When are they going to put the satellite internet cards inside laptops like they did the old network cards?

Question

and are they going to be universal or do the cards have to match the service provider?

Answer 1

A card can't talk to a satellite if it inside a computer, surrounded by metal and plastic. You need a dish.

Answer 2

your not gona see that for awile im guessing because you would need to beem back data to the satellite for uploading

Answer 3

Assuming you can package an RF chip that would be able to create a link between you and the satellite BTS, you would always need line of sight with the BTS from your laptop, which is inconvenient. You could never link directly to a satellite because of the networking issues you face with the subscribers in the region.

There is also a power issue. The power needed for a direct link is quite large. Many portable direct link satellite kits have very large batteries or require a dedicated power source, say a generator or an inverter running from a car. There would never be universal cards because of the expense to put satellites in the sky and to create a dedicated backhaul infrastructure.. It cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Moreover, the uplink is usually very poor with satellite communication and the downlink is usually not as good or dependable as DSL or Cable because of atmospheric conditions like rain clouds which is related to the frequency of transmission.

My opinion, stay with wired service. I had satellite internet service for a while because the building I was in only allowed sat comm. I had 3Mbs / 600Kbs but I often had service disruptions.

*** in reply ***

Those are air cards not satellite link cards. They work off your cell phone providers data network so you need an account with them before using one. Many CDMA carriers like Sprint and Verizon use EVDO and have invested in the new mobile WiMAX standard. ATT is currently deploying HSDPA and will probably be investing in LTE by Motorola in the near future. Air cards are great but can be quite expensive. If you're always on the move and travelling around the nation it wouldn't be a bad investment.