By Les Freed and Frank J. Derfler, Jr,
PC Magazine

April 22, 1999

Satellite systems go a long way to get around the last mile, but they'll work where no other fast Internet connection alternative is available, provided you have an unblocked view of the southern sky and are willing to use a regular phone line for uploads via analog modem.

Hughes Network Systems' DirecPC, the only practical consumer Internet satellite system available right now, sends your download data streaming through space at a maximum speed of 400 Kbps. We found that the service is reliable and that a new USB receiver makes installation a snap if you have the right connections and operating system in your PC.

The Hughes DirecPC system has been on the market for over two years, but Hughes originally gave the service a complex pricing scheme that killed its acceptance. DirecPC 2.0, now available through retail outlets, has pricing you can understand. At the time of testing, we could buy the DirecPC dish and PC Card receiver for about $200 out-of-pocket after rebates. The company offers three levels of service: $29.99 per month for 25 hours, $49.99 for 100 hours per month, and $129.99 for 200 hours per month. If you go over your monthly time limit, you pay $1.99 for each additional hour. When you compare these prices with those of other services, it's important to note that the charges now include ISP service and an e-mail account (four e-mail accounts if you pay the $129.99 monthly fee).

The DirecPC system works by downloading Web data through the satellite at high speed while uploading through a traditional dial-up modem and telephone line. The DirecPC driver software separates your incoming and outgoing IP traffic and routes it over the appropriate path. The limitations on usage time apply to the dial-up link.

Some applications, such as Domain Name Server lookup and some e-mail applications, can't tolerate the split Earth/space path, so you can use the setup program to route some specific IP functions only over the ground path. Interestingly, our Ziff-Davis corporate VPN software worked fine across the split path, so DirecPC is a viable alternative for corporate remote access.

Like @Home, DirecPC has suffered some abuse. The company found that a small percentage of users were downloading more than 10GB of data per month. This heavy drain limits the available throughput for others, so the company developed what is called a Fair Access Policy. Throttling software kicks in to limit downloads exceeding an unpublished set of parameters.

Epoch Networks provides the ISP upload access for DirecPC. This major ISP has a long list of local access numbers. If you don't want access through Epoch -- perhaps you have a local ISP with more connection numbers or no toll charges -- you can use any ISP except AOL, CompuServe and Prodigy for the ground connection. You'll find, however, that you'll have to reconfigure options in your ISP's client software.

Applications bundled with DirecPC provide an off-line reader for popular sites such as ABC News, The Weather Channel, USA Today, ZDNet, and many others. These downloads take place through the satellite receiver during off-peak hours.

There are two versions of the DirecPC receiver: a PCI card and an external USB box the size of an analog modem. If your PC has a USB port and your operating system works with USB, like Windows 98, then the USB device is a better choice, because it's much easier to install. The PCI receiver card requires a PCI slot, but it operates with Windows 95/98 or NT. We installed the receiver drivers under both Windows 98 and NT 4.0 on 233-MHz and 333-MHz PCs.

The DirecPC dish is slightly larger and more oval-shaped than the DirecTV dish you see on many homes. You can add DirecTV to the DirecPC dish (but not the other way around) in a combination called DirecDuo. DirecDuo sells for a list price of $499 if you already own the DirecTV satellite receiver and you want to add on the DirecPC. If you are starting with nothing, the list price is between $799 and $899 for DirecDuo. Various rebates and deals are common.

We did a do-it-yourself installation and had a professional installation done in another location. If you would consider putting up your own ceiling fan, you could handle the dish installation. But don't count on simply pointing the dish out a window toward the south. You need a clear view of a very specific spot in the southern sky that you'll find with a compass and specific instructions. The professional installation took several hours, including the time needed for a pole to set in concrete, but it went without a glitch. Placing the antenna is the biggest challenge in installing DirecPC.

DirecPC suffers by comparison in most throughput tests because of the time needed to travel over the space link. The minimal built-in time for a ping request is 400 to 600 ms. Interactive tests like Any Speed show terrible results. Satellites are best for streaming downloads such as big files and graphics. Sustained speeds of about 225 Kbps were typical with big files.

The new DirecPC 2.0 pricing scheme has turned this Internet satellite service around by 180 degrees. It's fast, useful, and affordable.

Copyright 1999