HughesNet Satellite → Satellite Internet Newbie...... Need Input and Advice

Satellite internet for now is my only viable option for the forseeable future. I live in a very rural area and will probably never see line based internet service. I have tried cellular base internet service thru several companies and it is spotty at beat and is about as fast as the dial-up that I currently use.
So ..........I currently use Dish and understand that they are offering Dishnet which I think is Hughes GEN4. They(Dish) is offering 10gb(with 10Gb bonus) at 49.99 an month. Other option is Exede12 at 10 gb for the same price. I live in South Mississippi and mainly use the internet for emails and my son has papers and research to do for school. I understand that ther is a lag time with either so gaming will not be used, Currently use Netflix thru the mail so problbly won't be doing a lot of streaming.Thanks in advance for the help

I have had Hughesnet for years.
At this point in time Hughes is at the most dishonest, disreputable that I have ever seen.

My equipment is getting old (transmitter goes back to DW6000) but with what I've seen and heard I would use anything OTHER than Hughes.

Read through the official Hughes "Support" forum.
Note the number of deleted comments in the change log.
If you post something on the site that does not flatter Hughes it will be removed, persist and you will be removed.

»community.myhughesnet.co ··· t/topics

Having been with Hughes for many years, I would choose Exede over Hughes, as I have had nothing but problems since "upgrading" to GEN 4

Don't forget to check for fixed wireless opportunities before you commit to Hughes. Fixed wireless using LTE or WiMax are popping up a lot from Obama grants to extend internet to rural areas. I was fortunate enough to get it in my area and have been very happy. No download limits!

I have used Hughes for many years. It generally worked well. I had moved through the plans and eventually to a small business plan that worked well until the past 2 years when the evening speeds, at times, are worse than dialup.

I too can get 3G/4G but it is flakey. and 3G has been worse than dialup as well.

If you have money to blow, look at an Idirect system (supposedly you share bandwidth with 20 others), if less speed is ok look at inmarsat.

Going to go out on a limb, looks like I will get a GEN4 business install tomorrow.

Have had Gen4 since November 2012, I can't compare to excede but here are my speeds:

Date/Time Down(kbps) Up(kbps)
03/03/2013 23:40:22 7036 760
03/03/2013 22:56:08 6430 824
03/03/2013 22:50:11 6386 620
03/03/2013 22:48:35 4702 773
03/03/2013 19:36:28 9734 486

Good luck w/ your selection, I am 'happy' w/ my Gen4 for now.