HughesNet Satellite Internet Service Blazingly Fast Download Speeds? Internet
I have been with HughesNet since 01/19/09 and regret it! First not being told of the "FAP" aka Fair Access Policy. Our entry level residential plan $76.72 came with a whopping 225mb/24 hr download limit. Before Hughes we tried WildBlue which was even worse so we decided to live with the limited service. All was well Hughes being almost always up with a consistent download speed of 1.0 megabytepersecond even getting a bad HN9000 modem replaced in just two days til approx. 2 months ago...now during the hrs of 5-10pm we are lucky to run barely above dialup speeds.(indictative of an overloaded network) After running several speed tests including one endorsed by my State Attorney General's office ALL indicating a blazing download speed of approx. 110kps from 5-10pm I decided to call Hughes' tech support during this time frame. Their tech required I perform Hughes' speed test, so I had to download Sun Java software first. The tech told me it would take only approx. 3 minutes, but took over 10 minutes to load. Things got really interesting...after running a few of Hughes' speed tests all indicating I was running @ 512 kbps aka 1/2 a megabytepersecond I informed Hughes' tech this was conflictive with how long it took the Sun Java software to load & all the independent speed tests I had performed throughout the last two months during this time frame. He replied, "Well you are downloading webpages in under 12 seconds..." I can download most webpages on dialup in under 12 seconds! I let their "tech" know I ran a pc service out of my home & he laughed ( I really do) & my respeonse was, "I think I will stop right here...hate to say it but I am going to start looking for another ISP!!" I discovered wireless cable broadband is now available in my area & had them come out to do a signal test...we can get it!! It is approx. $16.00 cheaper/month & no download limit along with a consistent speed too. After experiencing both WildBlue & HughesNet I wish I had just added a second LAN line & used dialup. We are paid up with Hughes til mid 3/2011 & already set an install date for the wireless cable broadband. I encourage all satellite Internet users to check out your local cable company for another option....also research the mobile broadband options like AT&T, Sprint/Virgin Mobile, etc. Goodbye HughesNet!!