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I work from home as a renewable energy writer. Home is 11 miles beyond the nearest power line or phone line, so dial-up is NOT an option. Starband was one big 2-year long hassle. Wildblue didn't exist at the time. The price is right, ever paid for connecting through a BGAN terminal? Works just great with Linux and all wi-fi routers. We have a wireless hotspot in the middle of a national forest. The installer showed up exactly 2 days after the start of Starband's long outage, and was able to do the whole thing (replace my old starband with Hughes) with only spotty cell phone coverage. He even scavenged all of starband's old cnx wall boxes and such, so as not to put more holes in my walls. Moving to Direcway was the best move I ever made, Starband was just one long hassle. I admit I was spitting fire after Direcway moved everything to Hughes.net, I hate to change email addresses, but the end product gives a huge storage space for email. I could go for a year now leaving all my email on the Hughes server. We had a 3-day Hughes POP/SMTP server outage this year, but they fixed it and told me what was up on the cell phone when I called India to complain. I get the fall and spring sun outages for 20 minutes. And peak hours on weekends can be slow. But the whole experience has been excellent. And I no longer have to commute to town (over an hour away). Tech support is really bad and from India. But what can go wrong? You either have a dish that got bumped out of alignment (they can tell), a modem that went bad and fried (easy to diagnose), or a networking issue that you should do your homework on and resolve yourself (google is your friend). I simply laugh at all the inspired whining on dslreports.com about the terrible things HughesNet does to their customers. I can't watch YouTube for 8 hours day! I can't download Netflix DVDs and actually have to wait for them in the mail! My illegal MP3 filesharing software got me FAPed! Get real. People like you are why its so slow when I try to upload a few photos to update my website every weekend during peak hours. Go get DSL or cable if that's what you do online, some of us actually WORK online over a VSAT. Satellite internet will always have delays and latency and peak hours and many other disadvantages. Just ask Arthur C Clarke. If you are a townie, why would you even consider VSAT in the first place when you can get cable or DSL? If you live in the middle of nowhere, HughesNet VSAT works great, with minimal hassles. If it irritates you, try using the internet with a BGAN for awhile. Slow, $5k for the terminal, and just wait until your monthly bill arrives, billed by the minute and megabyte. At least with VSAT your bill is the same every month. And Hughes provides a damned good, reliable VSAT option. Satellite will NEVER compare to cable or DSL, and if you expect it to, you didn't do your homework before signing up. member for 16.4 years, driveby review (so far) updated 16.4 years ago
Started with the DW6000 one year ago and recently upgraded to the DW7000. Reason: $49.95 upgrade cost and $10.00 more per month for faster connections up and down stream. Should have waited for others to be the Beta Testers. As of now many transponders are overloaded [satmex5] and the only time you get the fastest speeds is after midnight and before 11AM. After that you loose 50% to 75% of your speed, depending which satellite you're assigned to. The DW6000 was slow on uploads, but stayed higher longer on downloads. 1000Kbps down-35-50 Up. Don't forget to read the fine print. Direcway always say's "speeds "UP TO". Speeds are not garrenteed. Direway is no comparison to DSL and don't let any salesman or lady tell you I differently. I do my own installations because I'm mobile and I can only blame myself if the aiming is poor. From reports I read, many Dway installers are not trained enough and end up having to be called out again and again. You pay for their poor work too. First time buyers should go to: Broadbandreports.com/forum/sat for more information before making the plunge. Almost forgot. Direcway Tech Support is not the best in the world and you are on hold a long time. I have never called them, but this is what others have said. Update April 2007. I Now have great speed up and down. Latency problems are a thing of the past and speeds are almost constant. Got my speeds up to 4975/386 and Pings are 89-139, plusa cost cut of $20/month. How, you ask, did I do all this? WITH TIME WARNER CABLE $49.95/mo NO MORE HUGHES. By-BY Satellite dish. Hello bird bath. member for 21.9 years, 373 visits, last login: 10.5 years ago updated 16.4 years ago
I've been up and running for about two days. From the time we called d-way we were contacted by a installer roughly 3 hours later that wanted to set-up a install date. We set it for saturday(5 days away) 2 days before the install date we got a call and the installer said he had an opening and if we wanted we could have it installed that day. So we took it, the installer was very ncie. We did a pole mount, it took him around 1hr and a half to do the outside install, but mostly was do to very hard ground for him to dig through. He did a very nice job running the cables from the dish into the house. He caulked the hole he had to drill for the wiring, buried the running wire, and saved us $25 bucks for a grounding block because since we put the dish next to the side of the house wehre the power meter is he just ran a grounding wire from the dish and tied in on our meter ground. He was having trouble outside getting the system to commision on his laptop so I was getting worried. He brought it in the house, hooked it to my main computer and she fired right up. It breezed through the commisioning process and I was on my way. At first my speeds were around 380kbps down which tickled me because due to my crappy copper phone lines my dial-up ran at around 24.4kbps. He told us that within the next 24hrs we could see the system go offline for a few minutes because d-way would do some tweaking on their end. About 3 minutes after he left my lights