Hughes Net Question

nehimama · #1 08/19/12, 08:16 AM

I am SICK, SICK, SICK of my dial-up connection! Does anyone here have any advice, good or bad, about Hughes Net, which seems to be the only high-speed connection available in my remote, backwoods area? Thanks!

JohnnyLee · #2 08/19/12, 09:20 AM

Well, if it is all you can get, then yeah, it is WAY better than dial-up. But that is about the only good thing I can say about HN. That is what we have here at the cabin and sometimes we do loose signal, especially if it is cloudy, or storming, or raining, or a big enough bird flies over the dish! lol

Someone coming from dial-up to HN will be impressed with the speed, but if you are used to broadband at work, it is really not the same. The basic packages they offer don't allow too much broadband use, like if you watch a lot of youtube videos or something.

At one time I was thinking of getting it, because I couldn't get cable or DSL out at the house in Marshall, and to really make it effective for me, I would have had to go with a more expensive plan, something like $80 a month (back then, now it is like $110 a month).

If you read these reviews, you would never get it, but other than the occasional outage here, and them throttling your speed back if you use it too much, it is not a bad choice if it is all you can get where you are at.

HughesNet Satellite Broadband : All reviews | DSLReports.com, ISP Information

Raeven · #3 08/19/12, 10:24 AM

nehimama... before you decide on Hughes Net, I'd check out Wildblue/Exede first. (Wildblue/Exede are the same company.)

I've had Wildblue's service for about 5 years, the new, faster Exede service for almost a year. I'm very happy with it.

My primary business is totally reliant upon rock-solid internet -- and it rains here a bit.

My experience has been very different than JohnnyLee's. The rain has to be pouring down in sheets before my service goes out, and it doesn't usually last very long.

When I've had problems (seldom), their customer service has been helpful and quick. When my first dish finally wore out (which I guess they eventually do), and I was stuck without any service, their technicians actually came out the very next day and did the installation/upgrade on a Sunday so my business wouldn't suffer. The technician shared that he did work for both Wildblue/Exede and Hughes, and it was Wildblue's customer service that made it a standout. I have to agree.

I have their least expensive fast service because my usage is minimal in terms of bandwidth. I don't download movies, etc. It costs me $50/month, and is well worth it in my circumstances. I've had DSL and no, it's not fast like THAT. But it's fast enough that I no longer wait for buffering if I view a youtube video. The basic service is more than enough for all my email and websurfing needs.

If I can answer any other questions, please just ask!

#4 08/19/12, 12:01 PM

I had HughesNet for a while before they ran DSL here. I don't remember what it was, maybe 60 or 70 a month(2005) but they charged several hundred for the equipment and setup. The speed was great compared to dialup. Of course, nothing compared to the 8MPS I get now.

FarmboyBill · #5 08/19/12, 01:06 PM

They charged $100 for the installer to come out and hook it up and I suppose the equipment. I pay $80 a month. Like JL said. Its better than dial up, but not by much. You might check Tele co. They have a something that dosent work here. If it works where your at it will be cheaper than HN and faster than DU. Thats AT T.

gaucli · #6 08/19/12, 01:29 PM

I have hughesnet, since I live in the boonies where not much else is available. Definitely way better than dial up. 75.00 a month..I think they had 3 speeds you could get, I got the middle one. Most of the time, pretty fast I think..I have been pretty happy with it. They charged me 100 dollars for equipment, but then I sent in a receipt and they credited it back to my account.

Fowler · #7 08/19/12, 02:33 PM

hughesnet: It sucks, It sucks, It sucks,It sucks, It sucks, It sucks, It sucks, It sucks, It sucks. It sucks, It sucks, It sucks. It sucks, It sucks, It sucks

nehimama · #8 08/19/12, 03:36 PM

Thanks for all the input!

Shygal · #9 08/19/12, 06:47 PM

I have hughesnet only because I have no other choice. Its ok, its fairly reliable.

But I would NOT choose wildblue over hughesnet. Wildblues fair access policy punishes you for a MONTH with slow speed if you go over the limit. Hughes is only 24 hours and you get what you didnt use , added to the next day.

Also, hughesnet charges 125 dollars for a tech to come out no matter what the problem, even a simple realignment.

nehimama · #10 08/19/12, 06:54 PM

TRhanks, everyone. I have Wild Blue coming out Tuesday to get me hooked up. I CAN'T WAIT!

sustainabilly · #11 08/19/12, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shygal

I have hughesnet only because I have no other choice. Its ok, its fairly reliable.

