Sniperhill

Services

Services offered are titled "Internet Forces" and are tiered by download speed and length of each plan. The different plans range from 24-hour service entitled "Recon" all the way up to "Expert", 30 days of unlimited service with a download speed of up to 64kbit/s. The maximum length of each plan is 30 days. Businesses supporting US/NATO missions can opt for small business plans.

Access

Users can auto-obtain wireless connectivity using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)-IP addressing. Upon launching their Internet browser, subscribers are redirected to a captive portal homepage where they can either sign up or logon using an existing account.

Technology

In each area of operations, technicians position a satellite earth station and erect and operate a main communication tower. Sectoral flat panel antennas affixed to the main tower provide 360 degree coverage for up to three square kilometers. A point-to-multi-point or terrestrial fiber optic backbone distributes and allocates bandwidth throughout the combat living areas. Each communication tower transmits an encrypted “invisible” signal through the use of licensed frequencies to commercial-grade wireless router antennas and wireless access points located throughout the U.S. base. Data is encrypted between the company's hosts using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)-256 encryption algorithm.

Costs

Operating an ISP inside warzones is costly due to the existing infrastructure, unconventional methodology, danger placed upon employees, and the maintenance and use of the satellites that are required to get the bandwidth in and out of the OIF theatre. None of these constraints exist in the U.S. and other developed parts of the world. Also, bandwidth costs in the U.S. and elsewhere are nowhere near those found in Iraq because of America's Internet and Wi-Fi infrastructure, the surplus of fiber optic backbones and high speed cable lines to propagate bandwidth. With the infrastructure in place now within these camps, the Garrison Command ensures no soldier directly interferes, tampers, or destroys any of the wireless capabilities the Sniperhill contract has brought. The most common repair to such equipment is from normal wear and tear from the excessive heat and sand. Occasionally interference occurs from the hosting teleport.

Soldiers performing logistical operations within Sniperhill's area of operation temporarily RON (rest overnight) at these various camps. The "Target Practice" service is the most widely used option for the troops whose obligations involve convoy movement, as their stay is most likely to be less than 48 hours. This service costs $10 a day.

Latency

Network latency is the delay between requesting data and getting a response, or in the case of one-way communication, between the actual moment of broadcast and the time actually received at destination. Compared to ground-based communication such as fiber optics or cable lines, geostationary satellite communications experience higher latency than that of ground-based communications due to the signal having to travel 22,000 miles out into space to a satellite in geostationary orbit and back to Earth again.

Limitations

The signal delay can be as much as 900 milliseconds or more, which makes most satellite-based Internet service unusable and unstable for applications requiring real-time user input, such as online games or remote surgery. The functionality of live interactive access to a distant computer can also be subject to these problems caused by high latency. These problems are more than tolerable for just basic email access and web browsing and in most cases are barely noticeable but are problematic for real-time applications and those requiring large amounts of bandwidth such as 512 kbit/s or 1 Mbit/s.