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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.      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.                                                           Alike many aspects of the WildBlue product, the actual performance & stability of the system will                                                          only be known for certain after it's in consumers hands for a while. Currently though users are                                                          seeing downstream speeds in the range WildBlue advertises. Upstream speeds too have been coming                                                          close to the advertised numbers.                                                                                                                                 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.        WildBlue is currently set to use the Anik-F2 satellite to deliver it's satellite internet service. Below are some pics and info on this satellite.

Above picture shows how spot beam coverage is layed out. Click HERE  to download a spot beam coverage animation video.

Rendition of satellite "WildBlue-1" (Formerly "iSky" and "KaStar")   Names were changed from iSky to KaStar in 1999 & to WildBlue-1 in Sept. 2000.

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.

WildBlue uses the Ka frequencies, 20 and 30 GHz, employing a single geostationary (GEO) earth orbit satellite. (A satellite that is stationed in a fixed position over the earth). This will allow high-speed Internet access nationwide with just one satellite in place. Currently WildBlue uses the one Anik-F2 satellite, but plans to later launch satellite WildBlue-1 to increase the coverage areas for their service.

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 3min. and 30sec. in length.