I'm a french guy living in Ecuador; next month we shall start RVing part time in the USA.
To keep in touch with our local business, we need VOIP (SKYPE). If I've well understood, satellite connection is not operational for VOIP due to the structural latency delay. Am I right? So, the only way is the air card despite the fact that in the boonies (just where we like to go!)sometimes we will be without signal. Therefore, I must look for the set up giving the best reception possible (ie air card, router, external antenna and amplifier). Does it mean that I have to forget the use of a smartphone as a modem?
Another point is the unlimited data. Is it so that Sprint and Alltel offer a real unlimited monthly quantity of data and Verizon has a 5GB limit?

The only carrier with unlimited EVDO is Alltel. There are a few commercial members that frequent these forums that can help you get the equipment you need.

quote:

Originally posted by AF593:
I'm a french guy living in Ecuador; next month we shall start RVing part time in the USA.
To keep in touch with our local business, we need VOIP (SKYPE). If I've well understood, satellite connection is not operational for VOIP due to the structural latency delay. Am I right? So, the only way is the air card despite the fact that in the boonies (just where we like to go!)sometimes we will be without signal. Therefore, I must look for the set up giving the best reception possible (ie air card, router, external antenna and amplifier). Does it mean that I have to forget the use of a smartphone as a modem?
Another point is the unlimited data. Is it so that Sprint and Alltel offer a real unlimited monthly quantity of data and Verizon has a 5GB limit?

I have used Skype on occasion with my Verizon Air Card. When the cellular signal is marginal, you are in a non-broadband area or a roaming area, Skype can be almost unusable. Sometimes the cellular connection appears to operate in the burst mode which makes Skype unusable. I don’t think Skype over an air card is a good idea.

You should be able to use Skype with the Hughes or Starband satellite internet systems. The delay is annoying but workable. If you are calling the same people on a regular basis you/they will get used to the delay. You have to use the service like a 2-way radio as you cannot have 2 people talking at the same time. Early on saying "over" when you are done speaking helps. With time both parties will get used to the delay. There will certainly be days where the service will not be up-to-par, but for the most part you should find the service to be acceptable. Get the highest level of service you can afford to improve your upload speeds and the service gets even better.

This is my second attempt at answering this since our Verizon Air card is a bit fickled today and keeps dropping the signal!
I agree with NYLES regarding Skype. We purchased our card specifically to be able to use Skype. We are in a fringe area and No Broadband. Skype voice is useless, although the IM program is OK. We have had some luck using Skype at campgrounds that have a strong Wi Fi signal. During the 2 months of owning the Verizon Air Card, we have never come close to going over the 5 GB limit.

Thanks a lot for your info.
Nyles and Juggernaut,I was very surprised by your experiences because I use Skype without problems with a local aircard in my hacienda in the middle of nowhere where my Motorola cell phone RAZR 3i is just limit limit. How to understand these two very different experiences?
An hypothesis: may be the explanation has to be found in the system used by the carrier? Verizon is using a quite modern and fast transmission system and here in Ecuador, we are stuck to the old GSM.Could it be that in fringe area without broadband, Skype is not workable with Verizon? Knowing that in bad reception GSM areas it works well?

We use Verizon Aircard and Skype, vverevvolf_Tom if you want to try it and see for yourself, we have very few problems and latency with it.

As far as we know, the word on the street is AT & T has better universal coverage on the whole, with Verizon coming in second.

The 5GB limit is true and we have busted that twice in the 8 months we have been using it, but we conduct all are business online, manage 5 websites and so our use is much greater than most people.

We have done both Hughes and Wildblue, and prefer the aircard.

If you only park in areas with broadband coverage by your provider, Skype will work fine on an air card. If your coverage is roaming or you do not have broadband coverage, Skype will not give you satisfactory service on your air card. I park for periods in Dallas with Broadband coverage by Verizon (I use Verizon). Additionally, I use an external antenna and 3-watt amplifier. Skype, in this case, works fine. I assume you are going to be travelling. You will frequently encounter parks that are not in a Broadband coverage area. When you do, Skype will not function reliably over your air card.

I use Hughes satellite everywhere I go and just signed up with sun-isp.com for VoIP service on my Hughes connection. The voice is clear, though there is some latency when voice is going out, but hardly any coming in. That's because with Hughes, the upload is always much slower than the download. sun-isp uses a technology that compresses much better than Vonage or other VoIP technologies; it's designed especially for satellite connections. The VoIP box runs about $80 and the service is $16/mo for unlimited US and Canada calls. That includes voice mail, 3-way calling, call forwarding, caller ID, yadda, yadda, yadda.

The one issue I haven't found out about yet, because I haven't made enough calls, is how much phone time puts me into FAP violation - that is when does my phone time use up my alloted thoughput for the day. Don't know that yet. I can always upgrade my Hughes service to get more FAP, though.

It would be great if you could post this information (with as much detail as possible) about your experience with this sun-isp service at www.datastormusers.com . Satellite internet users have had mixed results with Skype (mostly successful) but there's got to be a better mousetrap!

I'll look up the site and see where I can post it after I've had a few calls with it. I've got one today. *fingers crossed* Boy, I still envy having one of your dishes on my 5er rooftop, Bill. Ever since my wife and I ran into you two in Eugene a couple years ago. I was in Harrisburg the last month and talked with a guy using a motosat dish on his motorhome who had tried skype, unsuccessfully. That's when I went hunting and found sun-isp. The sun-isp folks have a Grandstream HandyTone router. I'm using a single-line 486. I'll look at the datastorm users site. Haven't been there for a while.

I've had two involved phone calls with my clients over the last couple days - one lasting 34 minutes and the other about 15 minutes. The other end reported very good sound quality; it was as good or better than cell quality on my end. The delay required patience and an understanding by both parties, but it went well. The 34 minute call took about 20MB of throughput up and down (mostly I listened); the other call took less than 10 MB. Both according to my usage log at Hughes.

What would really be neat to see is a side by side comparison of how well Skype works on the Hughesnet & Starband packages available.

I would guess that the cheapest packages for either might be marginal. But the higher end packages, with more speed and bandwidth may do better. There would still be latency, no way around that, but the quality may improve with the higher end packages.

Regardless of which company, I seem to end up in the $110-$120/mo price range for my typical usage, which smarts just a bit. So for now, I'm still watching, mostly to see there will be one of the big aircard setups that will allow a plan over 5GB/mo. So far, my typical usage is about twice that.

Watching with interest...

Brian

Brian, get two cards. :-)

I wouldn't depend on anything continuing to work over Hughes if I really depended on it. Look back at the Vonage mess, one day it worked for everyone and over a couple weeks it quit working for almost everyone. No reason, no fix, just kapoot you can't make a call.

Thanks Stan.

Now, if I do go that way, 2 cards that is, how would be the most practical way to balance the usage between the two of them?

I'd probably be running through a router (maybe something like a KR1 type thing, but I'd certainly be open to suggestion at the time). To be practical, rather than plugging and unplugging, plugging and unplugging, plugging and unplugging, etc., would it be better to have two routers that would simply get turned on and off at say weekly intervals? maybe on a timer?

The concept of splitting the time between two is simple. Just not sure how to actually execute that efficiently.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Brian