How WildBlue works

The WildBlue satellite links your computer to the Internet with a high-speed connection via one of WildBlue's two satellites, located 22,500 miles above the Earth's equator in geostationary orbit. Your WildBlue equipment connects your home or small office at speeds much faster than a dial-up connection -- in fact, file transfer speeds can be as much as 30 times faster than dial-up. A single 26" satellite minidish and a modem are all you need.

Here is a diagram showing a typical WildBlue customer set-up, and how it communicates with the Internet via satellite.

The Internet
Accessing the Internet at high-speeds opens up a WildBlue world full of information and entertainment. You will now be able to surf the Web at lightning-fast speeds, download music and movies, share photos with friends and family, and much, much more.

WildBlue Gateways
WildBlue has 11 gateways located throughout the U.S. and Canada that efficiently connect WildBlue's satellite access network with the Internet. Each gateway consists of microwave, Internet, and other broadband equipment that quickly and efficiently route traffic from the customer's PC to the Internet and back. WildBlue connects the gateways to the Internet via a state-of-the-art fiber backbone.

WildBlue Satellite
WildBlue has designed a state-of-the-art Ka-band communications system aboard our own WildBlue-1 satellite and Telesat's Anik F2 satellite, covering the contiguous U.S. with a total of 66 spot beams. Our satellites occupy a geostationary orbit 22,500 miles above the equator at 111.1° West Longitude. WildBlue chose the 20/30 GHz Ka-band frequencies and a spot-beam architecture as the most efficient and effective technology platform to offer broadband via satellite. WildBlue's advanced technology and low cost structure allows us to offer consumers and small office customers higher speeds and lower prices than other satellite broadband companies.

WildBlue's satellite technology allows us to modify various parameters of the earth-to-space signals on an individual user basis so as to adapt in real time to each user's situation, which may change due to weather and other factors.

WildBlue Minidish
WildBlue's minidish (28" x 26") both receives signals from the WildBlue satellite, and sends signals from the customer up to the satellite. Using the latest microwave receive and transmit technologies, WildBlue offers a small, efficient minidish which can be mounted on a roof, wall or via pole mount in the ground. WildBlue provides professional installation of the WildBlue equipment which will take approximately 2-3 hours.

WildBlue Satellite Modem
A WildBlue modem is required to connect one or more customer PCs to the WildBlue network. WildBlue uses standardized modem technology based on the DOCSIS cable modem standards to offer a low-cost, small satellite modem. WildBlue provides professional installation of the WildBlue equipment which will take 2-3 hours.

PC
Connected via Ethernet to the WildBlue modem, your PC will have WildBlue's high-speed Internet access, whether in your home or in your small office. You may connect your PC directly to your WildBlue modem with an Ethernet cable, or you can attach a wireless hub or router to your WildBlue modem and connect wirelessly (using the popular 802.11 standards for example).  You are required to have an up-to-date anti-virus software on your PC.