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Product Spotlight : HughesNet
HughesNet Satellite Internet

Welcome to the Product Spotlight. This is the first in a continuing series of articles highlighting individual broadband products in use by our community. These articles complement our Price Comparison series.

In The Spotlight: HughesNet Satellite Internet (formerly DirecWay)

Satellite companies have recently poured money into marketing themselves as a bridge for the broadband divide -- saviors of those beyond the technology or management reach of dsl, cable and wireless.

According to HughesNet's website, they are "America's #1 Choice for Broadband by Satellite."

The site goes on to state that:

quote:
"HughesNet™ is the high-speed Internet solution that’s available to everyone in the contiguous US with a clear view of the southern sky. HughesNet uses satellite technology, not your phone line, to give you a super-fast, always-on Internet connection. HughesNet gets you online instantly, lets you surf and open pages faster and download files in a fraction of the time it takes on a dial-up modem."

The singular advantage of HughesNet is that the always-on service is available anywhere with a southern sky view.

The service is compatible with Windows (Win98SE or higher, including Vista) and Mac systems running OS 10.1 or higher. Ordering and installation of the service generally goes smoothly.

Cost and Hardware

The cost for equipment and standard residential installation is rather expensive. It is currently advertised on HughesNet's website at $299.98, after a $100 mail in rebate, and includes an antenna, HN7000S modem, a two-year limited warranty and 24/7 live technical support (with other options available for different prices). A two-year contract is required for service.

The new HN7000 modem seems preferable to the older DW4000 and DW6000. You can take a look at typical dish installs on this page (all members of our forum).

The service plans are also on the more pricey side for what you get. HughesNet residential service includes three tiers: Home ($59.99/month; 700Kbps download, 128Kbps upload), Pro ($69.99/month; 1Mbps download, 200Kbps upload) and ProPlus ($79.99/month; 1.5Mbps download, 200Kbps upload). All speeds are stated as either "maximum" or "up to." They also offer small business and enterprise level plans.

HughesNet does offer a 30-day return policy. However, according to HughesNet's ToS, you will only be refunded $200. There is a $300 termination fee if you cancel after 30 days.

It is the latency, stupid

Like all geo-stationary satellite service, latency will always be an issue. HughesNet even states in its FAQ (Under number 16: "What is transmission Latency?") that gaming and similar activities are not recommended with its service.

Customer service is generally deemed to be, at best, sub-par..

Clearly, the tech support at DW is useless for the most part, but the DSLR forums (thanks a ton to PetDude, Seagreen & Grohgreg) are invaluable. I think I would not have bought DW if this forum didn't exist.

The service can be spotty at times due to various issues, including overloaded gateways and transponders, and HugesNet is not immune to bad weather.

The download speeds are fairly decent, while upload speeds seem to vary. Not too shabby, really, despite the latency issue -- that is, until you run into a little stipulation of HughesNet called the "Fair Access Policy."

Beware, The FAP

By far, the biggest issue with HughesNet service, according to many reviews here, would have to be its newly implemented (April '07) Fair Access Policy (FAP). Here's how the HughesNet website describes its FAP:

quote:
"To ensure fair Internet access for all HughesNetTM subscribers, HUGHES® maintains a Fair Access Policy (FAP). This policy establishes an equitable balance in Internet access for HughesNet subscribers. Hughes assigns a download threshold to each service plan that limits the amount of data that may be downloaded during a typical day. Subscribers who exceed that threshold will experience reduced download speeds for approximately 24 hours."

You can read a very good explanation of FAP and what the download thresholds are for each service in our FAQ. Its fairly obvious from comments and reviews here that customers find the FAP extremely restrictive. A little too much bandwidth usage can relegate you to sub-dial-up speeds for 24 hours.

These are some pithy comments on HugheNet's FAP from recent customer reviews of the service:

quote:
"Their FAP policy is now totally user abusive. 24 hours of no internet if you exceed your allotment. Way way too big a penalty to be put on a user."
quote:
"People are writing the BBB about the recent Fair Access Policy changes and contacting the AG's office to try to get something done."
quote:
"Seems to me that Hughes.net wants to lose customers. They can take their new Fair Access Policy and stick it up their useless tails. My contract is up in June and I will be using my daily limit to find someone/anyone else to get service from."

You can also read this enlightening discussion in our HughesNet Forum.

