The importance of reliable internet connectivity has never been more highlighted since the recent coronavirus pandemic. Students, working professionals, and businesses must do their tasks remotely and communicate with their peers online.
According to Boston Consulting Group and The Network, there was an 85% upsurge in the number of Filipinos who are working remotely during the pandemic. This led 49% of them to prefer working remotely while the rest would like to try having a hybrid setup. In addition, Upwork shared that 73% of companies worldwide are expected to hire remote workers by 2028 and maintain this status permanently. Until now, we can safely say that remote work is here to stay.
This scenario also holds true for the students in the Philippines. As stated by Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman J. Prospero de Vera III, flexible learning systems or the combination of learning delivery strategies including the use of online platforms or the use of digital or printed modules will be the new norm in the education sector even after the current pandemic.
While internet connectivity is not an issue for some, it’s still a big challenge for a lot of Filipinos, especially those who live in remote locations plagued by unreliable connectivity or simply a lack of internet access due to geographical challenges. The lack of available internet, especially in remote areas, is what Kacific aims to address.
Kacific and Ka-Band Technology as viable solutions
Founded in 2013, Kacific Broadband Satellites Group is an operator of next-generation broadband satellites that aims to deliver universal access using proven satellite technologies at affordable costs.
Kacific provides internet to its users in Southeast Asia and the Pacific using the first Ka-band High Throughput Satellite, Kacific1. With Kacific1, the same spectrum (frequencies) is reused multiple times in the 56 spot beams resulting in higher efficiency, lowering the cost of bandwidth, and making it more affordable than predecessor technology such as C-band and Ku-band.
The Ka-band technology, with its high-powered spot beams, can provide availabilities between 99.5% to 99.9%. Thanks to its concentrated coverage area, it has 27-30GHz frequency throughput, versus the traditional C-band and Ku-band’s 5.9-6.4GHz and 13.8-14.5GHz, respectively. These higher frequencies for Ka-band mean higher download and upload rates that provide better internet performance.
Such technology uses Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT), which don’t require fiber or any cable lines that are complex and expensive to set up. Ka-band is also compatible with a smaller antenna size for easier installment and deployment (versus other bands) with each dish having a size of at least 1.2m only. With a small satellite dish, deployment becomes more flexible, faster, and more affordable for residential and business purposes.
What’s more, Kacific implements a Rain Fade mitigation technology. Kacific deployed techniques like diverse uplink availability wherein Kacific has two local teleports located in Subic Bay and Clark as its backup sites to allow for the best uplink availability possible. Kacific also uses modern technologies such as Satellite Automatic Level Control (ALC) and Adaptive Coding Modulation (ACM) to sustain a high level of availability and to improve the quality of service and user experience despite bad weather conditions.
With that, Ka-band satellite technology, like what Kacific offers, makes a great option for bringing affordable and accessible internet to far-flung areas and islands — which we have a lot in the Philippines — to provide connection for e-learning, telecommuting, and enterprise backup.
A connectivity protection for enterprises
Satellite connectivity is also a good viable backup option for urban enterprises that are struggling with spotty internet connectivity. It also complements terrestrial networks. Kacific has an Enterprise-Backup solution that can ensure that your business stays connected following a fiber cut. This very affordable on-demand, hot-backup package allows organizations, factories, and enterprise branches to recover quickly and automatically. Your business will be able to continue with normal activities, even if your primary internet access is compromised. With Kacific Enterprise Internet Backup, your business can have a highly secured and stable connection, high-speed connectivity, and high link availability.
Being one of the most prominent VSAT internet providers in the Philippines, Kacific has a line of unlimited internet plans that are less intimidating than what the others offer. Kacific provides speeds of up to 85Mbps (70Mbps in download speeds; 15Mbps in upload speeds), with affordable bandwidths offered at affordable rates. This speed is more than enough to run applications for all your residential needs and business requirements. For bigger businesses and communities, Kacific can even provide 100Mbps in download and 20Mbps in upload speeds for up to 60 users.
Our Experience
But how well does Kacific internet actually work? The company has invited us to the Experience Center of Eastern Communications, one of Kacific’s local Internet Service Providers (ISP).
We tested Kacific’s VSAT technology using Eastern’s service with 60Mbps download and 20Mbps upload speeds.
Our tests include upload and download speed testing, and real-world performance in video conferencing, file uploads, Google Suite of products, and Microsoft 365 — things that a lot of people use for work-from-home setups and online learning.
Plus, if you want to chill and relax after a hard day’s work, we also tested how Kacific’s internet performs in video streaming and even mobile gaming. Now, let us show you the test results.
On Ookla’s Speed Test, we got the highest speeds of 62.22Mbps and 5.23Mbps for download and upload, respectively. After a series of tests, the average speed we got for download was 55.10Mbps and upload at 3.98Mbps.
For a 60Mbps/20Mbps plan, that’s quite an impressive score, especially since it’s from a VSAT satellite and not a fiber line. From there, it’s no surprise that Kacific’s internet also performed well on the rest of our tests.
Teleconferencing
We tested video conferencing using Microsoft Teams and the internet handled it well with unnoticeable lags and clear quality. The interesting part is, that all the four contacts are actually connected on the same network.
This means that calls via WhatsApp, Viber, and other messaging apps are doable on this type of internet service.
Online Collaboration
Microsoft 365 apps for online collaboration in Word, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive, and presentations on PowerPoint.
Entertainment
We also tested a couple of tasks meant for entertainment for some after-hours sessions.
One of the hottest games that people like to play these days is Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, especially after they grind out the whole day. Although gaming is not advised on satellite networks due to latency, Kacific’s network still managed to easily handle the game with little to no noticeable hiccups and fast game loading times.
Video Live Streaming
Video streaming was also seamless on this VSAT service. We played Netflix and YouTube on separate devices with almost no buffering and HD resolution.
Kacific also allows online sellers and game streamers to live stream with its VSAT internet.
Obviously, Kacific’s satellite internet is powerful enough for both residential and business for everyday use. Whether you’re a residential consumer or an enterprise, they have the right plan that would fit your needs.
If you’re looking to get satellite internet connectivity, you can’t go wrong with Kacific, especially since they are one of the biggest names in the Philippine satellite internet market.
For more details on prices and to avail of Kacific’s satellite internet service, you can reach out to Eastern Communications at 0917-300-7788 or visit https://www.eastern.com.ph.
You can also visit kacific.com or contact sales@kacific.com to learn more about their technology. Interested distributors can also visit https://kacific.com/distributor-network for more information.
*This article was published in partnership with Kacific and Eastern Communications.
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