Frequently Asked Questions // Thuraya IP Terminal

Thuraya IP is a reliable, affordable, portable, broadband data solution. Using an A5-sized, compact, light weight terminal, it is especially useful if you require reliable internet access in areas with inadequate terrestrial infrastructure. The service is available throughout Thuraya’s vast coverage area spanning more than 140 countries across Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East and Europe. The service is based on Internet Protocol (IP) and offers broadband data solution on Shared Mode or Dedicated Mode.

The Thuraya satellite footprint covers more than 140 countries across Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East and Europe.

There are two types of broadband data services available: standard IP and streaming IP.

Standard IP: Also called Background IP or VBR (Variable Bit Rate), this service offers up to 444 kbps data connectivity on shared mode or best effort basis.

Streaming IP: Also called CBR (Constant Bit Rate), this service offers dedicated data connectivity ranging from 16 to 384 kbps.

Multiple types of external antennas are available to achieve the maximum throughput on Thuraya IP. These antennas cater to the needs of various market segments for land, vehicle and maritime applications.

Fixed Panel Antenna
This is a large flat panel antenna, designed to be permanently fixed onto a building or similar standing structure.

Portable Flat Panel Antenna
This is a lightweight, compact flat panel antenna, suitable for mobile applications on land.

Vehicle Antenna
Compact and light in weight, Thuraya’s 2-axis tracking vehicle antenna can be used on any land vehicle. We also provide a magnetic mounting kit, enabling the vehicle antenna to be securely mounted on your vehicle.

Thuraya IP can be used either with or without an external antenna. It has an inbuilt antenna which can be used for standard IP connectivity of up to 444 kbps on the downlink. The internal antenna can also be used for streaming IP uplink connectivity of up to 256 kbps. The details of the bandwidth available and the antenna used are as follows:

Yes, to get the maximum bandwidth (uplink/downlink), as detailed in the table below, the external antenna has to be used.

The antenna comes with a cable, connectors and the mounting kits, if required. The length of the cable varies with the type of the antenna used. For example, the length of the standard cable for EA 1426 is 10m, whereas for EA 1535 it is less than 30cm because the antenna is mounted on to the Thuraya IP terminal.

Broadband internet access, email, web mail, web browsing, Virtual Private Network (VPN), File transfer (FTP), video conferencing, video streaming, corporate intranet and e-commerce.

Thuraya IP satellite IP modem (portable, light weight, plug-and-play device) and a Thuraya IP SIM card. Simply connect the terminal to a notebook or a desktop PC via an Ethernet connection, USB Connection or WLAN, and you are online.

The service is available to you through Thuraya IP Service Providers.

Thuraya IP offers two types of Quality of Service (QoS):

Standard IP
This service offers shared channel resources among several users. This means that in any spot beam, the number of users logged on and actively using the service will be sharing the available channels. The throughput will vary depending upon the amount of data transmitted and received by various users sharing the channel, hence called VBR (Variable Bit Rate). Thuraya IP provides an internet connection using packet technology. The Thuraya GPRS Gateway is then connected to the internet, at which point Thuraya no longer controls the QoS.

Thuraya cannot guarantee certain throughput, but we continue monitoring the network to ensure that the best possible service is achieved.

Streaming IP
This service offers dedicated throughput on a channel. Within streaming IP, different types of QoS are available ranging from a 16 to 384 kbps for uplink, as well as downlink. In this mode, if you opt for 384 kbps uplink and 64 kbps downlink, and the network is available, the 384 kbps uplink bandwidth and 64 kbps downlink bandwidth are dedicated for you only. The throughput remains constant during the session.

Streaming IP offers numerous uplink/downlink bandwidth options. It offers unmatched flexibility of variable uplink and downlink streaming bandwidth to suit any type of dedicated bandwidth requirement. For example, a media customer who wants to cover a live event will demand the best possible uplink bandwidth at 384 kbps. On the downlink, however, they may not require huge bandwidth, and so may settle for 64 kbps or 128 kbps. This results in a huge cost saving.

You can choose any combination from the uplink/downlink matrix provided below:

Thuraya IP is manufactured by Hughes Network Systems, Inc., USA.

Thuraya IP is a feature packed Satellite IP Modem, absolutely portable, robust; truly plug and play with unmatched flexibility in operations.

