[afnog] seeking best VSAT connection providers for Africa

[Mark Tinka]

On Friday 25 June 2004 12:07, Dr Paulos Nyirenda wrote:
> Dear Badru Ntege,
>
> Thank you for your reply. We are looking for something more reliable than
> "best effort" services.

The Internet is generally 'best effort'; your network being as good/fast as 
your/the Internet's weakest link and all that... but I digress.

If it's reliability you are looking for, then as Brian L. mentioned, Teleglobe 
might be worth a call; however, ultimate reliability will mean one or more 
additional circuit(s) with a different provider.

Mark.

> We are looking for committed bandwidths of 2 mega 
> bits per second right now and upgradable within one year.
>
> Would be glad to hear more from you.
>
> Regards,
>
> Paulos
> ======================
> Dr Paulos B Nyirenda
> Malawi SDNP Coordinator
>
> On 25 Jun 2004 at 10:52, Badru Ntege <ntegeb at one2net.co.ug> wrote:
> > >1. IPPlanet,
> > >2. NewSkies,
> > >3. Verestar,
> > >4. SkyVision,
> > >5. Taide.
> >
> > You list the usual suspects these offer the standard SCPC ( single
> > Channel Per Carrier) or SCPC/DVB (Digital Video Broadcast)Hybrid. It's
> > tried and tested and works but still on the expensive side.
> >
> > A number of new standards have come up and some new suppliers like GT&T
> > are offering this service on the African subcontinent. The Equipment
> > costs are lower but depending on the supplier the quality may vary.
> >
> > This is due to the configuration, whereas on the SCPC platform you get
> > dedicated a channel for your uplink, the new DVB-RCS (Return Channel
> > Service) works on the basis of sharing the channel among a number of
> > other clients using TDMA.  Thus the reason for having proviso's like
> > "best effort" in the contracts.
> >
> > Depending on what you are looking for these new services become more cost
> > effective even for a small ISP, since the price deferential is quite
> > high.
> >
> > During my research I got an offer for 128k service best effort including
> > equipment for under 7,000 euros for an annual contract.
> >
> > >I guess it is necessary to highlight parameters for deciding what best
> > >refers to. These must include (a) price, (b) reliability, (c)
> > > flexibility, (d) support, (e) stability and such like items. >
> >
> > Looking at (a) I would say new services based on Idirect or DVB-RCS(
> > GT&T, Plenexus etc)
> >
> > For the rest you would be looking at the traditional carriers using
> > either C-band or KU band.
> >
> > If you let us know the exact application I might be able to advise you
> > better.
> >
> > Hope this helps.
>
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