Satellite Internet Service Provider | SkyWay USA

Rain Fade

A lot of satellite owners have experienced this: you're relaxing, watching television, when outside your window an ominous shadow falls over your house. Rain begins to lightly tap on your windows before turning into a torrential downpour. Suddenly the picture on your television begins to scramble to the point of being unwatchable. This is called "rain fade".

Rain fade occurs when the satellite signal is disrupted by droplets of rain or snow or even heavy cloud cover. While this is only a temporary condition, it seems to occur in the most inopportune times - while you are watching your favorite show or downloading important files. Because of rain fade, satellite has been considered disadvantageous to cable for television or the internet. But what about when cable or DSL is not an option?

SkyWay USA has an answer to this question. By deploying a system known as a terrestrial/satellite hybrid network, SkyWay USA is able to deliver broadband speed downloads without the interruption of annoying rain fade. Because a two-way home satellite dish system does not have the power (only 2 watts) to send an unhindered signal in a storm, SkyWay USA sends requests (uploads) along more reliable telephone lines. We beam the data from a huge 18 ft. dish to the orbiting satellite using a much more powerful (200 watt) transmitter. The satellite then sends (downloads) web pages to the receiving home dish (about 30" wide) at broadband speed.

Because uploads are generally very small packets of data, this entire process takes less than one second. The satellite is powered by rechargeable solar fuel cells that convert high intensity sunlight into electrical energy. Blanketing the entire United States, the satellite relays a powerful, uninterrupted beam back to earth. Such a beam is not easily scattered by rain fall, which allows for continual satellite internet service without rain fade.