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May 2012
We have introduced a new "Basic Problem Solving" page; you'll find the link at the bottom of the menu on the left hand panel.
May 2012
You may have noticed from our web site that we have introduced restructured Avanti services from our GVNO partner; these prices are currently only available to new customers based on our agreement with our GVNO partner.
So that our existing customers do not feel left out we have increased the data volume limits on some of the older Avanti GVNO partner services as follows:
| Service |
Old
Limit |
New
Limit |
| Basic 4GB | 4GB | 6GB |
| Basic 8GB |
8GB | 12GB |
| Basic 12GB | 12GB | 15GB |
The service speeds have also been increased and they are now up to 8Mbps download and up to 2Mbps upload. Please note that these are “headline speeds” and that the actual speed experienced will be affected by factors such as the contention ratio, weather effects, network conditions and so on.
We hope that you will enjoy the new speed and increased data volume limits, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
April 2012
Customers often ask us what the UK and regional governments are going to do about delivering decent broadband speeds to rural areas. A cynical person may say not a lot however it is interesting to read the views of industry leaders who are closer to the center of things than we are. John Speakman, Business Development Manager at Selcoms, has written a thoughtful article that looks at some of the facets of the complicated (and expensive!) business of delivering broadband to the rural population. You can see his article at http://www.selcoms.com/bduk-all-talk-no-action.html
April 2012
Tooway have introduced two new tools to help customers get the most out of their Tooway service.
The first is an online speed-checker, a web based application which enables customers to verify their service is working properly. The second is a system ‘health-check’ page which shows key performance data on the Tooway terminal, and also shows your progress through your data allowance Sliding Time Windows. Both tools will also facilitate fast and efficient trouble shooting and support if necessary, but mainly
allow customers quick access to useful performance
information.There are lots of speed-checker websites out there online, but none that are designed to work accurately with satellite broadband connections, so we felt it was important that customers have one harmonised for Tooway.The speed checker can be accessed at http://speedprobe.skylogicnet.com/
The
health check tool gives you instant access to the technical parameters
of your Tooway terminal as well as information about your usage. The
tool can be accessed at http://checkportal.skylogicnet.com/Please note that these services can only be accessed whilst you are connected to the internet via your Tooway satellite internet service.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
April 2012
We are delighted to announce that our great value Avanti GVNO partner services now give even greater value:
- These services are provided by a trusted partner with many years experience in the satellite industry
- Up to 8Mbps down link, up to 2 Mbps up link
- Uniquely, we provide data volume controls based on trust (except our low user service, Residential Lite which has an automated throttling control mechanism)
- Generous and flexible FUP
- UK Internet gateway
- Great value! Our Residential Lite is the lowest cost 8Gbps service on the market
Please see our Avanti GVNO pricing page for further details.
Avanti products supplied by
SBBS'
GVNO partnerPlease feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
April 2012
The Tooway spring promotions have
been extended to 31st of May 2012:
(on orders placed and activated before 31st May 2012. All offers end
31st May 2012)
Hardware purchased
with Tooway 6 Service Package £99
Hardware purchased with Tooway 8 Service Package £49
Free hardware for systems purchased with Tooway 10 & Tooway 10+ Service Packages
Click here to see the full details
Satellite broadband internet enables our customers to access the internet at speeds up to 10Mbps in areas where traditional wire, cable/fiber or mobile/cell technologies cannot reach. Recent investments in training and new test equipment ensures that Simply Balanced stays at the cutting edge of this exciting emerging market.Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
April 2012
Our Tooway customers have asked if additional bandwidth can be purchased for those occasions when they are nearing their service limit. Following discussions with our wholesaler we can now provide a “Volume Booster” of 1Gb for £15 inc VAT on all of our Tooway services.
If you require
additional bandwidth for your Tooway service please send an email with
“Tooway Volume Booster” in the subject line to enquiries@simply-balanced.co.uk
or to at dick.barrett@simply-balanced.co.uk
and we will get it set up for your. The charge will be added to your
next
monthly invoice.
