Find ISP by satellite?

[oxi]

Hello, total noob here...

Useless intro you may ignore:

I live in Spain but planning to stay in Cuba for several months. Internet access is severely restricted and a luxury rather than a right. I'd gladly pay the some $7-14 per hour for that lame bandwidth rates and limits if at least I were allowed to connect my own computer. Last time I was there I relied on GPRS at a crappy rate and 10eur per Mb,and that's way to expensive for almost any purpose other than browsing through a text-mode web browser for a bit of info now and then. I really need to have Internet access there for my work, so my only option is to use satellite Internet and hope I won't be caught with my sat equipment during the customs check at arrival.(No, I won't take the dish with me. I'd rather try to find one there or build it myself, I did have a look at this already, but first steps first!)

So, since I have zero experience with satellites I thought I'd look into some common satellites that will work here while I'm learning and testing, and there so I can set it up right away once I get there. Plus since sat ISP apparently have several months to yearly contracts I'd just like to hire one that is going to work in both places, and avoid having to hire two ISPs, one for my learning, one for my staying there.

I looked in satbeams.com and found 3 sats that will apparently offer Internet service in both zones. However I can't seem to find ISPs that will clearly state that use these sats. These sats are:

• intelsat 903
• intelsat 1r
• intelsat 9

Bunch of questions:

1. I noticed these sats can be reached from within these two zones, i.e. Spain and Cuba. However, they seem to differentiate the zones apart in the maps. Would this mean they use a different set of transponders for each zone? And if so, would the ISP offer the service for both zones in a single contract or I would need to make two contracts?
2. Mainly, how do I find ISPs who use these satellites? Am I aiming for the impossible and should just look for sat ISPs that perhaps offer the service over several world zones under the same contract, no matter the satellites they use? Does such ISPs actually exist?
3. As far as I understand, I need a ku-band (around ~1m) ready dish, a ku-band BUC, ku-band LNB, and a modem (are they specific to ku-band?) Am I missing something?
4. Will I be able to use the same modem (regardless of whether they're specifically built for ku-band or whatever, which I just don't know at the moment) for several different ISPs and satellites? I mean, do they have general settings you can set to "tune" in the ISP/sat or are they ISP/sat specific and can't be used with others?
5. Being a foreigner, can I hire a US ISP? I went through the process forms and they were asking for US zip codes...

Really willing to LEARN
Thank you very much in advance

 

[grohgreg]

The first thing to do is to obtain a complete list of 2-way satellite internet providers in Spain. The link I provided is only a partial list. For example, I noticed providers like Bentley-Walker and WAFA aren't on it. Then narrow the list down to those who provide Ku-band. Contact them individually regarding the rest of your questions. I'd say generally - if there even is such a thing as a common transponder for both locations - that you'd have to come up with a 1.2 or 1.8m dish on the Cuba end.

I'd also suggest asking here.

//greg//

 

[oxi]

Thank you, Greg for your help

I took a look into those ISPs on the list as well as the ones you suggested. Quantis seems to be the only one that clearly states their quotes and suited for personal use. They also have another website geared towards international customers, offering the services in south America too, so I might contact them with my questions. I'll be cross-posting my questions in the forum you kindly suggested as well. Thanks again.

Regards,
oxi

 

[KE4EST]

to SatelliteGuys Oxi!

 

[oxi]

Thank you ke4est