The Thuraya IP package includes the Thuraya IP satellite IP modem, AC Mains power adapter and cable, Universal Power Adapter, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, Ethernet cable, USB data cable, User Manual and CD containing USB Driver.

Thuraya IP is a true plug-and-play device. The browser on your PC should support Java. (The Java plug-in required on your PC for terminal control is located at www.java.com)

Windows: NT 4.0, 98 second edition, 2000, ME, XP and VistaOthers: Macintosh OS 10.1 or later, Linux Redhat 9.Supported browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later for Windows, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later for MAC, Netscape Communicator 7 or later, Macintosh Safari 1.2 or later, Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or later.

Insert your SIM, power up, and obtain a GPS fix. Connect using Ethernet/USB or WLAN, and point your Thuraya IP to the satellite. You are ready to move into Standard IP Normal Operational Mode to perform activities such as browsing.

Power cycle the terminal and retry, under a clear sky with no obstructions.

The Thuraya IP terminal comes with an Ethernet Cable and USB Cable. You can connect your PC/ laptop with the terminal by using either of these cables or WLAN.

Place your Thuraya IP outside on a flat surface with a clear view of the sky Power the unit up by pressing the power button. Thuraya IP is now attempting to locate itself using GPS. This may take up to five minutes. For optimum GPS signal reception, make sure Thuraya IP is positioned in a roughly horizontal placement. Since GPS receivers must “see” a large part of the sky without obstructions from buildings, mountains or trees, it may be necessary to take your Thuraya IP out to a clear space to obtain a new GPS location. It may be possible to obtain a new GPS location in a less favorable circumstance, but the time to completion may be longer. The most recent GPS location is stored in Thuraya IP even when the unit is powered down. Upon power up, if this stored GPS location is available, the display indicates “Using Stored Location.” Even so, Thuraya IP will attempt to update this GPS location since the Thuraya system will only allow access if your GPS location is not too old. If Thuraya IP is able to update the GPS location, the status changes from “Stored” to “Valid.” GPS location is shown as “Invalid” only under special circumstances when the stored information has been erased. In any case, you may wish to attempt network access to see if service will be granted. Please refer to the User Manual for additional queries. If you continue to experience difficulties, kindly send the GPS coordinates, error codes, if any, and other details to customer.care@thuraya.com.

Careful orientation of the terminal towards the satellite is required for establishing a connection. The more precise the alignment, the faster the data transmission. MMI Pointing details are contained in your User Manual.

wMMI (Web Man Machine Interface) is the web based interface which you can use to configure, set up and use the Thuraya IP terminal.iMMI (Integrated Man Machine Interface) is the interface (LCD and few buttons) which is available on the Thuraya IP terminal for you to configure, set up and use the Thuraya IP terminal.

In the Pointing Mode, information regarding pointing of the terminal to the satellite can be viewed on the MMI, and the terminal can be adjusted accordingly to provide the best signal strength. You have to Exit Pointing Mode either through the MMI or by pressing the Exit Pointing Button on the terminal to enter standard IP Mode.

If Pointing is Enabled, power off and on again. If Pointing is Disabled, enable it and then power off and on. On the wMMI, Go to Settings<Advanced Settings<select Enabled for Pointing. Save. Power off/on.

Pointing may be Disabled (default setting). Enable it to see the Pointing Screen.

No, Pointing is disabled in the default configuration. If it was enabled, you can disable it by going to the advanced settings page.

No, the terminal must be turned off before replacing the SIM.

The SIM card is in a small compartment adjacent to the battery.

Turn off the terminal. To remove the battery, unscrew the battery compartment cover, remove the battery connector by pressing and pulling it. Pull out the battery from the compartment. After you remove the battery, the SIM card can be removed by slightly pushing it into the compartment. The SIM card holder is a push in/push out type.

Open any of the installed browsers. Enter http://192.168.128.100 in the URL field.

Yes, if the local IP address used to access the wMMI is configured in the Proxy settings page under exceptions. In order to access the wMMI from the browser, ensure that proxy settings in your browser are disabled. You may need to enable this setting on return to other Internet connections.