went off on the modem, within 4 seconds they were back up and haven't been off since that I know of. I'm really loving this system. When you go from downloading 2mb files in 20 minutes to under 2 it's awsome. ::UPDATE: From day 1 the system ran great, I knew about the latency and fap before I got it so those things have never bothered me. Over the two years I've had d-way(or hughes now) besides in bad storms the modem has lost signal maybe twice for some odd reason. Speeds were always great, over performance was amazing to me. Just recently I upgraded from my DW6000 to the HN7000S and my internet experience has drastically improved. I still suggest hughes to anyone who has no other broadband alternative, just make sure you get a GOOD installation and everything is grounded properly. And make sure you understand the fap restrictions and latency. member for 18.6 years, 971 visits, last login: 3.7 years ago updated 16.5 years ago
The above ratings are given after only 10 days of equipment possession, so your mileage may vary on this review. I am running a Pro + package with a new HN7000S modem. .98 dish , 2 watt system on 87 West (name ?) . This is my first attempt at home networking, although I was familiar at setting up things at work. From reading the mail here and talking to my installer during the install, I gather one’s experience with the install process has something to do with who you bought the service from, even though the retailers farm out the installs. Fortunately, I was blessed with a pro-installer who did not try to snow me and was more than happy to answer questions. The initial install went smoothly but I was a bit uneasy when the NOC center switched my modem to another transponder after the installer was able to get about a 91 signal off of the transponder he set it up on. The new transponder came up with a score of only 81, which has settled down to about 65-70 most days. I am not sure if this is an issue but I average about 1100-1200 kbps (advertised to be 1500) on most days. After reading some of the reviews, what I am seeing on my install is apparently is something only to be hoped for by some. So much for advertising. My one experience so far with customer care was over an issue concerning email. Apparently it is down to the point where POP mail can not send mail out of Hughes’ Domain. Web mail does not seem to have that problem, but I gather this POP mail issue has been going on for some days… not very comforting to me. I was fortunate enough to “chat” the problem and not call it in. As much as I hated to type all that I did, I could easily read the English vs. trying to interpret “IndianEnglish” on the phone. The girl had a script which did not fit my original complaint about web mail (which later turned out to be a pop-up blocker problem with my firewall) but going through all that did lead her to the admission they were having network issues. I had figured that all along, but wanted to be sure. I hope they get it fixed soon. One question for a knowledgeable person on this forum: Are not the transmit polarity and receive polarity supposed to be opposite ? (vertical/horizontal) My HN7000 reports the same for both. I will update as needed, but my 30 days is not up yet. member for 16.7 years, 4 visits, last login: 16.7 years ago updated 16.7 years ago
since i moved out here to the boondocks a few months back, i became very disillusioned with the local DSL monopoly so i started selling hughesnet. well, then of course i had to get hughesnet, but because of many horrible stories here, it scared me. the thing is this, i know first hand from the many installs i have sold that NO ONE has complained at all in a few months. and although im a new install i have had NO problems with any of it. this doesnt mean it will always be perfect, but what service is? i probably wouldnt place a lot of weight on the anonymous bad reviews here. if someone is that serious, they will identify themselves. member for 16.7 years, 24 visits, last login: 16.5 years ago lodged 16.7 years ago
We live on the outskirts of Norman, OK (3rd largest town in OK, FWIW), so we have the "last mile" problem, for cable and DSL. I hoped when Toby Keith moved a mile down the road we'd get a DSL station close enough. But he probably paid for a fiber optic line to be run from his place to the center of the Internet Universe. Sorry, off topic, but it looks like years before there are enough homes out here, so Hughesnet is the best we've got (AFAIK). Just got pro plan w/ static IP. As I recall, install was fine, and has held up to OK winds, although it does got out in heavy rain, obviously. Tech support is mixed bag: Wait times for live person are short (by tech support standards), and they try, but some are tech gurus, and some must be following some computer script! Worst experience: when we went from old 4000 double modem (sat up and down) to the DW6000, Tivo no longer connects to outside world (hundreds on a Tivo forum have tried and failed!). Best: Downloads of big files. Dial-up out here was like 33 kbps, best. Anything in double-digit MB was a real snooze. Latency, which makes things like working on web forms/software really slow, is not as big a deal with D/Ls. member for 16.8 years, 6 visits, last login: 14.7 years ago lodged 16.8 years ago
