Most retail IT managers are familiar with the typical wireline connectivity technologies (which are grouped together under the “terrestrial” banner to separate them from satellite options). Dial-up transmits data as analog noise over a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) connection, and is limited in throughput to no more than 56 kbps. Cable modem technology uses shared-segment cable TV infrastructure to deliver broadband; although traditionally consumer-focused, more business services are becoming available. DSL uses analog copper phone lines to transmit broadband over existing infrastructure, and is available in asymmetric consumer-focused or symmetric business-focused variants. Frame Relay is typically delivered over leased lines and provides a mesh or point-to-point connection with a guaranteed minimum and/or maximum data rate.

Satellite technology is typically less well understood by most IT managers. A Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) is a device that is used to communicate by bouncing signals off a satellite in geosynchronous (stationary) orbit above the earth. VSAT networks are designed in a “hub and spoke” fashion, and one or thousands of “remote sites” (stores) communicate with a “hub” (receiving location tied to the corporate datacenter or Internet via high-speed connections).

VSAT is generally a very cost-effective medium for narrowband or broadband data communications, and has particularly strong advantages in ubiquity (VSAT is available at any location with a view of the southern sky) and multicast support (sending the same data to tens or thousands of locations at once). VSAT connections experience about a half-second of latency in a round trip (from the time to reach the satellite and return), making them poorly suited to highly latency-sensitive uses like some Citrix, SMB/CIFS file sharing or SSH applications.

Some providers are beginning to specialize in satellite/terrestrial hybrid networks. Hybrid solutions offer customers a combination of terrestrial and satellite connections, and users benefit from a network that is both optimized for their applications and has a single interface for network management and customer service. The result is a seamless network that enables connectivity through a single backhaul system.