Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2017 10:30:20 -0400
From: Mike Fox
Subject: Another thing to keep in mind with satellite internet services
None of the satellite internet services, as far as I know, are compatible with Virtual Private Network, or VPN. If you are employed and work remotely, you are most likely required to use VPN to connect to your employer’s network, so you can’t telecommute or work from home on satellite internet.
The reason why it’s not supported is explained pretty well in this excerpt from the HughesNet website (here: https://www.hughesnet.
“We do not recommend using a VPN with your HughesNet service. Your home is approximately 22,000 miles away from the HughesNet satellite in space. In order to minimize the delay that comes from having data travel back and forth over such a vast distance, your modem uses advanced acceleration techniques. When you use a VPN connection that encrypts data, it interferes with your modem’s ability to compensate for the delay. Depending on the type of VPN used, you may see overall speed reduced by 50–70%. You can restore your connection to full speed by simply disabling your VPN client when your session is over. Note: HughesNet Technical Support does not provide help with configuring or troubleshooting problems associated with VPN clients”
Also note that even though this comes from HughesNet’s website, it’s not unique to them. All the satellite internet companies use similar compression to make the service work over the long distances.
It’s incorrect to say that no VPNs work over satellite. It’s true that the inherent higher latency of satellite can make some VPNs perform poorly or not at all, but some SSL (or web-based) VPNs can work just fine over satellite. If you want to check before buying, just bring your VPN-equipped laptop into a local Exede dealer and see how it works over satellite.