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Wireless Internet

For those of you who need to use the internet and require a faster connection than can be achieved on mobiles, a satellite system which can connect to the internet may be ideal for you. It can be configured to work as a stand-alone internet system, or it can work in conjunction with a television screen to provide TV. As the satellites which provide television and internet signals are in different places, the system cannot connect to both of them at the same time, and the dish will need to move from one to the other. A further option is to use the internet as Wi-Fi, allowing you to use internet throughout the motorhome without a LAN connection.

If you want to receive an internet signal on your satellite dish, as well as or instead of a television signal, you will need a special modem to allow the connection to work. As the internet does not use the same satellite as the television does, a subscription to an internet provider is required, similar to those who provide internet to homes; however there are only 2 to choose from; Astra2connect and IPcopter.

Astra2connect

Astra2connect is the more commonly used of the 2 internet providers who give their signals to satellites. Whilst it is designed primarily for regions where people cannot get broadband signals, it functions perfectly when attached to a motorhome. In fact, the main advantage of the satellite internet is that the footprint, that is to say the area it covers, is much greater than the regular broadband coverage. Also, the speed provided can range from dial-up speeds to 0.5MB/s download speeds, with the monthly/yearly cost varying with the speed provided.

We would normally be using a Crystop 85cm Autosat system with the Astra2connect and IPcopter systems, the Astra2connect footprint is shown below.

The system is ideal for use in central Europe, however further south into Italy and Spain it reaches the edges of the footprint, and Southern Italy and Spain have no coverage at all.

The Astra2Connect subscription contract is for one year.

Service packages

Service Level	Inbound (to you) kbit/s	Outbound (from you) kbit/s	Monthly Download before Peak Time FUP* starts	Peak Time Maximum Speed limit
A2C 256	256	64	500MB	After 2 GB, 64kbit/s
A2C 512	512	96	800MB	After 3 GB, 6kkbits
A2C 1M	1024	128	1.4 GB	After 5 GB, 64kbits
A2C 2M	2048	128	2 GB	After 5 GB, 64kbits

*FUP = Fair Use Policy

Operating costs

Service Level Annual Contract	Pay By The Year Annual Payment inc. VAT	Monthly equivalent	Pay By The Month Monthly Payment inc vat	Paying Annually saves
A2C 256	£239.88	£19.99	£24.99	£60 (£5pm)
A2C 512	£359.88	£29.99	£34.99	£60 (£5pm)
A2C 1M	£479.88	£39.99	£44.99	£60 (£5pm)
A2C 2M	£899.88	£74.99	£84.99	£120 (£10pm)

IPcopter

Whereas Astra2connect can only reach Central Europe, IPcopter is ideal for Southern Europe and most of Scandinavia. Unlike Astra2connect, the system is available for 40 days a year, 100 days a year, or all throughout the year, meaning you won’t be paying for when you don’t use it.

Regular service packages

Service package	Outbound kbit/s	Inbound kbit/s	Days (per year)	Validity period	One-off payment (euros)	Daily equivalent (euros)
Nomadic Eco Flatrate 1 year	80	512	365	1 year	399.99	1.10
Nomadic Standard Flatrate 1 year	128	1024	365	1 year	599.99	1.64
Nomadic Executive Flatrate 1 year	128	2048	365	1 year	1243.55	3.41
Nomadic Standard 40 days	128	1024	40	1 year	210.00	5.25
Nomadic Standard 100 days	128	1024	100	2 years	355.00	3.55
Nomadic Executive 100 days	128	2048	100	2 years	695.00	6.95

There is a one-off installation fee of 169.50 Euros.

Please note that all information and prices are correct as of 1^st April 2010, and are subject to change without prior notice.

For more information, call us now on 01604 861 999