Using Wildblue for Phone Service?

[Lohrens]

Having just been screwed by Embarq, for the last time, I am going to change my "regular" phone service provider. That means land-line service.

I also have a cheap Tracfone Cell and that works just fine. .... Meaning that it is extremely inexpensive.

How can I use Wildblue's Internet Connection to piggy-back with a phone??? Must be possible ??? .... but I cannot find a (simple) answer. I am told that I can do it with Vonage but there are issues with Upload capacity ???

The alternative, of course, would be to go for a low-cost land-line supplier. But would I still pay the Embarq charges for maintenance etc etc.

[Doug Huffman]

VOIP of any sort does not work well for high latency.

[James E Vanderberg]

From the WB FAQ section: Do Voice-over-IP solutions work over my WildBlue service?

At this time, we do not transport VoIP traffic on the WildBlue network. This includes internet-based phone systems or voice connections over an instant messenger application.

The short answer is "no," you can't use internet telephony on WB (or the other satellite service, for that matter). As Doug said, latency is the problem.

[ChapelCharlie]

To put it very simply.... there is a lag time between what you say and when it is actually heard by the other end. That means that bits and pieces of your conversation will be lost or garbled.

[WB Steve]

We do not support VoIP services on our network. The sound quality would not be very good. It might be cell phone quality at best, and you would probably have delay between when you speak and when they hear you (and vice versa). I'd recommend you get a landline for your home phone service.

Having just been screwed by Embarq, for the last time, I am going to change my "regular" phone service provider. That means land-line service.

I also have a cheap Tracfone Cell and that works just fine. .... Meaning that it is extremely inexpensive.

How can I use Wildblue's Internet Connection to piggy-back with a phone??? Must be possible ??? .... but I cannot find a (simple) answer. I am told that I can do it with Vonage but there are issues with Upload capacity ???

The alternative, of course, would be to go for a low-cost land-line supplier. But would I still pay the Embarq charges for maintenance etc etc.

[quarryman3]

here is a data point.....

pro pack, wiredskies router...

educating folks i voice with about simplex radio..... 'over'

when the satellite is NOT saturated i typically have a clean, clear
connection for voip.

whenever i get a choppy or echoing connection, i hang up and dial again.

d/l is never a problem, i can always hear the other party....

it IS the u/l speeds that seem to dictate whether a voip session will
be successful or not.

part of the key in getting voip to work over ANY satellite (in the normal home user range of monthly costs $$$) is using an efficient compression codec.

the proprietary codec that wiredskies employs seems to do this....
however, they appear to have issues with QA and QC on their hardware.

throughput not bandwidth is the 'fly in the ointment'.

the above statements are NOT an endorsement for wiredskies... they are simply a data point from my own personal observations.

[micwa]

The only way to make the latency better would be to launch satellites in low-earth orbit, less than a twentieth of a second away at light speed as opposed to the half second needed to reach geostationary orbit; thus doesn't has as far to travel. Phone service may be a little better.

But that's expensive, and not likely.

[Doug Huffman]

The only way to make the latency better would be to launch satellites in low-earth orbit, less than a twentieth of a second away at light speed as opposed to the half second needed to reach geostationary orbit; thus doesn't has as far to travel. Phone service may be a little better.

But that's expensive, and not likely.

Already been done and failed - IRIDIUM. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_Satellite_LLC

[micwa]

Doug, looks like another company is going to give it try. Will be interesting to see the results.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O3b

[BlueMoods]

Though not supported, I do use messenger voice chat with little problem. A slight delay but not garbled. Phone on the other hand - I hear them but they cannot hear me well, as if the volume is too low even if it's maxed.