Working without a wire: two companies bringing wireless access into new realms.

• Author: Ling, Ben
• Position: Tech Knowledge - MotoSAT - SkyWire

YOU CAN'T get there from here.

That bad news used to only threaten lost travelers, but now it also could menace computer users who need high-speed Internet access in problematic areas, such as remote locations or in places where wireless signals are blocked by thick concrete walls.

Luckily for those needy users, Utah companies MotoSAT and Skywire Broadband specialize in products that extend the reach of wireless Internet access into previously unreachable zones.

MotoSAT can beam-in an Internet pipe just about anywhere by bolting a motorized, satellite-seeking dish antenna atop a vehicle or trailer. Just park the vehicle somewhere with a clear view of the southern sky and click a button to make the dish, called the DataStorm, automatically lock onto a satellite on the Hughes DirecWay network. The process usually completes within 3 to 8 minutes. Also available is a commercial-grade dish, the DataStorm F3, which more than doubles the signal strength and connects farther into the fringes of satellite signal range.

This new technology had a serendipitous origin. The late Robert Stacey, of Wendell, Idaho, founded MotoSAT in 1984, after he built a motorized satellite dish so he could watch television in his recreational vehicle. Stacey had so many requests for the same setup from other RVers, he went into the mobile satellite business.

Today, MotoSAT still makes satellite dishes for television receivers, but it is the only company providing two-way Internet communication via mobile satellite dish. Gaining Federal Communications Commission compliance for transmitting data through the dish requires an exhaustive process, says MotoSAT Vice President Chuck Uhl: "There are a few [competitors] working on it, but it takes a while to get that approval." The trick is proving to the FCC that the signal dish always hits its target satellite. Misdirected signals could clog satellite transmissions.

DataStorm is sold through a growing network of more than 120 certified dealers in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom, and it must be professionally installed.

Bandwidth through the Hughes DirecWay Internet platform typically sees about 900 kilobits-per-second download and 40kbs to 60kbs upload; however, rate plans and speeds vary. Also, satellite communications typically have a slight delay, so it might not work for a shoot-'em-up LAN party, but for most applications the delay isn't noticeable.

MotoSAT is not an Internet Service Provider. ISP arrangements are...