Hughes.Net Satellite Broadband Speed Less than Dial-Up Nationwide
After nearly 10 years of flawless broadband service in Tampa Bay, Florida (with TimeWarner/RoadRunner ISP) I moved to a rural area of Indiana so I could near my family. I am a college student and freelance CG animator and a reliable broadband connection is very important to me. In the area where I live the only option for high speed Internet' is Hughes.Net.
After contacting them and explaining how important a high-speed connection is to me (not only for my animating but my schooling as well) Hughes.Net made several claims regarding the speed and reliability of their service. I believed them and at a considerable setup cost I signed up for their service.
Much to my disappoint, my download rate falls between 0.0kps and 2.0kps regardless of the type of connection/download I'm attempting. I get this speed' when doing anything from loading up web pages to downloading my email. Several times a day my connection times out when attempting such major tasks as loading up web pages and there are days when it takes me upward to 30 minutes to download ONE email without any attachments.
I have worked at the national help desk for Time Warner/RoadRunner broadband and have a great deal of knowledge regarding my OS, hardware configurations and how to explain my issue to a customer service professional. I am not a newbie when it comes to trouble shooting *AND* resolving connectivity and speed related issues
I contacted Hughes.Net regarding my 'blazing' connection speed and their only resolution to the issue was for me to not go online for 8 hours. While that was 100% unacceptable to me I did it none the less and the only thing fixed was their 'tech support' lady got me off her phone.
Their FAP (fair access policy) is anything but and even though I have made sure that none of my computers went online for days I still get that 0.0 to 2.0kps download rate regardless of which computer I use. I have connected each of my computers directly to their modem and bypassed my router (which worked fine with RoadRunner) none of which made any difference. Hughes.Net has been connecting me at a rate slower than a 14.4 dial up connection while charging me top dollar for the privilege.
I build my own computers and I build them for power/speed. I have more than one Microsoft certification in the direction of M.C.S.E.
I have been on the Information Super-Highway since it was a dirt road made up from people such as myself who ran a B.B.S. I am confident the issue does not lie on my end.
Hughes.Net is with out a doubt the worst ISP I have ever had the displeasure of doing business with and if this comment convinces even ONE person to not sign up with them than my work here is done.
Save yourself the LARGE amount of money they charge and go with a $9.00 dial up. Not only will you save a bundle of money, you'll have a connection when the sky has a moderate amount of clouds, you'll have the SAME IF NOT BETTER connection speed, and you'll not have a download/bandwidth cap.
If I knew then what I know now I would NEVER have given Hughes.Net a moment of my time let alone the $100+ they've charged me for their useless equipment that I am now stuck with.
Hughes.Net = Garbage.Net
Dana
Attica, Indiana
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Dana
Attica,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Their FAP is anything BUT...
#3Author of original report
Fri, May 11, 2007
I am aware that they think I am a bandwidth hog.
I would not have posted my comment without reading their FAP FAQ.
Their conclusion that I am a bandwidth hog' is highly inaccurate.
They came to this conclusion even though I was not online for several days, used exactly ZERO bandwidth during that time as my computers were turned off and I was out of town.
When I signed up with their service I explained that I do use bandwidth and why.
They never mentioned to me that I would be penalized for using it. There was NO mention of their FAP during ANY of the conversations.
If you know anything about CG animation then you know that a 60-second scene can be several hundred MB in size. Not only that, if you've ever taken any online courses I'm sure you're aware those exams and other necessary resources require bandwidth.
On more than one occasion I've been greatly inconvenienced by my ISP killing my bandwidth during an exam.
All in all, I would never -NEVER- have paid the $500 for the satellite dish and system, the $100 for the pole, the $75.00 for the set up and the $70 a month for their service had I known that I would be punished for expecting my BROADBAND connection to provide me with BROADBAND service.
If you need BROADBAND service for little more than checking your email then Hughes.Net is your ISP. If however you expect to be able to view online video streaming, spend hours doing research, downloading research data and uploading files then Hughes.Net is the WRONG ISP for you.
Jay
Newport,Kentucky,
U.S.A.
A lot of complaints about Hughes.net
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, May 11, 2007
Dana,
I did some checking on the net and I think a simple explanation has been found.
Hughes.net decided that you went over their limit. In other words, you downloaded to much to soon and they consider you to be a bandwidth hog.
As far as I am concerned, that is a lousy way to treat customers!
One Hughes.net customer complaint that I read dealt with the fact that when he would take a nape, the fact that the computer was still on and connected to the net was counted towards this "Magical Formula" that they do not want you to know about and customer service can't explain!
I hope this helps!