Vonage on HughesNet…need test call |

Vonage on HughesNet…need test call

Russ,

I’m an engineer with VoIP hw/sw experience.
I’ve used HughNet for many years via a MotoSAT RV dish with various VoIP solutions.

I’m also a very happy, long time Vonage customer with two different Vonage ATAs under my belt. My home only has Vonage phone service (this after years of testing one vonage line and one pots line).

The main issue with VoIP via a Sat internet connection is the codec being used by the ATA and service provider (Vonage, .., ..).

The codec is software in the ATA that is responsible for encoding and decoding your voice as it is sent and received over the internet.

Codecs exist that support calls via sat internet connectionsj (not an easy task). The codec must be designed to handle longer delays that exist in sat communications and reduced bandwidth.

HughNet for additional $$$ can offer greater bandwidth.
However, they can not over come the time delays induced when network traffic must travel 25K miles up and 25K miles down from space. This is why the right codec is critical for sat communications.

The best "public" codec for this purpose (I believe) is g.729ab.
Private codecs exist that are as good or better then g.729 for this purpose. For example, HughNet can provide a softphone for big dollars per min that provides SAT phone service via your laptop using a private codec.

To use the lower cost "public" g.729 codec, your ATA and your VoIP service provider (Vonage, …, …) must support the necessary g.729 codec.

Vonage per my limited testing does not currently support this codec or a private codec that works well over a sat connection.
Perhaps this has / will change in the future.

The Linksys ATA and Callcentric support the g.729ab codec, others may also provide this support. Using this setup, I was able to make daily calls during a one month test period from various remote locations using HughNet.

Two additional points -
1) Once you have VoIP working via HughNet, calls will have approx a 3-5 sec delay from the time something is said and the time it is heard. It’s not a normal phone connection.

2) HughNet restricts connection speeds when you exceed the usage allocation for the day. If you reach this limit (what Hughs calls fair use limits), calls are impossible and Internet is so slow, it was painful. It’s fairly easy to go over the basic daily allocation using the phone daily, surfing the web and doing email.

These two issues caused us to leave HughNet 6 mons ago and move to a Verizon CDMA cell modem with a 4 watt amp and high gain cell ant on our rv.

I was concerned this would not work in all remote areas but so far this has not been the case. On a three week cross country trip, in remote areas, we were able to reach distant cell towers, sometimes up to 60 miles away. Most locals believed the area did not have cell service and wondered how we were able to communicate. The trip was during serious winter weather - snow, freezing rain, heavy rain and wind.

I’ve had issues with HughNet in bad weather, tree cover in the forest and mountains blocking the skyline. Cloud cover, wind, and rain can cause problems with your weak transmission signal reaching the bird.

You must have a clear view in the right direction. The dish must be very stable, alignment is critical. It also helps to be assigned to the right HughNet bird (91W) for the USA.

USA locations may exist where cell service is not reachable and HughNet is the only possible option. This condition is getting harder
to find with the right cell hardware. So much so, that we replaced our extensive HughNet setup with cell hardware.

Stewart
Troop 173 (many, many years ago).

I run a large Scout Camp in a very remote location. We are looking at using Vonage and Hughes net business satellite for internet and VOIP. Yes I know there are issues, done the research, but I would really like to actually talk to someone over the phone who does this. Is anyone willing to call me or give me there number and I will call them.

Thanks much for your help

Russ Enloe
SSRLV Property Manager

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Vonage on HughesNet…need test call

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