Summary

According to the majority of recent reviews, if you are without alternatives and are willing to put up with sometimes spotty service, sub-par customer help, high latency, expensive setup and pricey plans, an extremely restrictive Fair Access Policy, getting locked into a two-year contract and are generally desperate for broadband, then it might be worth taking a gamble on HughesNet's satellite Internet service!

However, as a number of reviews of the service state, it may be better to stick with dial-up until another alternative appears.

As it does appear that satisfied customers do exist out there, we rate HughesNet two dishes out of five.
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inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

1 edit

inteller

Member

how much does DSLR get for "free" product placement?

it is a slippery slope to corporate shilldom.

so will this new product "spotlight" be cliff notes(tm) for those who are too lazy to browse the appropriate forums, or "unbiased" reviews of company promoted products? this first review doesn't make that clear.
93388818 (banned)
It's cool, I'm takin it back
join:2000-03-14
Dallas, TX

1 edit

93388818 (banned)

Member

Re: how much does DSLR get for "free" product placement?

Concur.

At least tell us how much DSLR just made for this "product placement".

DaBavarian
Premium Member
join:2006-02-22
Saginaw, MI

DaBavarian

Premium Member

Re: how much does DSLR get for "free" product placement?

Put this "Product Placement" in small fine print and Broadband Bytes where it was.

Raptor
Not a Dumptruck
join:2001-10-21
London, ON

Raptor to inteller

Member

to inteller
Whatever it was (if any), you'd think it would disappear considering the product seemed to get reamed pretty well. It certainly doesn't make me want to buy it!

justin
..needs sleep
Mod
join:1999-05-28
2031
Billion BiPAC 7800N
Apple AirPort Extreme (2011)

1 recommendation

justin to inteller

Mod

to inteller
It isn't a "product placement", it is cliff-notes for those who don't want to spend hours days and weeks reading forums. If users, in the forums, rate something highly, then it'll be reflected in the article. If on the whole they hate a product, it'll also be reflected in the article.

And of course we get zip, zero, nothing from the company concerned for doing it - not that Hughes would hand over any cash for this one, even if they were asked..

morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000

morbo to inteller

Member

to inteller
did you even read what was written? it was not positive.

Alpine6
Premium Member
join:2000-01-11
Atlanta, GA

Alpine6 to inteller

Premium Member

to inteller
Does BBR whining ever cease? Inteller, did you even read the piece?

"Corporate shilldom," please...

Adam

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

1 edit

djrobx to inteller

Premium Member

to inteller
Read the article from start to finish and I think you'll re-assess this comment.

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium Member
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA

1 edit

1 recommendation

ColorBASIC

Premium Member

I'll take the word of actual DSLR users thanks...

Ditch this nonsense and bring back broadband bytes to the front page instead of leaving it a faint little link in fine print.

I give this whole DSLR revamping a 0 out of 5. After giving it a few weeks I can still say I like the old ways way better. The new BBR reminds me of New Coke. Recognize this is a huge mistake and give us DSLR Classic.

spewak
R.I.P Dadkins
Premium Member
join:2001-08-07
Elk Grove, CA

spewak

Premium Member

Re: I'll take the word of actual DSLR users thanks...

Don't you worry 8-bit. Justin knows what he is doing, NOT!

exocet_cm
Writing
Premium Member
join:2003-03-23
Brooklyn, NY

exocet_cm to ColorBASIC

Premium Member

to ColorBASIC
said by ColorBASIC:

Ditch this nonsense and bring back broadband bytes to the front page instead of leaving it a faint little link in fine print.

I give this whole DSLR revamping a 0 out of 5. After giving it a few weeks I can still say I like the old ways way better. The new BBR reminds me of New Coke. Recognize this is a huge mistake and give us DSLR Classic.

I like the classic DSLR better as well (referring to the morning broadband bytes). Better taste, better look, and enough carbs to make me feel good.

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium Member
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA

3 edits

ColorBASIC

Premium Member

Oh and let the satellite bashing begin

I give it about 10 posts before we see a "satellite sucks, FiOS is 15Mb for only $50 and no FAP".

LordMalak
join:2003-07-02
Brazil

LordMalak

Member

satellite sucks, FiOS is 15Mb for only $50 and no FAP

There, are you happy now?

morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000

1 recommendation

morbo

Member

Re: satellite sucks, FiOS is 15Mb for only $50 and no FAP

said by LordMalak:

There, are you happy now?
not yet. he has to spew forth about taxes and fees and being robbed by the government. then he'll be happy.

