uncool
join:2006-11-20
Athens, OH
| I wrote a review of picking a satellite internet provider...
I spent a while researching the players in the satellite internet market, and now you don't have to! (You also don't have to read through throngs of forum threads!) »www.uncoolcentral.com/satellite-internet.htm
If you think I should add something, let me know!
Thanks,
-Dan |
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soportec
Premium
join:2006-01-06
| the delay is not quite a minute and yes there are sat providers that work well with vpn and VOIP.. I have found satmex6 a lot better for voip for somereason.. 3/4 second delay but clear. but as you noted that hughes has the best plan for price for downloads than many other sat providers.. (i think this is due to so many users.. some do the limit many other never make it to that limit!!!! leaving room for those who do) as far as comunication goes i have never had problems with that too much. Now i never get to talk directly to a NOC operator like i do with other providers but we manage to get things done just the same.
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dw7700 1.8 G11 IA300, dw4020 satmex5/1230 1.2 Buisness, dw7000 .74 satmex5 .74 pro |
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LesZ
join:2006-08-23
Scales Mound, IL
 ·HughesNet Satellit..
| reply to uncool
The part of your review that I might question is the part of communication. While, before the sale, it might be easy to get information from the sales staff at Hughes, perhaps accurate information and perhaps not, once you have been sold the product, communication is a virtually guaranteed absolute nightmere. From customer care through tech support, Hughes employees are allowed only to read from a limited script. If you have a problem, either you are not going to get an answer to your questions, you are going to get lies, you are going to get excuses as to why nothing can be done, or you are going to get bounced, in an endless chain, from one department to another. Trying to solve a problem with Hughes is an experience like no other that I have ever had in dealing with any company, and no other is even close.
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7000S,.74m, 1W, Pro+ Plan, IA6/1216 |
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adams_aj
join:2004-08-31
Smithville, MO
| reply to uncool
Your FAP description, only covers Hughes and leaves the impression that the other players' FAP is similar. They are not. WildBlue has a monthly FAP, meaning that once you exhaust your "bucket"--even if it's on the first day of the month--you're throttled the rest of the calendar month.
Also, your depiction of upload being 128kbps and that upgrading does little good. I regularly achieve over 200 kbps, even during peak hours.
Might need to re-review your article. Good draft, though. |
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Liberty
join:2005-06-12
Tucson, AZ
 ·Cox HSI
| reply to uncool
My guess you are a new HN user
Wait till you really need support
You will have some serious editing to do
My easiest sales for WB are when my HN customers call me after either:
Having spent HOURS with HN support and are still broke with no resolution
or
Can not even get past HN 'filter' that prevents them from even being able to talk to a human
Once they discover WB support is in US and support calls rarely exceed 1/2 hour, they sign up or have me put them on my list to call once their contract is up
(I usually have them online in a few minutes or can figure out the hardware problem and give them a tip to make their next HN support call shorter and fruitful - if I can not fix their problem which will requires a truck roll) (and their usual reply is "Why didn't they do this!?) |
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uncool
join:2006-11-20
Athens, OH | reply to uncool
Wow, thanks for all the great responses. I'll add them to the piece shortly.
-Dan |
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islandmgrs
join:2005-10-13
Bahamas
·HughesNet Satellit..
| reply to uncool
Have you, personally, used the 3 service you mention? For how long? Owning part of a non-satellite ISP is a very different arena.
What about SkyFx, BGAN and iDirect? How about more on Unasat? many sat users NEED Voip and VPN and Hughes does NOT support them.
I agree with Les, there is NO customer support with Hughes - it does NOT EXIST. Even my INSTALLERS had problems talking to them! And your assessment of speeds is innaccurate. I had Hughes 2000/500 pkg and got 200 down during peak times. That's why I PAID to drop them.