March 2012 Spring is on its way and we have some new offers on Tooway hardware:
Tooway Spring Promotions:
(on orders placed and activated before 31st March 2012. All offers end
31st March 2012)
Hardware purchased
with Tooway 6 Service Package £99
Hardware purchased with Tooway 8 Service Package £49
Free hardware for systems purchased with Tooway 10 & Tooway 10+ Service Packages
Click here to see the full details
December 2011 - New Year offers!
Despite
the economic gloom there are still good deals to be had and we are
delighted to announce two great offers to round off our year:- We are offering free hardware for Tooway systems purchased with Tooway 10, Tooway 10+ and Tooway 10 Pro Service Packages until 31st January 2012
- Double Data Allowance will be available for new and existing customers between 1st December 2011 and 29th February 2012
November 2011
Simply Balanced Business Services
is delighted to announce that it has been accepted for the Axis
Communications Channel
Partner Programme. Axis
Communications is the global market leader in the network video market
with a market share of IP network CCTV cameras of 33.5%. Membership of
the
Channel Partner programme will give SBBS access to training, priority
support and technical and marketing information.Avanti and Tooway prices continue to fall; following the recent Tooway deals Avanti have responded and we will be introducing new prices soon.
June 2011 - Tooway Ka-band terminal: First Look
SBBS has had their first look
at the latest
Ka-band terminal from Tooway. The new terminals promise up to 10Mb
download speed and our initial tests have produced some impressive
download speeds. It will be interesting to see how the speed tests look
as subscribers come on line and the contention levels begin to rise.
Installation and commissioning is very straightforward and presented no difficulties; only one coaxial cable is required for both the transmit and receive path
You can see some pictures of the terminal here
May 2011 - Tooway 10Mb service launch on 31st May
Tooway
have set the 31st of May as the official launch date of its 10Mb
service via its Ka-Sat satellite at 9o East with
a reception to be held at the Charlotte Street Hotel in London. With
headline speeds up to 10Mb down and 4Mb up plus a very competitive
pricing regime the new services are set to be very popular with our
customers.
The new services will be good news for our business customers using satellite broadband internet as their back up communications route as we can now offer high speed internet access via two satellites at the same time using load balancing routers.
You can see the new pricing pages here: Satellite Broadband Internet Pricing
April 2011 - Avanti appoints SBBS as a Service Partner
SBBS is delighted to announce that we have been appointed as an Avanti SVNO (Shared Virtual Network Operator) Service Partner
Successful completion of the Avanti SVNO training programme gives SBBS access to Avanti's simple satellite broadband connectivity to the internet packages. The Avanti shared bandwidth product is an end-to-end solution that provides terminal equipment and a contended access path from an end-users property to the internet.
Avanti service partner
affiliation grants
SBBS:
- Access to Europe's first Ka Band satellite designed for broadband data services
- Ability to design our own product offers
- Comprehensive network view and management
- Full access to Avanti's Partner Portal
- Marketing support package
Additionally, SBBS has also successfully completed the Avanti installer training course and we are now an Avanti Certified Installer.
Satellite broadband internet enables our customers to access the internet at speeds up to 10Mbps in areas where traditional wire, cable/fiber or mobile/cell technologies cannot reach. Recent investments in training and new test equipment ensures that Simply Balanced stays at the cutting edge of this exciting emerging market
April 2011 - Avanti pricing
The waiting is over at last; the new Avanti Ka-band equipment and service package pricing is now available on the SBBS Satellite Broadband Pricing pages.
With headline download speeds of up to 8Mb and a wide variety of service packages available there should be something here for everyone.
February 2011 - Changes!
We have some exciting new developments to look forward to at SBBS over the next few months.
SBBS is evolving and diversifying, so to help you find the services you require we are redeveloping the web site.