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium Member
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA

ColorBASIC

Premium Member

Re: satellite sucks, FiOS is 15Mb for only $50 and no FAP

Speaking of taxes...

morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000

morbo

Member

Re: satellite sucks, FiOS is 15Mb for only $50 and no FAP

88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

Satelite sucks might as wells tick with dial-up

WOW $60 for 700 Kbps. Sure it's 13 times faster than dial-up. WTF is the point of having that speed when you can't download more than 200 MB of data a day? According to my math you'll hit that within 39 minutes. Wild Blue isn't much better at 7500 MB a month( 250 MB a day average )on their $50 tier which has a speed of 512 Kbps. It would take you 1 hour and 7 minutes to hit 250 MB. On the faster tier you hit the cap even faster.

At minimum the cap for Wildblue cheapest tier should be 20 GB a month and 30 GB for Hughesnet's cheapest tier. The middle tier( same speed for both ) should be at least 50 GB and the fastest tier( same speed for both ) should be at least 100 GB. Then maybe it'd be worth getting for those in the boonies.

Speed increase would be nice too. $80 for 1.5 Mbps is joke.

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium Member
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA

1 edit

ColorBASIC

Premium Member

Re: Satelite sucks might as wells tick with dial-up

Woulda, coulda, shoulda...they don't have the capacity and in order to get it they would have to make it just that much more expensive. 200MB is plenty for an average user to get software updates, surf, send/rec email, do homework and other stuff that on dial up would take many hours.

It's not designed to watch Youtube or Slingbox 24/7. It's there for people who want to do pretty much the same thing they would do on dialup, just 10X faster. Remember, many rural dial up connections are slower than normal too, many struggle to get better than 19.2 or 28.8 and are stoked to get 38.4.

It would be great if Hughesnet and Wild Blue could crap bandwidth and give everyone 100Mb for $10, but they can't.
Trevorm7
join:2005-01-17
Clearwater, FL

Trevorm7

Member

Re: Satelite sucks might as wells tick with dial-up

It would hurt to crap out fiber optic cables.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned) to ColorBASIC

Member

to ColorBASIC
said by ColorBASIC:

Woulda, coulda, shoulda...they don't have the capacity and in order to get it they would have to make it just that much more expensive.
Wild Blue just launched a satellite a couple of months ago they claim would boost capacity 6 fold. I believe Hughesnet is in line to launch TWO satellites. They have capacity. And they could launch more satellites. Verizon is spending well over a billion dollars a YEAR on FiOS expansion that's easily 4-5 satellites. They just CHOOSE not to compete.
200MB is plenty for an average user to get software updates, surf, send/rec email, do homework and other stuff that on dial up would take many hours.


I bet you use more than 200 MB a day. Whoa re you tosay someon else can't? Also when I updated XP to SP2 it took me over 30 minutes to download at 3 Mbps. That's still 3 hours at 512 Kbps and 2 hours and 10 min at 700 Mbps. And XP is almost ALWAYS wanting you to download some kind of update. Not to mention many other applications.
It's not designed to watch Youtube or Slingbox 24/7. It's there for people who want to do pretty much the same thing they would do on dialup, just 10X faster.
Please you're not stupid enough to believe that someone who just surfs and read e-mail will get to do that 10 times faster? You don't need super speed to read an e-mail. Basic websites are not going to load noticably faster at 512 Kbps or 700 Kbps than dial-up. High bandwidth sites will of course. But you just said satelite isn't for that type of user. So you're talking out of both sides of your mouth.

Who in the hell are you to dictate what kind of surfer a person out in the boonies SHOULD be? You: "Well Mr Boonieguy you are only allowed to be an 'average' surfer that only reads e-mail and occasionally downloads software updates. Meanwhile because I live in the city I'll be using 200 GB a month because I'm special."
meta
join:2004-12-27
00000

meta

Member

Re: Satelite sucks might as wells tick with dial-up

Too bad the latency over satellite makes any useful applications of high speed internet pointless. I have a friend on satellite and his latency over the first 2 hops is always around 700-1000ms. Satellite as a whole isnt useful for much more than web browsing and checking ur email. Realtime comm over apps like ventrillo, and most online games are just a joke on satellite.
SierraRob
join:2007-01-10
Prather, CA

SierraRob

Member

Re: Satelite sucks might as wells tick with dial-up

"most online games are just a joke on satellite"

One interesting exception is World of Warcraft. As long as your pings are below 1000ms, WoW is actually quite playable on satellite. It probably would not be good for a rogue trying to do high-speed combo moves like a fighting game, but for a priest or mage like me, it works fine.

ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium Member
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA

3 edits

ColorBASIC to 88615298

Premium Member

to 88615298
Wild Blue doesn't have the capital Verizon does and until satellites are in orbit, set up and integrated, they aren't part of any capacity. These deployments take time, a lot of it.

As for 200MB a day, yeah I use more than that on occasion when I'm illegally downloading XBOX 360 and Wii images from the usenet so what? I likely use more than you do. I'm sure there is someone somewhere who uses more than I do. It's completely irrelevant.

What you're suggesting is that a guy buys an LS430 expects the same performance as someone who buys a Corvette and bitches when his car doesn't do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds. They're different cars for different purposes. Satellite HSI was meant for very casual use where people want a bit more speed, not be tying up a phone line etc and if you aren't a casual user don't buy it. And who am I to say it? Someone who actually had DRS and actually READ Hughesnet and Wild Blue's product pages and TOS/AUP before commenting about them.

If someone just has gotta DL more than 200MB a day every day, let them start a WISP. That my my neighbors did before we had cable, DSL or fiber here.

And yes, a casual user who grabs software updates (eg Windows Updates), surfs and sends and receives email will do it faster on satellite. How do I know this? Because I actually HAD it.

Use your head, even the most flash intensive websites aren't that big, but are big enough to be painfully slow on 19.2-28.8K baud dial up. For these users satellite is great. Who it is not great for is most online gaming and people downloading a lot of stuff every day. And both of the major satellite providers make this perfectly clear.

DoctorDoom
Troll hunter
Premium Member
join:2006-09-19
Becket, MA

1 edit

DoctorDoom to ColorBASIC

Premium Member

to ColorBASIC
quote:
It's not designed to watch Youtube or Slingbox 24/7. It's there for people who want to do pretty much the same thing they would do on dialup, just 10X faster. Remember, many rural dial up connections are slower than normal too, many struggle to get better than 19.2 or 28.8 and are stoked to get 38.4.
I'm one of them. I've been on since Sept 06 (Pro plan). I have yet to be fapped, and am enjoying the typical 1 Mpbs (other than peak hours) after over a decade at a max of about 26.4 Kbps. My signal is usually a rock-solid 91 with peaks at 92. It goes through solar "outages" without a hiccup. And I have yet to encounter weather that disabled it, even with snow and ice on the dish.

In short, I'm satisfied with my system.

The Web is becoming inceasingly inaccessible to dial-up users. There is no broadband alternative here, and zero nil nada chance of there ever being an alternative in my lifetime. I therefore have two and only two options: dial-up or satellite. Given the choices, there is no choice.

Sorry to disappoint the "Woe is us!", "Hughes is evil!" crowd, but I like like HN.

mickier
join:2006-08-22
Hilham, TN

mickier to ColorBASIC

Member

to ColorBASIC
said by ColorBASIC:

Remember, many rural dial up connections are slower than normal too, many struggle to get better than 19.2 or 28.8 and are stoked to get 38.4.
try less than 14 with dialup from my crapola phone lines. I even cancelled my landline because I'll be damned if I pay $30+ a month for a phone that goes dead every time it rains.

CO-OP Phone service SUCKS!@!!!!!! They are immune from the regulatory bodies that make the other utilities actually WORK.

I have Hughes and I HATE IT...but I have absolutely no other choice.

Jameson
Premium Member
join:2004-05-28
united state

Jameson

Premium Member

disagree

As it does appear that satisfied customers do exist out there, we rate HughesNet negative 10 dishes out of five..

Lumberjack
Premium Member
join:2003-01-18
Newport News, VA

Lumberjack

Premium Member

Well done.

I think this is a neat way to provide a good overview/summary of different broadband offerings.

