to try and water your garden. Or put the washing machine on. It would take you all day.
Using the tap analogy, when selecting a satellite internet package, you need to consider what you want to use your internet connection for.
You could try and have an online meeting or stream your favourite Netflix series one frame at a time, but the constant buffering would make the experience frustrating, to say the least.
Just as stronger water pressure delivers a higher volume of water in a shorter period of time, a higher bandwidth offers a faster Internet connection that delivers more data in a shorter time.
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DID YOU KNOW A ping is not a reliable test for connectivity or speed. The reason for this is that a Satellite is based in a geostationary orbit approximately 36,000 km above the equator. Due to the distance it has to cover, it will normally take approximately 600ms. Added to this, a ping is classified as low priority command by networks. This means that all other applications will be processed before the ping command! As there is no acceleration applied to the ping command, this can sometimes cause increased ping times or even a ‘time out’ – making it an undependable speed test. |
MorClick Satellite Internet Solutions have customised packages designed to prioritise data to suit the needs of your household and/or business. Our packages deliver the most appropriate, best-effort bandwidth options available to suit your needs.
Find out more about how satellite internet works here.
