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Review by dashosen See Profile

  • Location: Nederland, Boulder, CO, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Remote location coverage
Poor upload speeds, customer service is questionable at best
If you live in the moutains above boulder, investigate any avenue available before choosing this
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I knew my options were limited in the mountains before I started down the path of choosing an ISP, the choices were HughesNet or WildBlue for Satellite service. When I talked to customer service I explicitly stated that for my job I need to ssh for oncall. If I would have gotten the minimum for upload (at 256K) it would have been livable, instead I got less than a 56K modem.

Part of this is shame on me. I did not read that there was a cancellation charge and their contract forbids VPN (this is not VPN but a console ssh - but that could be splitting hairs).

Regardless I called on 3 occasions about the upload speed. They made me download their diagnostic software to test the speeds, but the software never worked or posted results to their site. I directly asked if they would send an agent out to look and was told they could not without the results (what a great way to deliver run-around customer service).

In short ... if you have the option join the co-op which has better download speeds and reliable service (never down so far). If you cannot do that, get HughesNet. A colleague has them and has had no big issues as well as not punishing you with a cancellation charge. This service should advertise that it is ONLY for using a web browser, which is fine if you are still a 90s internet user. Thanks for wasting my time WildBlue.

member for 14 years, 1 visits, last login: 14 years ago
lodged 14 years ago

jbrewno
join:2010-01-21
Port Byron, NY

jbrewno

Member

I feel ya

Worst ISP in the history of mankind as far as im concerned. Moved to a "Rural Area" (6 miles from a decent sized city). Either Wild Blue or Hughsnet. Had Wild Blue for 6 days then canceled and went back to dial up! and my dial up is faster download and upload.

wildbluenet
@wildblue.net

wildbluenet

Anon

Worstever:

I woud'nt have this service ever again. I have had them for 2 yrs and I'm getting out as soon as I can. Its slower than snails. Its never been good since day 1. Its so slow and I do mean slow. I'll take take dial up over them any time. They're not going to beat me out of any money cause I'm canceling my credit card before them. I know how they play the game. Its always down especially in bad weather and by that I mean rainy days. My husband has to get up on the roof and dry the rain off of the satellite. And it still does'nt help. I hope everyone out their is reading about them before they get this service. I wish I had of checked them out. My girlfriend told me about them, but I should of checked them out first.

Review by kstorm16 See Profile

  • Location: Leggett, Mendocino, CA, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Better than dial up
Expensive, not as fast as dsl, cable or any other "high-speed" connection, DL limits are a bit limiting
If you have no other options it is OK
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Customer service sucks, and it isn't blazing fast but it is better than dial up which is the only other choice where I live. Given the opportunity I'd go back to anything else (cable, dsl, fios, etc) Also the 30 day rolling DL limits are a little oppresive, and I have the top package 15gigs!! Installation people were great though, Timely and professional. Rumors are that the speeds and data limits will be greatly increased this summer and I really hope so. Also, remember that getting this service is a min 2yr commitment. So basically, I'm happier than I was, but not as happy as I could be.

member for 16.6 years, 25 visits, last login: 4.4 years ago
lodged 14.1 years ago


zalternate
join:2007-02-22
freedom land

2 edits

zalternate

Member

speed, data increase?

I don't see how WildBlue could increase any data or speeds on the older satellites. Anik F2. WildBlue1.
And EchoStar is now giving extra capacity for the crowded/full spot beams for Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Arkansas.

The new ViaSat1 satellite that will be available after mid 2011, is the one that will have much higher speeds and higher data limits.
»www.viasat.com/broadband ··· viasat-1

Review by hoblory

  • Location: Folsom, Saint Tammany, LA, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
there is no good points
the service was horrible from day one
do not waist your money on this junk
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When your service does not work like they claim, and you cancel, they will keep your money. I have sat. tv and on cloudy days I would have tv but no wildblue internet. It does not have to be very bad weather as they claim. My speed, when I did have service, was no faster than dial up, as they claim. On the back of Jason folse (jason@aerfectsatellite.com) wild blue buisness card reads, up to 30 times faster than dial up, reaches virtually everywhere w/a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, constantly connected. None of this was true in my case I ordered the service and on 11-06-09 they took $99.95 from my account and then on 11-16-09 they took $195.56 from my account. I canceled there junk before a 30 day period and on 12-21-09 they put back $18.32, keeping $277.19 of my money. I was totaly dissatisfied with every aspect of thier service. Olin Lory

