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HughesNet Pushes Satellite For Broadband Backup

If you operate a business, how will you respond if your wireline broadband service fails? Do you have an adequate backup?

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This is a question many business owners are asking since last month’s massive outage of Comcast services. Millions of residential customers were effected, and thousands of businesses were crippled by the outage. It affected a large portion of the U.S., from east coast to west, and all Comcast services suffered: phone, TV, internet, and business services. Ironically, even the Down Detector failed.

(The Down Detector is an online service that tracks cable and satellite service outages. It tracks dozens of internet, video, phone, gaming, and social media services. It even monitors access to individual TV channels.)

Comcast blamed the outage on a fiber cut in a Manhattan system owned by one of its backbone ‘partners’. The incident affected both business and residential customers.

Can anything insure against lost connections?

HughesNet cited the Comcast outage as the type of catastrophic surprise businesses need to insure themselves against. And HughesNet says it has the solution.

HughesNet Network Solutions now offers a backup high-speed broadband service for such events. It will automatically switch users to satellite broadband when their terrestrial web connections fail. The backup service is under the name of HughesNet Internet Continuity. For a mere $39.99 per month, it insures against losses due to DSL, cable, or telecom down time.

With the backup system, the customer gets a WiFi modem, an antenna, a router, and a radio. Once the terrestrial network is restored, the HughesNet Continuity system switches back to it automatically.

The backup system operates at speeds of up to 25 MB/S for uploads, and 3 MB/S for downloads. These speeds meet the FCC definition of broadband.

The need for some sort of internet insurance has long been evident. As many as 90% of businesses have suffered at least one web service interruption. A third report facing an outage every month. Such outages can block access to critical systems.

At minimum, the service interruptions bring loss of revenue. In extreme cases, they can alienate customers and even force business closure.

 

(For the most reliable web connection, talk to Satellite Country. We can help.)

 

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Does Your ‘Smart TV’ Know Too Much About You?

Is your TV invading your privacy? As ‘smart TV‘ becomes ever more popular, government and private parties try ever harder to exploit it to spy on viewers. If you;re not careful, your privacy could be at risk.

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Last year, a malware app called ‘Weeping Angel” targeted Samsung smart TV sets with a ‘fake off’ mode. To their owners, the TVs appeared to be off, but they were actually listening to users and recording their conversations.

With their embedded computers and microphones, these advanced TV sets are effective spy tools, so much so that the CIA has created and deployed means for transforming them into listening posts. And Wikileaks, Julian Assange’s platform for publication of stolen documents, has published detailed descriptions of viruses designed for hacking of such TV sets. MI5, Britain’s internal intelligence service, is even alleged to have helped  in designing some of the viruses.

Should you be worried about this?

Experts in cyber-security say most people don’t need to worry about hacking of their TV sets.

Most forms of malware are meant for mass surveillance. The tools designed for hacking TV sets, though, are too difficult to use to be of much value to the casual hacker. Hence, they are typically reserved for targeting individuals. Unless you suspect that you have attracted the attention of professional spies, then, you probably don’t need to worry that your TV set will be used against you.

How can you protect yourself?

If you’re still worried that your smart TV set or other devices could be used against you, a few precautions will help.

First, avoid buying electronic devices from manufacturers known to be casual about online security. And if you don’t really need networked features, avoid buying devices which include them.

Alas, protecting your privacy may require sacrificing certain conveniences. These may include voice activation, or even your TV’s web connection. You can usually find these features on your device’s ‘settings’ menu.

To be absolutely sure the device can’t spy on you, you’ll need to disconnect it from the electrical grid. If the device is battery-powered, you may need to remove the batteries.

Should you avoid ‘smart TV’ altogether?

Be realistic about this. No matter how careful you are, privacy protection in a smart TV will never be absolute. The methods we’ve mentioned here can keep your electronic devices from recording or transmitting your conversations, but your smart TV could still track your viewing history. Advertisers pay heavily for this data, and ability to collect it is built into the device’s software.

For this, the only known solution is not to buy a smart TV in the first place..

 

(For the most reliable internet connection, contact Satellite Country. We can help.)

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BROADBAND FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Broadband service that works well enough for home use might not be adequate for business. This is especially true for businesses located in rural or suburban areas. Broadband options that are fast enough are usually expensive. More economical options might have data caps that are too tight. Some businesses find that they often exceed their data caps with ordinary business use, even though they never play interactive games or download video.

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HughesNet Business Internet

HUghesNet plans come with NO hard data limits. To be fair, they do come with data caps. If you exceed your allotment, your download speeds could be slowed.

