Beyond ZOL, Telone and perhaps Powertel as VSAT internet service providers (ISP), not many people are familiar with or aware of ZODSAT’s existence. Actually, many people are also not familiar with VSAT connectivity frankly speaking. This is perhaps due to the fact that VSAT is mostly used in underserved areas since urban areas have enough fibre, wireless and mobile broadband at their disposal.
However, if you are in an urban area you can still opt for VSAT over fibre. One reason that draws some people and companies to prefer VSAT is the mobility factor. With fibre, you certainly cannot pull out the cables to go with them to a new premise where you want internet connection whereas VSAT is flexible since you can just simply get your ISP to unmount and mount the satellite dish elsewhere.
Back to ZODSAT. ZODSAT is just one of a few VSAT internet service providers which are offering relatively good deals on the market. Last year the company launched a satellite service with a throughput of up to 30 Megabits per second that has already been deployed in some sites (in the outskirts) across the country.
If we talk about the download and upload speeds, ZODSAT gives ZOL, for instance, a good run for its money in some of their package offerings. In terms of prices, ZODSAT packages are charged in US dollars but it still outprices Telone and ZOL. For now, let me just show you what ZODSAT has to offer and then later on (in my next article) I will give you a comparison of ZODSAT, ZOL and Powertel packages:
| Package | Lite Basic | Lite | SME/Home Basic | SME/Home | Premium Basic | Premium Unlimited | Schools Unlimited |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data allocation | 5GB | 15GB | 25GB | 30GB | 50GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Speeds | Up to 5120 kbps download speed Up to 768 kbps upload speed | Up to 5120 kbps download speed Up to 768 kbps upload speed | Up to 5120 kbps download speed Up to 768 kbps upload speed | Up to 5120 kbps download speed Up to 1024 kbps upload speed | Up to 10240 kbps download speed Up to 2048 kbps upload speed | Up to 10240 kbps download speed Up to 2048 kbps upload speed | Up to 5120 kbps download speed Up to 1024 kbps upload speed |
| Prices | USD $15/month | USD $45/month | USD $75/month | USD $90/month | USD $150/month | USD $499/month | USD $199.99/month |
| Monthly Bonus Data Allowance (Night Owl) | 25 GB | 75GB | 125GB | 150 GB | 250GB | Unlimited Monthly Allowance Uplink | Unlimited Monthly Allowance Uplink |
If the speeds and prices are not enough to draw you to ZODSAT then I guess their Bonus Monthly allowance will probably make you fall in love with ZODSAT offerings. The bonus allowance is just what ZOL’s or Telone’s fibre users enjoy under the popular name ‘Night Owl browsing’. For each package, ZODSAT offers a monthly bonus allowance which you can use between 10 pm and 6 am. I dare to say that the monthly allowance is ZODSAT’s most visible selling point there’s no VSAT Internet access provider that gives a freebie like this for those given times and volume.
VSAT is generally notorious for not only the cost of its subscriptions but also for the initial set up cost- purchasing the equipment. But like many internet service providers, ZODSAT gives each prospective user a chance to buy the equipment in instalments. ZODSAT’s equipment goes for a cash price of US $350. However, if you take the instalment option, you only fork out US $20 per month for 18 months but the catch is you have to subscribe monthly any of its packages as part of the contract for 12 months.
17 comments
VSAT is a great option to have connectivity. The one single drawback though is that, if you’re a gamer, you’re pretty much dead in the water because of the comparatively high latency, I think it’s called. I believe on average it’s probably about 300-500 ms. Dota won’t even let you scan when over 300. But for almost everything else, it’s pretty much gold.
Latency is closer to 600-700 i am a installer for a larger vsat company.
I had vsat for a couple months and it was garbage. Allowed up to 60 GB and the satellite connection was cutting out a few times a week. Satellite is the way to the future, I hope companies will start bringing in wireless connections like they have in Canada.
Get ready for HughesNet and One Web 2020-2021, ping rate under 50 and suitable for video gaming and everything else internet. It’ll be installed at homes and is mobile for rv, boat and airplane application.
Ping of 50? I doubt it.. it takes time for a signal to go into orbit and back again.
Yes. They are low orbit satellites
One Web is definitely a good addition to the overall VSAT Satellite ecosystem that I believe should exist with all the technologies available for serving different applications and services. Back to One Web, how different is it from o3B (the other 3 billion people mainly in Africa who are unconnected) who harbored the same objectives? Is it the same project re incarnated? What about the technical issues surrounding the antenna system, terminals on the ground (cost) and the large constellation of satellites that are required and have to be in sync or in different orbits to maintain a 24hr connection in a given area? On the funding front, who apart from Government of Rwanda has come on board? I remember back in the 80’s when Intelsat had investing TELCO partners all over Africa including Zimbabwe and Swaziland as shareholders whose stakes grew to imaginable proportions by the mid 90’s to enable them to sell part or all their shares and reinvest in new capital equipment for the growing networks. The recent funding round had no new takers apart from the founding financier as we wait with enthusiasm and abated breath to see what will happen in 2020-2021.
$499/mo for unlimited? Wtf are yall smokin. Thats ridiculously outragous.
I live at 32 dutch valley sussex corner nb e4e2y1 can i get this there?
Nothing will never match fiber, sorry…if the local cable company cares about its plant then that won’t be an issue either. I’m a technician and work for one of the big ones. Going through the air will always be dictated by the weather…this wireless stuff isn’t always what its cracked up to be. Test the water first before you leap…
Wait, what? Is this article from a decade ago? The year is 2019.
First, from the package chart, who gives speeds in Kb? The fastest offering is 10240 kbps. That’s 10Mb. Hey, if you want to read email or place an order on Amazon, I guess that’s okay. But you won’t be streaming netflix or viewing youtube without a LOT of buffering. And you won’t be sharing that bandwidth with multiple devices without bringing your Internet to a screaching halt.
Second, $499 a month? $499 a month? Maybe you missed that. $499 a month? Are you freaking kidding me? Hotspot your cellular phone’s 4G signal and get 10-100 times more throughput for a fraction of that cost.
Third, as mentioned, weather plays a large part in your satelite’s performance. All it takes is for the sky to be overcast and your speed will start dwindling. Heavy cloud cover will bring it to a veritable crawl.
The options offered in this article are worst case scenarios. If there is no other way to get Internet and you have loads of money burning holes in your pockets, then MAYBE this is an option for you. Otherwise, run from it as fast as you can.
10 meg will stream netflix HD comfortably. I shape my media devices to 5 mbps each with no burst, and they have no issues with 1080p streams.
Sure you’re going to have higher latency, but the speed – will not be your bottleneck.
Ref:
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/306
0.5 Megabits per second – Required broadband connection speed
1.5 Megabits per second – Recommended broadband connection speed
3.0 Megabits per second – Recommended for SD quality
5.0 Megabits per second – Recommended for HD quality
25 Megabits per second – Recommended for Ultra HD quality
I use it to watch Netflix and play FIFA and i do just fine
Sir I need a job as vsat installation
Interestingly we have some customers that are playing online games and watching Netflix.I am sure other VOD applications and all strategy and roleplay games will not be a problem on our 5Mbps link.You can call me on +2638644554455 or visit our showroom for a demostration for testing of any games you would like to play
I have used this company zodstat for almost a year now.
I use it to watch my Netflix programs and i use it to play online FIFA its been great and to watch NBA games also was online when yall were shutdown KKK but sofar im happy with wat im getting especially cause im in rural Marondera and no other hardware was cheaper and offered this quality of service
Kobe dhabha
That’s great to hear