Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : ViaSat -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (713)	10/16/2000 9:18:49 PM
From: Valueman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1112

The broadband service providers like Gilat use assumptions as to how many subs will be online at any given moment, and how many of those will be actually in need of bandwidth. That is how Gilat came up with an initial figure of 20,000 to 25,000 subs/transponder. I don't know the exact figures but it was something like 10% online, and 10% needing bandwidth at any given time. That is a guess on my part. Well, Gilat found that the subs were online more often(I seem to recall 15% were online at any given time, and that was a surprise???), and desiring bandwidth more often than they expected(Napster is banned). So, they now get 7,500 subs per transponder. Gilat will guarantee only 150 kbps. So, not sure how they mix all those figures together and come up with the numbers they do, but perhaps you might know? A typical Ku band transponder these days can do about 45 Mbps. The whole of a satellite like Telstar 5 would do 1.2 Gbps. The WildBlue sats are on order of 6-7 Gbps, as are the Astrolink sats. A ViaSat designed system could do on order of 20-40 Gbps in Ka-band, according to ViaSat, or 12-15 Gbps in Ku-band. They simply need to talk someone into deploying it! Interestingly enough, Hughes now claims the exact same number as Gilat initially claimed, that is 20-25K/transponder, in their two way DirecPC discussions. I don't believe them either, especially with their one way DirecPC record on limiting bandwidth to users.