(review was emailed from domain aol.com)
lodged 14.2 years ago


Review by jrkauffm See Profile

  • Location: Bennett, Cedar, IA, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
I'm two miles too far for DSL so this is the only option
Speed, cost, and reliability. You don't get what you pay for
Wait for DSL - don't spend the money
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Wildblue was the only broadband option for where I live. I started with the basic package not wanting to buy more than what I needed. I checked the speed it averaged around 250 down and 50 up - not good, but better that dial-up or so I thought. I noticed about a year later my speed dropped to a snails pace - seems that I got FAP'ed due to excessive use. I thought that was odd since the usage on my network hadn't changed. I don't down load movies or music, so I checked my network. I didn't find anything wrong so I changed out the router. After I got FAP'ed three times and changed out the router again, I decided to upgrade to the Pro package. They claimed up to 1.5M down a more bandwidth. The bandwidth is fine now - the speed is bad. I've never gotten better than 950 and that's in the morning before 8am. The technician is coming out this Thursday, if they can't fix it I'm going back to dial-up

member for 14.4 years, 18 visits, last login: 14.1 years ago
lodged 14.2 years ago


Review by (hidden by request)

  • Location: San Antonio, Socorro, NM, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
slower than advertised
better than nothing
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none
7500 mbs or bottom of offered
order good----istallation -I got it.- Installer was hard to understand.
ViaSat Surfbeam I.T.E. Model SM2000 compared to other equipment I'v seen mine looks used.

I don't think I have been above above 50% but I have been slower than I shwuld be.

(review was emailed from domain wildblue.net)
lodged 14.2 years ago







Review by (hidden by request)

  • Location: Ashland City, Cheatham, TN, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
none
they lie cheat and steal
DONT DO IT
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worst service I have ever seen from any ISP , blatant scammers , installers are enough to frighten even this tough old bird

(review was emailed from domain charter.net)
lodged 14.2 years ago


EarthSignal
Earthsignal
Premium Member
join:2002-10-03
Burlington, IA

EarthSignal

Premium Member

Hidden identity

Why would anyone be interested in a review where the person hides their identity (posted their message from Charter net). Looks like someone didn't do their research before signing on or is just spamming.






Review by (hidden by request)

  • Location: Kokomo, Howard, IN, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
I have something called inernet
an amish buggy is faster
run from satelite
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My wife and I were moving out of town to a wonderful new house. Problem no cable internet avaible. Solutions web search what was avaible. Satelite or dial up. So after too many calls and sales people we decided on (WB). We got the most expensive alleged fastest connection possible. After asking pointed questions specifically about VENT/WOW, and being told yes they could be used no issue's... WoW my hunter now only does 2.5k dps(down from 5k), my mage has been thrown out of raids, casting takes so long. Vent is a headache at best, forget about going to WinterGrasp, lost too many tokens getting DC'd right before the end win/lose. Only advice can can give, is watch to were you move too a few miles can mean everything. All I can do now is tell all my friends, family, co-workers, social networks, AVOID satelite internet at all costs, but only choice over no choice you decide. Contracts, captive market, they wont last forever, call your cable/dsl provides ask/beg/complain. Maybe you'll get some luck out of a politician (if you let them know), to help speed up the possiblity of getting out/away from the Satelite trap.

(review was emailed from domain yahoo.com)
lodged 14.3 years ago


EarthSignal
Earthsignal
Premium Member
join:2002-10-03
Burlington, IA

EarthSignal

Premium Member

Hidden identity

Why would anyone be interested in a review where the person hides their identity. Looks like someone didn't do their research before signing on.

compuguybna
join:2009-06-17
Nashville, TN

compuguybna

Member

Re: Hidden identity

We get it, you dont like anon posters. Do you have to leave your comment on EVERY anon post ? ? ? ? ?
(just like you scold people on the Wildblue forums)....
said by EarthSignal:

Why would anyone be interested in a review where the person hides their identity. Looks like someone didn't do their research before signing on.

zalternate
join:2007-02-22
freedom land

4 edits

zalternate

Member

Gaming?

Quite a few people get suckered in by the false promise of being able to do gaming.
Take that to court(start with your State Attorney General and BBB) to kill your contract for false advertising.
WildBlue must be held accountable for what call support and installers/sellers tells potential signups.
Some games may work but not a lot of them since DAMA was applied. »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De ··· e_Access

Also note part of WildBlues advertising Faqs of
»wildblue.com/aboutWildbl ··· .jsp#5_1
provides a user experience similar to most DSL services.

It's not like DSL at all. especially with the LAG and low FAP policies.
reedsr12
join:2008-03-08
Terre Haute, IN

reedsr12

Member

Try the FCC

I actually had better luck getting out of my WB contract by using the FCC. I started filing complaints with them and I was out of my contract shortly after that. Performance and Lack of service were my main points of emphasis.

