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DirecPC Updates Satellite Internet Access

DirecPC 2.0 offers a new pricing plan, an ISP option, and improved service navigation.

By Lisa Moskowitz, PCWorld   

In a bid to beef up its pioneering satellite Internet service, Hughes Network Systems is scheduled to ship DirecPC 2.0 on June 22 (software will be available online June 19). This version includes Internet access, new prices, a program guide, and two new push services that automatically download Web and newsgroup information to your PC. Hughes Network Systems is touting delivery speeds of up to 400 kbps. However, under the company%squots Fair Access Policy implemented last fall, users who hog too much bandwidth are subject to throughput cuts.

Subscribers can continue using their current Internet service provider or opt for DirecPC%squots bundled satellite access and ISP service. Pricing for the DirecPC Turbo Internet Service Plan ranges from $19.95 for 25 hours per month without Internet service to $129.95 for 200 hours per month with Internet service. In addition, customers pay between $300 and $400 for a satellite dish.

One of the biggest differences between DirecPC 2.0 and the previous version is the user interface. The Electronic Program Guide page gives users a starting point, helps them navigate the service, and provides links to Turbo Webcast and Turbo Newscast--two new services that automatically deliver Web site and newsgroup information to your PC via satellite. In the previous version, DirecPC simply launched the browser immediately upon startup.

New Push Products

Turbo Webcast offers channels for users to subscribe to. Twelve channels are available now, including Disney, ESPN.SportZone, and ABCNEWS. By the end of the year, approximately 200 channels will be listed, according to Hughes Network Systems spokesperson Fritz Stolzenbach. DirecPC delivers a digital %dquotpackage%dquot at least once a day to each subscriber to all of its customers, but each customer%squots PC caches only the information for the sites they%squotve subscribed to. Channels are updated according to the update schedules of the Web sites.

Turbo Newscast works in a similar way. Usenet information for the groups you choose is pushed to your PC several times a day. In both cases, the data is stored directly on your PC, making Web site access much faster than by modem.

What happens if a satellite goes wacko again like Galaxy 4 did in May? %dquotSatellite reliability is not in question,%dquot says Stolzenbach. %dquotWhat happened to Galaxy 4 was unprecedented.%dquot Nonetheless, when Galaxy 4 went out, Hughes Network Systems had a contingency plan. It moved DirecPC customers to another satellite and asked them to bump their satellite dishes slightly to the left. The transfer took a few seconds. In case that doesn%squott work next time, DirecPC maintains extensive land connections as well.

Besides providing Internet access to remotely located customers, satellites don%squott require any telephone or television wires and the service doesn%squott tie up your existing phone line when you%squotre downloading data or browsing the Web. The downside is that to transmit data you still have to use a much slower analog modem, and you have to install the satellite dish yourself or pay an additional fee. And it%squots still not as fast as cable modem.

Hughes Network Systems can expect to see some fierce competition to DirecPC in the next few years. Internet Satellite Systems is already offering a $40-a-month service with a connection advertised as being faster than 500-kbps. Celestri and Teledesic are scheduled to launch their services around 2003. Both are two-way systems that will provide faster uplinking as well as downlinking capabilities.