The Orbitlink service has (4) service levels to choose from.

They are:

The main difference in the 4 levels of service is in the number of users supported and the amount of throughput allowed. The 800 kbps and 1 mbps speeds are designed to support higher burst speeds however users should note that the download speed represent the off-peak speed.

Downloads
The Internet is a shared environment and the speed of the Internet itself is affected by the amount of use experienced at any given moment. Download speeds on our system also vary based on network loading conditions but are generally available at the published rate. Often they are faster than rated, and sometimes a little slower. All speeds are divisible by the number of users. For example, the 800K service with 2 concurrent users (users downloading at the exact same time) will deliver to each user about 400 kbps. Additional users will cause the service to be divided among the users, as soon as one users download is finished, available bandwidth is then allocated to the remaining user(s). The download (receive) speed represents the off-peak speed. During peak periods the speed may drop to around 30% of the maximum off-peak speed.

Uploads
This is an asymmetrical service, meaning that proportionately most of the bandwidth is used for downloads with a minimum amount dedicated to uploads. Uploads can reach a maximum speed of 128 Kbps. Most of the time the upload speeds range from about 30 Kbps to 80 Kbps. Upload speeds are based on the protocol and payload size of the transmission. HTTP protocol traffic receives the lowest priority, because the system is not designed as or sold for use as a host or web server solution. URL requests (web page requests) which use HTTP, are so small that the bandwidth does not really affect their speed. HTTP is therefore normally allocated speeds as low as 25 Kbps. FTP is allocated the highest priority and will receive a higher bandwidth allocation. The figure for upload speed (transmit) represents the clock cycle frequency at which the signal is transmitted. After taking into account satellite and TCP/IP overheads the corresponding burst speed is comparable to 90kbps, with sustained average off-peak speeds of 48kbps and average peak minima of 32kbps. It should be noted that the route uses V42 compression (similar to that used in modems) which will increase throughput for non compressed files.

General
Orbitlink exclusively uses the Hughes Network Systems satellite network for upload and download satellite resources. Orbitlink does not make any specific performance or SLA guarantees beyond what is available from Hughes Network Systems. Not directly related to speed, latency can be an issue with satellite transport. If your application is particularly sensitive to latency, satellite may not work for you. Applications known to have latency issues include interactive gaming, VoIP, and the heavy use of shared-folder or database applications or terminal emulators that do not employ local echo.

Limitations of Use
While the service excels at many Internet tasks a combination of high latency and limited upload (outbound) speeds of up to 128K make it unsuitable for the following tasks.

Web hosting service
Public E-mail or MX service
VPN Hosting
Internet Gaming