T&T: Direct TV Sat Change?

[Sean Welsh]

Bob Miller wrote:
> The DirecTV internet service, now called HughesNet, will not work on the
> boat. There is too much movement on the boat, even when it is tied to the
> dock. This is because the antenna is not stabilized. Also, the HughesNet
> antenna must be installed by a licensed installer since it is a transmitter
> (sends a signal to the satellite) and FCC requires licensed installers for
> this type of transmitter. 
>   
That's actually a myth.  The FCC has no such requirement.  What the FCC 
requires of satellite licensees is that they have a plan and mechanism 
in place to prevent "harmful interference."  It is completely up to the 
satellite licensee how they choose to implement such a plan.  (For a 
satellite system, the licensee is the company that owns or leases the 
birds, not the subscriber.)

HughesNet (which is, BTW, completely unrelated to DirecTV, and has been 
for many years) has chosen to meet this requirement by mandating that 
its fixed land earth stations be installed only by installers that 
HughesNet has "approved" (there is no such thing as a "license" for a 
VSAT earth station installer).  However, note that HughesNet has also 
approved some automated mounts, which, once installed by an "approved" 
installer, acquire the bird and negotiate the connection automatically.  
For land use (e.g. on an RV), one such mount is the DataStorm by 
MotoSat.  In principle, there is no reason why an automated, 
gyro-stabilized marine mount such as those used for, say, InMarSat, 
could not be approved for use with HughesNet within the territorial 
limits of the U.S.  Unfortunately, moving such a mount across ITU 
boundaries becomes a whole different can of worms.  AFAIK, HughesNet has 
never approved a marine mount, presumably due to simple economics: there 
is not enough potential revenue to put up with the headaches.

Incidentally, other consumer satellite providers, such as StarBand, have 
chosen to meet the non-interference requirement differently.  StarBand 
is happy to train consumer end-users to align their dishes by themselves.

It is interesting to note, BTW, that notwithstanding HughesNet's stated 
policy of "approved installers only," there are perhaps half a dozen 
companies selling portable mounts for HughesNet dishes and training 
consumers to align the dishes.  Despite dire warnings that HughesNet 
would disconnect anyone caught doing this, it has never happened to my 
knowledge, and they have, instead, taken a look-the-other-way approach 
as long as the revenue continues to come in from that subscriber.  Of 
course, it could go without saying that you can't call HughesNet support 
to complain that you can't get your dish aligned properly, as all they 
will do is send an installer out to your address of record.

FWIW.

-Sean
(who is trained and approved by IntelSat, formerly PanAmSat, to install 
VSAT land earth stations in disaster areas, and is sending this message 
via HughesNet on a self-installed DataStorm)
http://OurOdyssey.BlogSpot.com