StarBand
StarBand was a two-way satellite broadband Internet service available in the U.S. from 2000–2015.
StarBand ceased operations effective September 30, 2015, citing increased competition from other internet providers.
The StarBand satellite Internet system was a VSAT platform that used Ku band satellites for transmission of data from users' PCs to the StarBand network operations center. Two-way bandwidth for residential users was up to 1.5 Mbit/s download speed and 256 kbit/s upload speed, with unlimited usage and online hours. A 0.75 meter satellite dish is needed; the antenna was sufficiently small that homeowner associations could not prohibit its installation.
StarBand Communications Inc. was initially a joint venture between Gilat Satellite Networks, EchoStar and Microsoft, and the StarBand service launched in 2000. StarBand Communications filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002 and emerged from bankruptcy in 2003. In March 2005, StarBand Communications was wholly acquired by Spacenet, a division of Gilat Satellite Networks, which continued to operate the service. As of mid-2005, StarBand had approximately 32,000 subscribers.
StarBand announced, in August 2015, that they would cease operations on 30 September 2015, citing competitive pressures from other current satellite internet providers, as well as new higher-bandwidth providers on the horizon with new constellations slated to come online before 2020.
StarBand offered the first residential two-way satellite Internet service in the United States market. Launched in November 2000, StarBand began selling the Gilat Satellite Networks SkyBlaster PCI card VSAT. Initially, the only way to purchase the StarBand system was to purchase a PC with the send/receive adapter card pre-installed as well as hosting software.
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