If this is a concern for you, consider HughesNet Business Internet. It offers a strong connection and low cost for the amount of bandwidth. HughesNet commercial plans start at just $69.99 per month. All HughesNet commercial internet plans feature download speeds of 25 megabits per second (25 MB/S) and upload speeds of 3 MB/S. Data allotments range from 35 GB to 250 GB per month. The best business plan will meet the needs of more than ten heavy users.

With the Status Meter, you can track your data usage in real time. And HughesNet, unlike competing vendors, offers the option of purchasing tokens to restore speed by adding bandwidth. Other vendors add the tokens automatically, even if you don’t want them.

The FCC has rated HughesNet first among all internet service providers for reaching advertised speeds. That’s ALL internet providers, including fiber and cable.

Free WiFi Modem

A WiFi modem is included with every Gen5 plan. With the WiFi modem, you have two network options: 2.4 Gz and 5Gz. The 2.4 Gz network transmits over longer distances, and through walls. But it’s susceptible to interference. The 5 Gz band is best for newer devices, such as tablets and phones, because it can handle more data. It could lose signal strength, though, if your device is too far away from the modem.

Devices which stream a high volume of video should use the 5Gz band.

With the HughesNet Mobile App, you’ll have a WiFi gauge, so you can detect where the signal is strongest.

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A Few of the Ways Businesses Use HughesNet Business Internet

With HughesNet Business Internet, all commercial internet functions are practical. Order fulfillment. Inventory. E-mail. Negotiating with vendors. Churches use it for communicating with members, coordinating food aid, even computer training to help parishioners acquire job skills.

Almost any internet function you can imagine, HughesNet can handle. The only exception is interactive gaming.

 

To find out more about HughesNet Business Internet, contact Satellite Country. We provide TV and internet service everywhere in the U.S.

Talk to us. We can help.

 

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NIELSEN RATINGS REVAMPED

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Nielsen has been a TV god. From the dawn of the TV industry, the Nielsen Ratings were its gold standard of performance measures. They served electronic media whose programming and personnel decisions had previously been combinations of guesswork and voodoo. For an industry rife with superstition, the Nielsen system was the closest thing to science.

Like the Word of God from Mt. Sinai, the system’s judgements were absolute- and beyond appeal. Actors, talk show hosts, programming directors, and ad buyers lived or died by them. The ratings conferred wealth and fame for some; career death, financial ruin, and highly dreaded obscurity on others. Nobody in TV or advertising could afford to ignore the ratings.

The system is a dramatic improvement on all that came before. It’s far from perfect, though. Survey samples are skewed. In part, this is because participation is voluntary, and participants know they’re being surveyed. And the samples have always been small. In the beginning, the sample was only a few thousand households. Though Nielsen enlarges it once in a while, as late as November 2015 it was only 25, 000. It is now about 100,000.

The system worked well enough when only four networks (including PBS) competed for viewers. It became less reliable with cable channels multiplying, and the need for precision was greater than ever.

Other developments undermined the rating system. Viewers often ‘time-shifted’ their viewing with DVRs. With ever more viewers watching on tablets and smart phones, many were beyond the reach of the Nielsen system. TV also has to compete with internet browsers. The browsers track user interests and buying habits- and adapt targeted ads for them. Legacy TV systems couldn’t keep up.

The Nielsen Rating System was in danger of becoming obsolete. To survive, it needed to be revamped– dramatically and quickly.

Last month, AT&T stepped into the matter. The telecom forged a multi-year agreement with Nielsen to provide anonymous viewer data from DirecTV and U-Verse receivers and streaming apps. The new system will provide instantaneous data from more than 25 million subscribers, so it will be many times more accurate than the previous one.

A few months ago, Dish Network signed a similar contract with Nielsen.

For the first time, all concerned will truly understand what viewers want to watch. The difference will be especially dramatic for data from rural and less populous suburban areas, for which data from the original Nielsen system was especially erratic. It will be easier to track the performance of regional or specialty channels that currently attract limited audiences. And the new system will more easily detect when a specialty channel has potential to break into the mainstream.

(For TV or internet service, you need a reliable connection. To find the one that works best for you, talk to us. We can help.)

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TRUMP PRESIDENCY PREDICTED BY THE SIMPSONS

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Is Donald Trump’s election to the presidency a complete surprise? It was for most journalists. It may be for you. It isn’t for Matt Groening, the brain behind The Simpsons TV series, though. He predicted a Trump presidency fifteen years ago.

