TRY SPRINT BROADBAND BEFORE COMITTING TO HUGHESNET

While my satellite speeds were 350-400k down / 80k up with satellite, EV-DO broadband has been prividing a consistent 500k-1.2m down / 250k up.  The wireless modem is a USB dongle (CDU-680) manufactured by Franklin.   Networking can be easily done with an MBR-400 router designed to accomodate the CDU-680.  It is very EchoLink friendly and has been working great since the switchover.

Sprint broadband service availability can done check by clicking HERE.   If service is available, don't sign a contract with Sprint.  Call Millenicom or visit their website at Millenicom before signing with Sprint or being disappointed with Hughesnet.

Questions about using Direcway and Echolink?
The good, bad, & ugly of it all.

Does EchoLink work with Direcway Satellite Service?
Yes, but....

You'll need to upgrade to the "Pro" subscription in lieu of the Consumer Edition (CE) for $59/mo. The Pro service gives you a static IP with access to ALL ports that you'll need for EchoLink. CE service package does NOT.   EchoLink will NOT work with the CE package thanks to DirecWay's NAT structure that limits ports utilized in VOIP and other applications. You can try EchoProxy with the CE package and avoid the extra $30/month for a static IP address but you may find it disappointing.

If you're planning on using DirecWay to serve as an active simplex node or repeater, you will able to do this with the NEW HN7000 modem although you'll still be victim to low bandwidth from time to time depending on weather or if Hughes decides to throttle back your bandwidth.  On many occasions, upload bandwidth issues will only leave you frustrated. Until Hughesnet can guarantee upload speeds, it remains short of being EchoLink reliable.

If you haven't upgraded to the latest statellite modem or don't intend to, YOU WILL HAVE MORE RELIABILITY WITH A DIAL-UP CONNECTION. 

You WILL BE FRUSTRATED with slow upload speeds that are NOT weather related contrary to what DirecWay's Tech Support team will offer as an excuse for their poor service. Yes, weather will play a factor from time to time. Rain fade will shut you down during a good downpour.  You will learn quickly that Mothernature is not a supporter of satellite services and that Hughesnet is never accountable for their side of providing you acceptable service.

From what I've experienced, when connectivity speeds are good, both up and down, Hughesnet works very well. Latency has never been a problem with communicating via Echolink. You will encounter stray VoIP packets coming back at weird times and out of sequence but it doesn't happen enough to make the Hughesnet unusable with EchoLink.  Setting your network buffer on the high end tends to alleviate some of the problem.  Packet loss is inevitable so your VoIP stream WILL be comprimised.  Its not perfect, but it does work.

If you are hoping to sponsor a Conference Server via DirecWay, you WILL have issues.  Keep in mind that Hughesnet limits your upload bandwidth and reliability is fair at best.  You can also thank Hughesnet for their Fair Access Policy (FAP) which limits how much bandwidth you can use during a specified time period.  Hughesnet will not hesitate to throttle you back to a snail's crawl if you go beyond your allotted bandwidth usage. If you are throttled back by the FAP, you might as well keep your computer off for 24hours and save yourself the frustration.  You could carry a 5 gallon bucket of  Zero's and One's from Gathersburg, Maryland to your home QTH faster than Hughesnet will give it to you via satellite.

As an offered word of advice, be sure thaHughsnet is your ONLY option as an alternative to broadband. A good land based wireless solution wins many times over the frustrations you'll have with Hughesnet.  You may also want to explore a wireless solution with your local cell phone provider as another option.

73,

Curt - K1CV
Node #4111
via DirecWay