About WildBlue

About WildBlue : A general overview of the product & service.

           ~~~   WildBlue is the first Ka-band 'spot beam' satellite broadband service to be offered to consumers. ~~~

          That spot beam technology is a big part of what seperates WildBlue from it's competitors. According to WildBlue, the use of spot beams will be an increase service capacity by four to six times over the conventional Ku-band satellites currently being used by other satellite internet providers. This increased service should translate to lower service costs to end users.

          Also potentially lowering costs to consumers is WildBlues hardware development, which is being based on the cable industries tried and true "DOCSIS" (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) technology. Using DOCSIS, WildBlue can make use of existing hardware, chipsets, and more. Though DOCSIS will have to be adapted for WildBlues service, the end results should hold much potential.

          Wild Blue uses The Canadian-built Anik F2 satellite (successfully launched on July 17th 2005). With its 52 Ka-band (30 Ghz) transponders at 111.1 degrees, consumers with mini dishes will be able to receive both broadband Internet and satellite television from DirecTV or EchoStar's DISH Network. Wild Blue reportedly leases 30 of the 45 Ka band transponders on F-2 for 2-way internet access. When they get their own satellite (WildBlue-1) launched, WildBlue will reportedly use Anik F2 as a back-up.

Rendition of satellite "WildBlue-1" (Formerly "iSky" and "KaStar") Above picture shows how WB'S spot beam coverage is layed out.
Names were changed from iSky to KaStar in 1999 & to WildBlue-1 in Sept. 2000. ClickHERE to download a spot beam coverage animation video.

WildBlue uses a 28"x26" mini-dish and external satellite modem to bring their service to customers. The modem connects to a PC or Mac

much the same way a cable or DSL modem would, via the RJ-45/ethernet port of a networking card. Pictured below is the modem & dish.

Pictured (above) is the WildBlue

mini-dish and WildBlue modem.

Shown (right) is an animation
displaying how the WildBlue
system / service is designed to
work. Move your mouse over
the various elements of the
system for a description on
how that partictular item works.

The WildBlue mini-dish is light weight, so it can be mounted in a variety of ways. Pole mount, roof mount, and wall mount are the
available mounting surfaces. Pole mount is where the dish is mounted atop a stand-alone pole in your yard. A 2 3/8 inch outer-
diameter pole is recommended for this. (2 3/8 OD is the same type of pole used typically with chain-link fences. They're ideal for
satellite dishes too, because they are very strong & rigid.) A 2 inch O.D. pole (typically used for electrical conduit) is often used
instead, as they cost about $30. less to purchase. They are acceptable .. especially when filled with concrete .. just not ideal. The
WildBlue dish has a 2 inch I.D. mounting hole, so it fits easily on a 2 inch O.D. pole. When mounted on a 2 3/8 O.D. pole, a special
adapter is used to make the two fit together. Since the WildBlue dish is fairly light weight, it can be roof or wall mounted too. The
same mount is used for both. It's just oriented differently depending on the application. Pictured below are some examples of these.

Dish mounted on 2in O.D. Pole 2 3/8 O.D. to 2in O.D. Adapter Dish mounted on roof top WildBlue Roof & Wall Mount

Indoor hardware consists of the WildBlue modem and power supply. The modem is about the size of any standard cable-modem.
It measures roughly 9 1/2 inches high, 8 1/2 inches deep, and 1 3/4 inches wide. The power supply is fairly large, measuring
about 3 1/2 inches wide, 2 1/2 inches high, and 7 inches deep. The various connections to the modem are done on the rear. Top
is the power, next down is the ethernet port, next is the receive cable from the ODU, and at the bottom is the transmit cable.

Front / Side WildBlue Modem Top-down view of Power Supply Rear view of WildBlue Modem

WildBlue currently uses the Anik-F2 satellite to deliver it's satellite internet service. Below are some pics and info on this satellite.

                 Anik F2

Satellite Type :    Boeing 702
Weight :               5950 kg
Transponders :    38 Ka-Band
                             32 Ku-Band
                             24 C-Band
Launched :           July 17th, 2004
Vehicle :               Ariane 5G Rocket
Status :                 Operational
Service Life :        15 years

   To watch a QuickTime video of Telesat's
       Anik F2 satellite launch, click HERE.

     Other Video Downloads :
Download Anik F2 Construction Video HERE
Download Anik F2 Deployment Anim HERE
Download Anik F2 Applications Video HERE

Artists rendition of the Anik F2 Vibration testing

Satellite testing in Kourou Encapsulation Preparation of Launch Vehicle Ready to Launch

Click on any of these thumbnail images to enlarge to full-size.

WildBlue is offering three different service/option packages for it's customers. These are the "Value Pak",
"Select Pak",and "Pro Pak". CLICK HERE for a list of prices and features for these different satellite internet packages.

Windows Media Video

Low Band High Band

The folks at WildBlue Corp put together a nice / short video for their satellite service.

This was put out to promote the system back before it was available.It shows the launch of Anik-F2, as well as some animations of spot-beam technology.

Click on the "Low Band" or "High Band" to the left to view the video. (Low band video is aprox. 1.6 Megs in size, High-Band video is aprox. 8.7 megs.)

These videos require Microsoft Media Player to view, and are about 3.5 minutes.