DW7000 still performing well for us. DL 800+ is typical; occasional slowdowns during peak times but usually not below 400-500. Very little issue with weather. Other than the latency inherent with satellite, we are very satisfied with it. We don't do that much downloading and don't watch streaming video, so FAP doesn't even cross our minds very often. Overall, it has delivered what we expected from satellite. Initially (June 2005) - ordered DW6000 home package, $100 rebate so about $500 upfront, $59.99 per month for service. Ordered through Direcway and installer came within 2 days. There are high voltage power lines just south of our property, and the installer was concerned about the effects on the satellite reception - he wasn't sure it would work. After conferring with his supervisor, they decided to try a pole-mounted system behind the house using the roof as a "shield" from the high power lines. It worked, and although we needed to pay $125 extra for nonstandard install, the pole-mount has worked great. Our installer told us he never has problems with pole-mounts needing re-pointed, and the snow removal is really easy, so we're happy with it. After reading so much about what effects a bad install can have on these systems, I realize what a great job our installer did. We've had no problems at all due to the install. Last month I upgraded to the DW7000 pro plan and I am very happy with it. The unit arrived very quickly but the install caused some problems. The modem would start downloading the software, but then it would lose the connection before it completed the commissioning process. I power cycled the modem and restarted the process each time it happened (3 times) while on hold for support (passed the time, anyway). Finally after 2 1/2 hours on the phone and finally getting switched to level 2 support, they had me adjust some of the parameters and the software downloaded. Once it was installed, it's worked great since - a noticeable improvement over the DW6000. I work from home and sometimes use a remote desktop application. Using the DW6000 it was painfully slow, but it is greatly improved with the DW7000. I am very pleased with the DW7000, and overall am happy with the service to date. So, no it's not DSL or cable, but it's miles ahead of what I could have on dialup, especially considering our outdated rural phone lines that aren't even "good" dialup. member for 17.9 years, 108 visits, last login: 10.2 years ago updated 16.9 years ago
I just got the home plan at $59.99 a month. I ordered online and was contacted by phone to set up the install date. The installer did a good job on the install. I was mazed at how fast he found the satellite using his laptop and the modem. I have had pretty good speeds. Even once in a while during prime time, it will slow down some. But it is still faster then dialup and this is the only thing I could get that is "broadband". I am a happy HughesNet customer. member for 17.2 years, 521 visits, last login: 13.4 years ago lodged 17 years ago
My experience so far has been very favorable. Of course, my background is with dial up. My speeds have been good so far. The download speed runs 550-750--upload speed around 100-200. The first night I had some problems. I called customer service and got through in about 5 minutes. The first tech could not help me, so he sent me on up the chain and it was very speedy. This tech was very patient and talked me through the set up. Like I said so far I am very please. Have had it only about three weeks and have not had any really inclement weather--only high winds and the service stayed on through winds of 50 mph. Will have to see how it does during thunderstorms. So far, so good! member for 17.1 years, 6 visits, last login: 16.7 years ago lodged 17 years ago
Service Plan: Small Business : 500Mbyte FAP Download Threshold / 150kbps recovery : At first glance, a 500MB FAP download threshold sounds very small. The recovery rate is the number you really want to look at if you are going to be using this for your business. Think of the FAP threshold as a bucket full of bits. As you download, the bits empty out, right? But, and this is where the recovery rate becomes important, as you download, your bucket is being refilled at 150kbps or 1.25MBytes / minute (equal to 67.5 MBytes / hour)! This doesn't mean you are cut off! It means that you need to slow down a bit and let the bucket fill back up. At 67.5 MBytes / hour, it takes about seven and a half hours to completely refill. Meanwhile, your download speed will decrease. Because satellites have a finite number of transponders, HughesNet came up with a terrific way to ensure fair access to all of it's customers, in my opinion. Hardware - .98 Meter dish, 2 Watt transmitter and a HN7000S modem : The equipment is commercial quality and is rock solid. The modem is absolutely gorgeous! The dish looks very futuristic and you will actually be communicating two-way with a geostationary satellite! I live in mountainous terrain with occasional severe weather. So far, I have not lost reception nor have I had any problems with the equipment. Price : After the initial purchase price, the monthly bill is $126.00 a month for the Small Business Package, five static IP addresses and second day service assurance. HughesNet will let you purchase the equipment up front or make payments. If you choose to purchase the equipment up front, HughesNet offers generous rebates. Ordering and Install : I ordered the system online. The transaction went smoothly and I was contacted quickly via email and telephone to set up an install date. The installer arrived on schedule and was completely professional. He made sure everything was up and running and answered all of my questions. Service : The service from HughesNet has been terrific. My system is running smoothly and is very fast. My download speeds are consistently high as are my upload speeds. I know that if I have any problems, help is only a phone call away. Bottom line : I am one-hundred percent satisfied with my purchase. I researched HughesNet thoroughly and believe it is the best company out there. The FAP is reasonable and very generous. During my research I read many complaints regarding HughesNet, but I balanced those against the customer base and how long the company has been in business. HughesNet has had some growing pains, but now it is a mature company with an excellent product. I highly recommend them. I try to post my statistics daily in the HughesNet forum so that others can make an informed decision. I include my weather, the weather at the gateway and space weather summaries. Feel free to contact me via email if you have any questions. Disclaimer : I am not in the employ of HughesNet nor do I receive any incentives from same. The opinions expressed above are entirely my own. member for 17.2 years, 28 visits, last login: 17.1 years ago lodged 17.2 years ago
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