Viasat推卫星互联网服务，月费150网速将达百兆

近日，美国一家卫星互联网服务公司称，该公司即将推出无限高速上网服务，且网速将毫不逊于AT&T和康卡斯特等网络运营商的服务。

这家卫星互联网服务公司名叫Viasat，其最快网速套餐每月收费150美元，网速可达每秒100兆。签订两年合约的用户无需支付卫星接收器费用等相关成本。目前只有居住在都市圈的用户才能享受到该公司的最高网速服务，居住在较偏僻区域的用户可能还要等待一段时间，不过现有用户还是能选择比现有网速更快的服务。

与普通的地面互联网服务提供商相比，Viasat的价格显然是比较高的。拿康卡斯特公司为例，该公司每秒150兆的互联网服务的“建议价格”仅为每月50美元。不过随着推广期的结束，这个价格也很可能会上调。

Viasat的卫星互联网服务主要基于一颗去年六月发射升空的卫星。虽然它目前的服务已经不限流量了，不过该公司表示，它最新的Viasat-2卫星还将进一步提高该服务的网速。

不过现阶段的卫星互联网服务也并非十全十美。相比地基服务，卫星互联网服务更容易出现延迟问题，有可能导致在线视频播放卡顿，或是画质突然下降等。

不过Viasat公司这一更新、更快的互联网服务表明，卫星技术的进步正在改善天基互联网服务的质量。

这很可能也是伊隆·马斯克的SpaceX公司为什么也要通过卫星提供互联网服务的一个原因。为了解决延迟问题，SpaceX可能会发射多颗小型卫星，在比Viasat更低的轨道上运行。因为卫星离地面越近，发生延迟的可能性就越低。

Viasat公司的CEO马克·丹克伯格则认为，SpaceX或OneWeb等竞争公司发射的小型低轨卫星的网速不太可能赶上较高轨道上的大型卫星。

“多个小型卫星是否一定好于单个大型卫星，现在还说不准。最终，时间会证明哪种方法的效果最好。”他表示。

Viasat公司原本已与SpaceX签订了卫星发射合同，计划利用后者的“猎鹰”重型火箭发射它的ViaSat 2卫星。不过由于SpaceX推迟了发射日程，Viasat最终选择了雅利安太空公司帮助其发射卫星。

在问到与SpaceX公司的合同时，丹克伯格表示：“我们还在进行评估。”并表示该公司对未来的卫星发射尚未做出任何决定。

SpaceX或将建立卫星互联网服务的决定，表明该公司已经不再满足于仅仅将其他公司的货物运到太空。当然，此举也将造成SpaceX与其客户公司的关系趋于紧张，丹克伯格也坦然承认了这一点。

“我认为这个观察是准确的。”他说。（财富中文网）

译者：朴成奎 

A company that offers consumers Internet service via satellite is introducing unlimited high-speed connections that it says are as speedy as plans from AT&T and Comcast.

Viasat, the company offering the Internet service, is charging $150 a month for its fastest plan of up to 100 megabits per second. Customers who sign up for a two-year deal won’t have to pay for satellite dish installation and related costs. The fastest Internet speeds will also only be available to people living in metropolitan areas as opposed to more rural areas, although existing customers will be able to choose faster Internet services than they currently have.

Viasat’s price is higher than the typical Earth-based Internet service provider like Comcast , which charges an “introductory price” of $50 a month for 150 MPS Internet service. However, that price likely increases after the promotional period ends.

The company’s new satellite Internet service is born from a satellite it sent to space in June. Although it already sells unlimited Internet service, the company claims that its newer ViaSat-2 satellite will boost the speed of its service.

But there are tradeoffs to satellite Internet service. For example, customers are more likely to experience latency issues with satellite web services that could cause online video games to stutter or streaming video to suddenly lower in quality to compensate.

However, Viasat’s new, faster Internet service shows that advances in satellite technology are improving the quality of Internet services to Earth from space.

That’s likely one reason the Elon Musk-led SpaceX is exploring delivering Internet services through satellites. SpaceX is looking to launch several small satellites into a lower orbit than Viasat in order to cut down on latency errors, with the idea being the closer a satellite is to Earth, the less likely there will be hiccups.

Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg believes that it’s unlikely that the kinds of smaller satellites that companies like SpaceX or rival OneWeb are looking to deploy in low orbit will be able to offer Internet speeds that are as fast as the bigger satellites in higher orbit.

“It’s not obvious having lots of small satellites is better than having a big satellite,” he said. “Ultimately, time will tell which one delivers the best.”

Viasat originally signed a contract with SpaceX to launch its ViaSat 2 satellite into space via SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. But because SpaceX delayed the rocket’s launch, Viasat ended up sending the satellite aloft with the help of Arianespace.

Asked about Viasat’s contract with SpaceX, Dankberg said “we’re still evaluating” it and that the company has not made any decisions about future satellite launches.

SpaceX’s decision to possibly create a satellite Internet service shows that the company is expanding its business beyond simply launching other company’s cargo into space. Of course, this may create more tenuous relationships between SpaceX and its customers, which Dankberg acknowledged.

“I think that’s a fair observation,” Dankberg said.