But I would NOT choose wildblue over hughesnet. Wildblues fair access policy punishes you for a MONTH with slow speed if you go over the limit. Hughes is only 24 hours and you get what you didnt use , added to the next day.

Also, hughesnet charges 125 dollars for a tech to come out no matter what the problem, even a simple realignment.

Shy, I don't really have a dog in this race, but I hate that you had to pay anything for dish aiming. Maybe you didn't have a choice...IDK. I've had three different dishes (satTV) and I've always done it myself. A satelite is a satelite, so seems to me you could do that easy and save yourself the ripoff service chrgs.

Shygal · #12 08/19/12, 06:57 PM

I could if I knew how to do the alignment.

I hope you dont go over the user amount, Nehi

wildblue takes a month to get back to regular speed.

nehimama · #13 08/19/12, 07:05 PM

I'll just have to stay off of Youtube, Shy. This has GOT to be WAY better than my ultra-sucky dialup!!!

sustainabilly · #14 08/19/12, 07:07 PM

The sat TV always had a signal strength meter. So tweaking the dish a little here, a little there was all it took. Also, instal. instr. always gave the location of the sat. (compass points, elevation...etc) Guess maybe the sat internet cos. don't want a person messing with it, but that wouldn't stop me.

Fowler · #15 08/19/12, 07:38 PM

Do you have cell tower close by? I dumped Hugesnet and found verizon Jetpack 4g, it's a hot spot and you can connect up to 4 devices , it currently only gets me 3G but its way more reliable the hugesnet. Go to verizon and they can look your area up to see if you will get good recepition or not. And it only cost 50 a month.

Shygal · #16 08/19/12, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sustainabilly

The sat TV always had a signal strength meter. So tweaking the dish a little here, a little there was all it took. Also, instal. instr. always gave the location of the sat. (compass points, elevation...etc) Guess maybe the sat internet cos. don't want a person messing with it, but that wouldn't stop me.

what do you tweak, that gauge on the back with the numbers all over it? it looks like if you loosen the nut, the whole dish will flop forward

sustainabilly · #17 08/19/12, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shygal

what do you tweak, that gauge on the back with the numbers all over it? it looks like if you loosen the nut, the whole dish will flop forward

That gauge is prob an elevation gauge. Degrees above horizon...like that. There might be an azimuth gauge as well. Or the instr. tell you what compass point to start with.

1st, I'd make sure there was a way to tell if I was going the right way. Like that signal strength meter they have on the sat TV. Also helps to have the sat location coordinates. They're what the techs start the pointing procedure with.

If you loosen the bolts just a little, the dish won't slam down. You just have to be careful and go easy. Course it won't matter w/out the above. Look it over carefully and don't do too many adj. at once. Just one at a time...to keep track.

fffarmergirl · #18 08/19/12, 09:52 PM

We have Hughesnet, the middle package, for about $80/month. Wish we could get DSL but Hughesnet isn't too bad. If we go over the data limit they put us on slow-mo for a day. Not usually a problem unless we have somebody come over and watch a bunch of youtube videos.

Raeven · #19 08/19/12, 10:50 PM

I've never gone over my Wildblue usage in all the nearly 6 years I've used 'em. I wouldn't worry unless you just can't stay away from the downloadable movies.

silverseeds · #20 08/20/12, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shygal

I have hughesnet only because I have no other choice. Its ok, its fairly reliable.

But I would NOT choose wildblue over hughesnet. Wildblues fair access policy punishes you for a MONTH with slow speed if you go over the limit. Hughes is only 24 hours and you get what you didnt use , added to the next day.

Also, hughesnet charges 125 dollars for a tech to come out no matter what the problem, even a simple realignment.

Well its a moot point now, but I was going to vote for hughesnet.

You can set things to download all night if you want. with wildblue I found it hard not to be riding the edge of their meter constantly. We like to watch movies sometimes. The meter was also not accurate and we had to wait a month for it to reset one time when it went over. which was no fun for the price! We can watch about a movie a day on HN, with wildblue it was every other.

there was also some major nonsense when we updated the WB account which is why we switched to HN, VERY VERY glad we did.

Good luck with WB though, definitely better then dial up... If you ever upgrade save the old modem and satellite even if they tell you multiple times to toss it!! Otherwise they will try to bleed you for hundreds of bucks!!