The Bookkeeping and Accounts services side of our business will migrate to the new Simply Balanced Bookkeeping web site
The Satellite Broadband Internet services side of our business will migrate to the new Simply Balanced Broadband Satellite Internet web site
The original Simply Balanced web site will stay as it is at present. Once the new sites are established we will rebuild it to be the Home site for the Simply Balanced brand.
Also, with the recent launch of two new Ka-band high powered satellites new satellite broadband internet services will shortly be available offering much faster speeds than before. We will be offering a choice of packages to suit everyone, and our fastest ever service at 10Mb. The new services should be available by March/April 2011. You can find out more and register to kept informed on the Broadband Satellite Internet Pricing page
January 2011 - New "Downloads" page added to our web site
From time to time there is a requirement to make software patches and upgrades available to our customers. Early on it was a simple task to email everyone however it has been evident for some time that we needed something that was more accessible for our customers.
Satellite latency times are an annoying fact of life for our Satellite Broadband Internet customers however Satspeed Developments have made a Mozilla Firefox plugin available that can make a difference in some case. You can find the Satspeed Turbo: Mozilla Firefox Plugin on our Simply Balanced Downloads page.
January 2011 - Satellite news
With the launch of
two new
satellites in recent months the future of Satellite Broadband looks a
little more certain despite the recession. The satellites are designed
to provide broadband internet access to millions of homes and
businesses across Europe who cannot connect to the Internet via
conventional means such as ADSL or 3G.
Avanti’s Hylas-1 was launched on 26th November and is located at 33 degrees East (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11846237)
Eutelsat’s Ka-Sat was launched on Boxing Day into its geostationary orbit slot at 13 degrees East (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12065466). Eutelsat, a major player in the satellite industry, has invested some €350 million (350 million euros) in this programme, a sure sign that they can see a future in this technology.
Whilst the launch of the latest satellite has been welcomed by many, including us, the technology is not without its critics (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11829019 for example). The fact remains though, if you live or work in a remote location beyond the reach of ADSL and G3 technologies then satellite technology, despite its drawbacks, is your only recourse.
The criticisms leveled at the latency and voice quality issues are valid, however the technology is advancing all the time and much has been done in recent years to mitigate these effects. Those of us who struggled with the early STC Mascot or Marconi Oceanray Inmarsat-A terminals in the 1980’s will testify to this!
(photo: EADS Astrium)
January 2011 - A New Year and some new installation and test equipment for SBBS
Up to date test equipment is essential when working in the fast paced world of satellite communications. As part of our commitment to providing a top class service we have purchased two new instruments from Horizon Global Electronics Ltd
The
all new HD-TC8 is the latest generation meter for the Global uptake
of VSAT installations, measuring BPSK / QPSK / 8PSK, DigiCipher II and
Turbo Code formats. Specifically designed for the new "Tooway" internet
service on Hotbird 13E KA band.
Designed with a generous storage of up to 256 transponders, including the flexibility of 16 user customisable selections for onsite unique carriers. The transmission signals can be isolated with this precise and accurate installation tuner, reducing the time to detect the downlink path and hence frustration in the often challenging environments of VSAT use.
A
clear and easy to use spectrum analyzer is a great tool to have at the
point of installation and the new HDSM USB PLUS gives us maximum
flexibility.
The QPSK constellation diagram makes detailed diagnosis of digtal satellite signals simple. The new Data Logging feature enables us to create a record of our installations for future reference and to assist with fault finding later on. We can store up to 64 satellite selections and can create our own preferred list directly from the Horizon Global Electronics web site. Rapid access and recall of the last selection used make the HDSM USB even easier to use on multiple installations.
The acquisition of these instruments will help us to keep installation costs down and aid rapid diagnosis of fault conditions. You can read more about SBBS and High Speed Broadband Satellite Internet here.
(photos: Horizon Global Electronics Ltd )