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Bahamas- iDirect Infinity 3000/SDN Global/1.8mtr-4W dish /AMC6/ Cisco C831 router/Colubris wireless AP CN320/WinXP Pro/Firefox 2.0 |
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LesZ
join:2006-08-23
Scales Mound, IL
·HughesNet Satellit..
| Adding to what I said above, Hughes alleged customer care and alleged tech support would not be any worse if they entirely elimated their customer care and tech support. Either way, whatever problem the customer had would not get solved, but, at least, if their was no customer care or tech support, the customer would not waste hours of time needlessly only to find out that the problem was not going to be solved.
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7000S,.74m, 1W, Pro+ Plan, IA6/1216 |
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jdshep
join:2006-11-20
Homer Glen, IL
| LesZ,
Your statement "No customer service at all would be better then what Hughes has is the real world answer for Hughes" Throw the thing away when you have issues, if you get paid more than minimum wage the time you save not talking to India will pay for a new system that might work till your contract period expires and hopefully by then someone will start selling a service that will put Hughes out of business. I moved to Verizon Air Card when all failed at Hughes and just before i vowed a oath to go to India and personally wipe out CS department. Verizon saved me and they actually have people you can talk to, lots of people, and crazy thing they understand what you are saying. Amazing
John D |
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uncool
join:2006-11-20
Athens, OH
| reply to uncool
Some answers/comments:
-I have NOT signed up for ANY provider yet. The feedback here is making me think I should stick with my 128kbps ISDN! Hmmm...
-I have little additional information on Unasat or other companies, which is not to say that I couldn't GET it, but just that it sounds like pulling teeth!
-I'm writing this from my perspective, which is that of somebody who, though interested in VOIP and VPN, is not making them part of the search criteria.
-I think I'll add an "alternatives to satellite" section, (e.g. Verizon Air Card, etc.) though that's not an option for me. (wish it was!)
-My writeup is largely about the SEARCH for a provider, and it looks like Hughes' SALES bedside manner has little to do with how they treat you the next day, huh? (catching the metaphor here?  )
-So, to whom then, do you suppose, in my conclusion, I should send people?!? I'm at a loss.
Thanks,
-Dan |
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Rfsjr2
Cavallino Rampante
Premium
join:2001-08-11
Ferndale, WA
clubs: |  said by uncool  :I should stick with my 128kbps ISDN! |
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randyvsatus
Premium
join:2005-03-03
Monument, CO
 ·Qwest.net
| reply to uncool
said by uncool :I spent a while researching the players in the satellite internet market, and now you don't have to! (You also don't have to read through throngs of forum threads!) I would suggest that rather than read this piece from someone with minimum satellite internet experience IMO, do some searches at this site to learn about all three of the popular providers of two way satellite internet! You'll be glad you did.
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Surfbeam ku|5000/768|1.2M |4 watt|IA 8||Qwest DSL|7168 / 896 Kbps |
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uncool
join:2006-11-20
Athens, OH
| reply to uncool
Or, someone with minimum satellite internet experience (me) could continue to do the footwork and put it in digest form so others don't have to spend hours looking through threads over a slow connection. Yeah, that's what I'll do! Thanks to everybody for the continuing good feedback. I'm in the process of revising the article now. |
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Cassie6
join:2006-10-12
Summerland, BC
| reply to LesZ
Amen, my experience with Hughes and communication has been a nightmare. Basically the service began to degrade over the summer and by September it was completely gone. Called tech support they said the dish needed to be "tweaked." It took 3 weeks for the installer to show up and he spent hours at the house charged us $150 and didn't fix the problem. He had no extra equipment with him. Tech support says it's the transmitter. So they send out a new transmitter - had to phone 3 times to get them to ship it. Meanwhile I keep telling the tech support guy - there are no lights on the modem - I think the modem has failed. After 3rd attempt he decides to send a modem as well. It is now November - 2 and 1/2 months since we made contact. Cross-pol is still a problem. Tech support says get the installer - the installer doesn't show up but phones 3 days later and says he would like to sell us Xplorenet. I keep contacting Hughes asking for the Installer course so I can become certified (no faith in the only Installer in our area). After 3 email attempts - no answer. No credit for our service loss either. What a nightmare. I thought dealing with Bell Expressvu was bad but this even "tops" that one. I've taken care of the problem myself now and we are back up and running - AMEN to nightmare service - they were great when they were trying to sell me the system though. Don't know if Xplorenet is better but will be looking at my options come next September.... |
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Vtblues
if you can't get out of it, get in to it
Premium
join:2006-05-29
Brookfield, VT
clubs: 
·HughesNet Satellit..
edit:
November 20th, @11:01PM
| reply to uncool
Exactly what satellite ISP experience besides some research do you have? You've stated that you've signed up for no provider yet.
