brand new service from starband!

[hobojoe]

this Sept starband is going to release a new modem making all the rest absolute in fact not useable after Jan 1 2007! i missed the conference on Friday but here's a link to the info http://www.spacenet.com/starbandnova/ sounds like a direct reply to the new hn7000s.

 

[HCI]

I can feel the pressure now. lol

 

[HCI]

A couple of things I see.

http://www.spacenet.com/starbandnova/faq.html


Do I still set my own installation price?

Yes, the installation price you set is between you and your customer and is 100% yours to keep. Per your dealer contract, you will be responsible for guaranteeing the warranty for ninety (90) days.


So Starband does not regulate installers so they can charge anything they want and only warranty for 90 day.

What happens to my existing 360 and 48X equipment?

You can continue to commission 360 and 48X equipment through the end of 2006. As of January 1, 2007, commissioning of POE and BYOE systems for all 360, 480, 481R, 481T and 484 systems will be discontinued.

So if someone wants to buy a used system they will not turn it on.


Can I order a Nova showroom account?

Showroom accounts will be available for the new product but slightly different than StarBand’s current showroom process. Showroom accounts for the Nova Ultimate will be available for $199 for the equipment and a monthly recurring charge of $69.99 per month. Because we want you to spotlight the best service possible the Nova Pro will not be available as a showroom account.


This one really gets me. They want a customer to come in and see the best product so in the customers head that is what they expect. We all know their are retailers that will tell the customer this is what you get with the home plan.

In order to maintain your eligibility for the showroom discount, installs must be maintained at an average one system per month.


Boy they sure do set their goals high.

 

[hobojoe]

pretty scary! and all that equipment is going to be worth nothing in a mater of a couple months.

 

[animalhouse]

So I guess Starband will allow current 360 users a rebate/upgrade on the new equipment?

 

[hobojoe]

i think they will have to do something. I'm a dealer/installer the page you see is not public info yet. and they have not informed us on any current customer trade in options. by the way the 480/484 are old 360's they put a chip in and re-boxed for resale. so they have known for a while now they had a new system in the works. the 360 convertions with shipping cast them $50. not much of a investment to get them by until the new system. and in perfect timing with hn7000s release Aug 1!

 

[Stargazer]

Are they changing only the modem or are they changing the transmitter as well? I guess that old StarBand dish someone gave me will be no good for StarBand soon if they are changing the transmitter too. I would think that they would allow the old dishes to continue working. It is really easy to replace a modem vs. messing with the dish. Perhaps they will want the old modems back and if so I wonder what they would use them for.

If they do not swap the customers out for free then this will make a lot of customers angry. StarBand may try to charge a small fee and figure that would still be cheaper than switching to the competitor.

There must be a big increase in quality and speed and save on bandwidth if they are willing to spend this much money on new modems.

 

[hobojoe]

from the limited info we are getting the dish trans and lbn are the same. the modems will be phased out very quickly. commissioning of old units will end this fall. and full replacement buy spring 2007. both hn and sb have come to the conclusion that there bandwith must be dealt with. the cellular air cards are killing them along with dsl growing rapidly into there service areas. there customer growth potential is shinking quickly. before you just had dial up or sat that's was it. i really think they will have to improve service to continue. its a pity dish and directv have not come to the same conclusion yet. they will have to improve some how. or cable will try and run them over also. i do see partnerships shaping the future to give us total entertainment and communication. such as att is doing. i don't however know if its for our own good or bad.

 

[Stargazer]

If they would drop the price that would help. I have been hearing more about the cellular air cards. Do they only provide the broadband in certain cities or do they work in areas where you can do the instant messaging and so forth in the Verizon areas? I live about 3-5 air miles from an interstate and a tower so I would think that if I put an outdoor cell phone antenna up that I would be able to get the service if they would offer it where I am at (in the country where there is no internet available yet).

 

[hobojoe]

the sierra air card is the only one i know of that can connect a external antenna. they will work any where you have cell service for that company. its more so faster and slower areas. some places get up to 1.5mb others way out dial up. they will give you 30 days to see if it works for you. the maps they have are mostly inaccurate. pricing is like cingular unlimited at $60 mo so close to sat prices. but much more portable for laptops. hn just added another Laval of service. $80 for 1.5mb down 200+up. and there office plan is now 10% cheaper. i think the price war will really heat up this fall.

 

[His Self]

Is there anything new in the way of information regarding existing StarBand 360 customers & fees for upgrading to the new Nova series ?
I do like my 360, however to date, networking it has been a royal pain and I still have not managed to get it to work with XP x64 Bit . I paid high for a brand new StarBand 360 equipment & install 18 months ago. A small fee for upgrading is tolerable... however anything over $200. will be difficult to swallow..
...and yes where I am, StarBand has been my only option for decent internet service... We no longer even have a land-line phone and there is no cable within miles of us..

 

[bajadudes]

There is no formal upgrade path but you will get a $100 rebate off the $299 cost of the Nova series modem when you mail in your 360. They don't like to tell you that but it's in the fine print of your contract and any dealer that sells you a Nova modem should fight for you and make sure you get it.

Are you pointed to T-7 with vertical polarity? It would be a simple modem swap if you were. Even if you were not vertical but currently pointed at T-7 (AKA IA-7) it is easy to flip the polarity on your antenna. If you are currently pointed at GE-4 you would need to re-point to AMC-6 or T-7 for the $129 a month service or T-7 only for the $49 a month service.

If you need to re-point it's not hard and you can get complete instructions on how to get certified on my website so you can do it yourself. Getting certified to do your own install is free.

 

[bajadudes]

Tate,

Not all dealers gaurantee their install for only 90 day's. We gaurantee ours for one year and offer a 30 days no question asked money back gaurantee on the equipment. I personally like that they let the dealer/installer set their own price.

BTW I am sure there are dishonest dealers that will bait and switch, consumer beware.

If you sell 5 or more per month you get the showroom account free. What's so bad about half price if you sell one per month? They had to do something because it is easy to become a dealer and everyone would try for the half price deal. It keeps the riff raff and non performing/inactive dealers down.

 

[His Self]

Yes I am on T-7 :
Magnetic Azimuth 246.0
True Azimuth 240.0
Elevation 26.0
Skew 46.0

In June 2005, this was the ONLY internet satellite I had a clear line of sight on and it took clearing 1/2 dozen large beech & oak trees to get it..

I live in mountains of rural Northeast Tennessee on 4 acres, most of it woods... Only thing I dislike about where I live is lack of decent communication signals..

Thanks again..

 

[bajadudes]

ok it's good you are already pointed at T-7 so even if you are not on vertical polarity it's an easy thing to flip on your own. if you let me know your cluster assignment we can determine polarity from that.

Good luck