You must verify that the proxy server settings in your browser are disabledFor Microsoft Internet Explorer, select Tools/Internet Options/Connections/LAN Settings and uncheck the box labelled ‘Use a proxy server for your LAN’.For Netscape or Firefox, go to Advanced Preferences and select ‘Direct connection to the Internet’. For Safari, select System Preferences/Network/Built-in Ethernet/Proxies and uncheck the box labelled ‘Web Proxy (HTTP).’ When complete please close your browser. You may need to enable this setting on return to other Internet connections.

The upper level of the LCD displays status messages and menu items. Status messages are summarized in the table below:

One hour when continuously transmitting at maximum speed, and 2.5 hours continuous reception at the highest speed.

36 hours.

Yes, accessories including a travel charger and battery for Thuraya IP are available from your Thuraya Service Provider.

Thuraya IP may be used indoors with an external antenna. Flat panel external antennas can be used with Thuraya IP terminal.

Yes. Thuraya IP SIM cards can be used in the Thuraya DSL terminal, but the available speed will be limited to a maximum shared bandwidth of 144 kbps.

Yes, you can use Thuraya DSL SIM Cards in Thuraya IP, but the bandwidth available will be limited to 144 kbps only. You may need to update your SIM profile through Thuraya Customer Care to enable this at customer.care@thuraya.com

Thuraya IP can support multiple concurrent users, and each user can have multiple sessions. The maximum recommended number of concurrent users is 12.

The terminal conforms to IP55/IK03 ingress protection standards, and can resist water spray. However, keeping it is not advisable to leave the terminal sitting in the rain.

Yes, you can send files from one Thuraya IP to another Thuraya IP. A static IP address is not required for this.

The Thuraya IP terminal has one USB port, one RJ45 port and one WLAN connectivity option. For further details, check the Thuraya IP specifications sheet on our website.

Thuraya IP does not support Circuit Switched Voice; any VOIP application can be used.

You must use your own firewalls.

No, this cannot be done from the unit, but can be done using the firewalls on your local network.

No, the bandwidth available to each user depends on the application used by each, and the amount of data exchanged by that user. The higher the amount of data being pushed/pulled, the higher the bandwidth available for each.

You can use any standard data encryption on Thuraya IP. All the major encryption types have been tested and proven on Thuraya IP.

You require a VPN client on your PC/laptop and a corresponding VPN server in your HQ to setup the VPN connection.

In general no, but it is subject to the application you have used to download the file.

No, you cannot, you can only use one at a time.

Yes, there are 4 default user profiles: standard, 128 kbps streaming, 256kbps streaming and 384kbps streaming. Each can be configured individually for streaming IP or standard IP service.

Yes, Thuraya IP can be used with various videoconferencing units including Scotty, Polycom, Tandberg, etc.

Yes, a new GPS fix has to be acquired.

Thuraya IP is a pure IP terminal. You can use any fax over IP software to send fax over Thuraya IP.

Yes. The bandwidth/throughput that you get on Thuraya IP is heavily dependent on the correct pointing. If the signal strength drops, the bandwidth available will also drop.

Yes, when using the terminal in a maritime environment you have to use a Spacecom stabilized maritime antenna.

If it is a floating oil platform, then the stabilized antenna is preferred. However, if it is a fixed oil platform, the flat panel external antenna can suffice.

Thuraya IP has been tested with multiple streaming media applications, the most important one being Quicklink.

Your Thuraya Service Provider can procure the Quicklink solution, comprising of the client side encoders and server side decoders directly from Quicklink.

Yes, you should be able to use Thuraya IP during a sandstorm.

You can use your terminal indoors by placing an external antenna outside and connecting it to the Thuraya IP indoors, with a long antenna cable available with the EA 1426 antenna version.

No, you will need to download the new version from the Thuraya IP website and then upgrade the firmware on your terminal, as per the procedure described in the User Manual.

The performance of any IP link (especially the ones over satellite) can be improved using special TCP Accelerator software/hardware. It is advisable to use the TCP window resizing software patch for the Windows operating system. This can be provided by Thuraya Customer Care atcustomer.care@thuraya.com or downloaded from our web site.

Yes, Thuraya Customer Care sends the notifications for planned as well as unplanned outages to the Service Providers, who then notify the customers.

You can remotely control your Thuraya IP by accessing the computer controller attached to Thuraya IP.

Yes, Thuraya IP is compatible with both Mac as well as PC.