And just expect that in this forum that there is a percentage who will slam anything slightly resembling a favorable report of HughesNet.
You obviously did a lot of hard work coming up with your report, but good, bad or ugly, when it comes to satellite, nothing can compare to walking a mile in our shoes. Even I, who is satisfied with my service, have a few negative opinions of Hughes.
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HughesNet/DW 6000/Home Plan/.74 dish/Galaxy 16 (099 °W)1110.0 MHz/Signal Strength 79/Win XP Home SP2/ P4 2.26 Gig 1 Gig of Ram
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uncool
join:2006-11-20
Athens, OH
| reply to uncool
I come right out in my article with my experience on my sleeve. The goal is for me to learn and post a digest of that knowledge in an easy-to-swallow format.
( »www.dand.net/satellite-internet.htm )
I have no problem eating the crow I initially wrote on that page. That's why I posted here, to get the good feedback. And as far as walking in your shoes... I'm beginning to think that Rfsjr2 (above) had the right idea, (don't do it!) but only time will tell.
I'll be working on this until it's "done." I sit in front of this computer all day working from home, so I've got time! And again (seriously,) thank you for the comments.
-DD |
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islandmgrs
join:2005-10-13
Bahamas
·HughesNet Satellit..
| Uncool, my impression of your digest is that your research into satellite has not been exhaustive enough (IMO). Your synopsis seems to be aimed at the average Internet user who surfs and checks email. For this user, Hughes MAY be a viable provider. For Business, gamers and downloaders, Hughes has some serious disadvantages and other ISPs should be explored. Back to Joe-avg - if his Hughes install & sat assignment is A-OK, he'll may be happy with his "better-than-dialup" connection. Unfortunately, if there are any problems, "trouble-shooting" takes on a new meaning with Hughes. For those who are not mechanically inclined or computer savvy, if you have "trouble" with Hughes, just "shoot" yourself! My analogy for purchasing Hughesnet is Russian-Roulette - except there is more than one bullet in the chambers.
Also, check out Randy's blog
»vsatnews.blogspot.com/
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Bahamas- iDirect Infinity 3000/SDN Global/1.8mtr-4W dish /AMC6/ Cisco C831 router/Colubris wireless AP CN320/WinXP Pro/Firefox 2.0 |
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Arion
join:2006-07-09
Marquette, MI
·HughesNet Satellit..
| reply to uncool
I think you did a very nice job on your review, at least as good as one can do never having a satellite service connection before. You do have a nice writing style and manner. Hughes might not be the best way for a business customer but the company I work for has both a small business plan setup with both hughes and starband. The hughes has been up and running with no problems and they have not had some of the terrible problems that others have had.
I purchased my system used and installed it myself and I love it. I have had very few problems with the system. The speeds are quite often far above my plan speeds. But as you had said the customer service is terrible and if your not technically savvy to a certain extent you might be hung out to dry. But with the only alternative for me being dial up, this service has been a blessing and I'm satisfied.
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DW6000 IA-8 1350 Router: 67.142.137.152 /.74 1 watt / Residential / Amd 2000+ / WinXP Pro - SP2/ Firefox 2.0 |
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Techless
Sentenced to life
Premium
join:2002-07-19
The 70s
 ·Vonage
| reply to uncool
Great work uncool
Those who have no other option can take reponsibility for their own connection and get good service from Hughes.
The rest can just bitch.
I had Direcway (Hughes)for two years and Thank them for being there when cable and DSL were not here.
I have cable now and calling support is just as scary now as it was when I had satellite.
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You never call me when you're sober - Evanescence |
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