Review by Joey O See Profile

  • Location: Susanville, Lassen, CA, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Excellent Pre-sale discloseure
Don't Know that I can think of one
Excellent Company
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I have been using WildBlue Satellite Internet service for over two-years and have been extremely happy. This service is what it is . . . a great alternative to dial-up. I called several companies that all sold WildBlue and I found the best company to be Got SKY Unlimited, I think the web site is www.GotSky.com. There sales staff where extremely knowledgable and told me everything I needed upfront, where others did not talk about the limits on up-load and down-load. They put me into a package that really worked well for my family. They also told me about Commercial WildBlue service; if my family exceeded our residential usage limits, we could convert our account to Commercial to get the higher limited.

I feel sorry for some of the folks that have had the excellent experience we have had. I believe that they were not given all the information they needed to make a good buying decision. The folks at Got SKY have been wonderful.

member for 14.5 years, 3 visits, last login: 14.4 years ago
updated 14.3 years ago


Review by sblaze See Profile

  • Location: Cochran, Bleckley, GA, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
Speed is acceptable but certainly not compairable to DSL or CABLE (I have the fastest package PRO)
NO Customer Appreciation, NEVER innovates, VERY Pricey, VERY Restrictive
As long as you give them a lot money they will give you almost no service and little to no change.
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WildBlue is at best a medicore soloution to the no bandwith boondocks blues. I have been a customer of WB for three years. Trust me with what I say here. In those three long years they have charged me 80$ a month every month for there "Pro" package. For 80$ a month I get told that I can only use 17GB in a 30 day window (aka a "rolling period"). If I am naughty and use more than my 17GBs... they put me in a time out by telling my modem to "STFU you red headed step child!" For those of you who speak Yankee... They tell it to go REALLY REALLY SLOW... and sometimes... don't go at all!

Do you still do the same exact things online that you did 3 years ago? Do you think web pages and aps on those pages are all still the same size as way back then? No..... the internet is an every growing and expanding world. Full of life... music... movies... Oh wait did you just go over your 17GB.... well the internet for you just became "Connection Timed Out," "Server Not Found," and "Waiting for www.whatever.com to connect..." And if being treated like a 7yr old who has asked to stay up 5 more minutes one too many times doesn't thrill you.... WAIT THERE'S MORE!!!!

Wildblue's biggest competetor Hughes Net offers this very innovative thing. I forget what they call it... but basically it boils down to this... you can schedule your computer to do all its updates... Windows... Anti-Virus etc during this period and it WON'T COUNT AGAINST YOUR FAP. Guess what kiddies.... WB requires you to run a Anti-Virus... and if you don't like the crappy one they want to sell you (F-Secure) or want to buy one... like use a free one like AVG.... you have to download it and its updates daily. Guess what it counts against your bandwith (isn't that nice of them!!!!)

Oh yeah and at present writing of this... they don't support Windows 7. Not that that means much considering they don't support anything they sell (LOL) So come on what are you waiting for!!!! SIGN UP TODAY!!! LEARN TO not DO FUN and INTERESTING THINGS ONLINE....or DO THEM AS FAST AS OTHERS YOU KNOW WITH DSL OR CABLE!!!!

member for 20.6 years, 171 visits, last login: 3.8 years ago
updated 14.3 years ago


Review by (hidden by request)

  • Location: Minneapolis, Hennepin, MN, USA
  • Cost Contract price not specified.
the first week is the best
when it rains, WB does not work and when it does, I pay through the teeth for KBs
better off with At & T, Quest anything, read the small print on the contract
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better off with At & T, Quest anything, read the small print on the contract.
You don't get what you pay for. I was a WildBlue customer for one year and
thankful to switch. If you don't list my comments, I would not be surprised.

(review was emailed from domain gmail.com)
lodged 14.3 years ago


EarthSignal
Earthsignal
Premium Member
join:2002-10-03
Burlington, IA

EarthSignal

Premium Member

Review by (hidden by request)

Why would anyone be interested in a review where the person hides their identity.
DRex357
join:2009-12-26
Becket, MA

DRex357

Member

Why are you Hating on Ananoymous Posters?

Yawn. . . .
We get it; you think anonymous means unreliable. Maybe you think a WB corporate shill couldn't create an erstwhile "public" profile . . . I think anaonymous means "I don't want to expose myself to the world". I take everything that is reported on these review sites with a grain of salt, evaluate the value of the comment based on its inherent substance and quality, not the desires of the poster to remain somewhat anaonymous. You seem to have time on your hands, and maybe you have worthwhile experience so why don't you actually respond to the comments with information of substance?