Thanks!
Viscer
join:2005-07-25
Sandy, OR

Viscer

Member

I used it for a few years..Here is my take

I didn't have any other choice. A poster above mentioned it, but my copper lines are 50 years old...I was lucky to get 28.8. I could get a fractional T1 line running at 118k or so, but it would cost me 200/month for the phone company and 200/month for the isp.

I'd have to go have lunch just to download a windows update or a driver for my video card. I played games...I could never patch. I always had to rent a cheap motel room to patch (don't tell my wife!)

They say 800-1200ms pings. Its far worse than this. If I just "pinged" a site, I might get 800-1200, but if I'm actually doing anything especially gaming, its more like 1500-2500 pings. Some games would work...Like wow, while others like DDO just make you stand there. If there is any character interaction (like pvp) tough luck.

The FAP was crazy. I could use it before, when it dropped you to dialup speeds for 4 hours...I'd just patch a game or large service pack over a 48h period, but with the new change, they kill your connection...you get zero service for 24h.

I had service with them for a bit over a year and had some problems connecting one day. The service guy said they would have to send someone out at 125$ to figure it out but it looked like it was my dw6000 modem...so just upgrade. I upgraded, signed another 15m contract and still had the problem. They then told me I'd still have to pay 125$ to get the guy to come out because my exterior hardware wasn't under warranty anymore.

I have since changed to Verizon EVDO and mounted an antennae on my roof, I barely get reception, but its less of a headache than the sat.

I respect all those that will say, well you chose to live out there. There are folks that wouldn't move because of internet...and that's cool. I just wish the fractional t1's were a little more reasonable....118k for 400/month? I'm not sure what I'm missing with how that bandwidth works out.
Expand your moderator at work

InGreenwod
@jqh.com

InGreenwod to Viscer

Anon

to Viscer

Re: I used it for a few years..Here is my take

»www.onelasvegas.com/wire ··· /OR.html

Wireless ISPs in Oregon
nuclei2v5x
join:2003-07-07
Leesburg, GA

1 edit

nuclei2v5x to Viscer

Member

to Viscer

wow

I used to use HughesNet back when it was called Direcway. If you wen't over FAP you could get fullspeed back in like 2 hours.

24 hours? Thats ridiculous. They need to put more sattelites in the air, or make the sattelites bigger and carry more routers, and then offer a non-fap account for like 300 dollars a month or something.

And as far as the latency... Isn't it really just beams of light? Does it take a whole second for a beam of light to travel right outside our atmosphere and back?

Either way it's still amazing technology and I'm sure it will improve over time.
FightingBlue1
join:2006-04-08
Warsaw, NY

FightingBlue1

Member

Re: wow

It's radio beams, rather than light, but they suffer the same basic limitations. To be in a geosynchronous orbit, always in the same place relative to the sky, a satellite has to sit about 22,500 miles out in what's called the Clarke Belt (after Arthur C. Clarke, who originally proposed using geosync satellites for communication relays). To get that distance at the speed of light takes about 120 milliseconds, and then another 120 ms back to Earth. Double it again for the return trip. That's 480 ms bare minimum round trip, to which you add the latency from the network ops center to the target server and back, as well as all the network hardware it needs to run through at the NOC. Bottom line is that 600 ms is considered a minimum latency for satellite of that kind. Of course, that doesn't excuse when ping times go to 1000 or more, which is just bad performance on the part of the ISP.

There was talk years ago about using low-orbit satellites for broadband, which would shave the latency down to basically landline times. But because these satellites were constantly moving, you'd need to build at least 40 of them to provide continuous coverage, and that would require a large initial investment.

DrModem
Trust Your Doctor
Premium Member
join:2006-10-19
USA

DrModem to Viscer

Premium Member

to Viscer

Re: I used it for a few years..Here is my take

try ISDN its about 118k and its alot cheaper. Just be careful if your in a Verizon area...
DrModem

1 edit

DrModem

Premium Member

....

When faced between the choice between satelite and dialup, I choose dialup. the satelite latency times almost negate the speed benefit (if there is one, you cant do anything with the speed, it seems)

The BBR satelite forums were very helpful for me. I prefer the screeching of my modem and 5kbps download speed over satellite because.... I can actually use the service to do more than load pages.

•••

Austin
@Level3.net

Austin

Anon

F.A.P. PETITION

You can sign a F.A.P. PETITION by going to www.petitiononline.com/dpcfap/petition.html and typing your name and filling in the blanks. If we don't fight back there will be nothing done about it.