In 2001, Groening and his crew produced an episode in which Bart Simpson dreams about his future as an adult. The adult Bart, who wears a ponytail, sunglasses, and a Hawaiian shirt, is the lead singer and guitarist for an unsuccessful band. The band is so desperate, the few dive bars that will hire it pay only in popcorn shrimp.

In the extremity of his financial duress, Bart seeks help from the Federal Government. He visits the White House, where his sister Lisa is “America’s first straight female president”. This implies, of course, that the first female president was… eh, never mind. While Bart and Lisa are talking in the Oval Office,  Milhouse Van Houten, the Treasury Secretary, rushes in and tells Lisa that her predecessor, Donald Trump, left the country broke.

Maybe the actual Trump presidency will leave America in better fiscal condition. But we’re not making any predictions.

 

The Simpsons was not alone in predicting Trump’s presidency. Adam Corolla, a comedian who hosts a daily radio show and a weekly podcast, predicted it eight years ago. On his radio show, Corolla said, “He’s gonna be president in eight years. You understand that, everybody?” His co-cost, Theresa Strasser, groaned at this. Corolla repeated his assertion: “He’ll be president one day. It’ll be in our lifetime.”

Corolla’s not infallible. Strasser asked him, “Will he still have Melankia, or whatever her name is?” She obviously meant Melania, Trump’s third wife.

“Oh, no, no no”, Corolla said, “because she will have passed her 38th birthday.”

 

(To get the best internet connection, talk to us. We can help.)

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STUPIDITY & TECHNOLOGY

Is information technology making us stupid? As we rely more and more on mobile phones, tablets, and video streaming devices, are we thinking less? Are we less aware of our surroundings?

If we can believe a poll commissioned by WGBH Boston, stupidity may indeed be advancing as technology advances. The poll, with 622 adults participating, was conducted in late March. Nearly half- 49%- of those surveyed said that technological development fosters stupidity; 46% said it makes us smarter. Only 51% of Americans said the benefits outweigh the risks.

Younger respondents were more likely to link technological advance with stupidity. Millennials and Generation X (53% of each) were more likely than their elders to link technology with stupidity. Just 38% of those born before 1946 did so. Dr. Lee M Meringoff heads the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the WGBH poll. Meringoff said, “If you think young people are all in for technological revolution, think again. This national survey shows surprising differences among generations and their appreciation for innovation.”

Nearly three Americans out of four said technology improves education. A narrow majority (54%) said it makes us more productive. However, 71% said it makes us less human. And 54% said it undermines relationships with friends and family.

Our own view is that technology doesn’t have to make us stupid. Certainly it can tempt us to mire ourselves in trivia. We can waste our time on porn, cat videos, and interactive games. Social media can encourage vanity, and we all know people who text while driving or walking. Some people seem to be wholly unaware that a world exists outside of their electronic devices.

Our parents and our grandparents warned us about TV and radio, citing most of the same concerns, but most of us managed to lead normal and productive lives anyway. If we are wise, we will use information technology to inform ourselves and enhance our productivity. We don’t have to be oblivious to our surroundings. Our machines don’t have to rule us.

(To get the most out of information technology, you need a reliable internet connection. Is yours adequate? If it isn’t, talk to us. We can help.)

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GETTING THE BEST DEAL IN INTERNET SERVICE

How can you be sure you’re getting the best deal in internet service? There are a few questions you should ask about any web service offered.

First, make sure you understand all charges. Many internet service providers offer low monthly rates for a promotional period, usually three months to one year. After the promotional periods, though, the rates increase sharply. Some providers offer ‘free’ equipment and installation, but they add the equipment and installation charges to the monthly fees, and they require long term contracts, with fines for early termination.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you’re being cheated. Make sure you’re getting a complete list of all charges before you sign a contract, though. Before you agree to installation, be sure you understand the total you pay in advance, the total monthly fees, including taxes and other surcharges, and the total you will pay after any promotions end.

Second, assess your needs. Consider how many people in your household are likely to be connected at any one time, what kinds of devices you connect to the internet, and what functions you want. If you will connect only one or two devices, and your web use is chiefly e-mail and light web surfing, then you might get by with fairly low speed and a low data cap. If you intend to connect multiple devices, though, or if you want to download music or video, then you will need a higher download speed and more data capacity.

Conduct a speed test of your present internet service, and monitor how much data you use. This will tell you how much speed or data capacity you will need from a new provider. If your present service is too slow or too limited, these steps will still give you a rough idea of how much extra speed or capacity you will need.

If you’re paying a low rate for your internet service, but it’s inadequate for your needs, then you’re not getting a bargain.

Finally, to be sure you’re getting the best deal in internet service, talk to us.