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HughesNet Offers New 5Mbps Service
Fastest satellite broadband tier ever offered...
Complaints about Hughesnet satellite broadband service have ramped up over the last year or two, with many customers saying they're being throttled back to almost dial-up speeds at peak congestion times, regardless of whether they've violated their bandwidth cap. In what will hopefully be a better class of service (given it operates from their new Spaceway 3 satellite), Hughesnet this morning announced their new 5Mbps "ElitePremium plan." The tier, featuring the fastest speeds ever offered by a satellite carrier, officially launches August 21.
quote:
The enhanced speed of the ElitePremium plan is made possible by the launch of Hughes’ SPACEWAY(TM) 3 satellite, the largest satellite in the US and the world’s first commercial satellite with on-board switching and routing. SPACEWAY 3 has the greatest total capacity of any commercial satellite, which fuels the faster speeds. SPACEWAY 3 was launched in August of 2007 and began serving customers in April of 2008.
While Hughes doesn't specify price or upstream speeds, you can estimate them by looking at their recently launched 2Mbps/300kbps "Elite" tier ($119.99 a month), and a their new 3Mbps/300kbps "Elite Plus" tier ($189.99 a month). Both of those plans come with 500MB daily cap.
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Filoteu
join:2004-02-12
Ohio

Filoteu

Member

Woah

That is some elite pricing there. The daily caps, not so much.

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

1 edit

DrModem

Premium Member

That $800 T1 Line

Is looking more affordably equal every day.

MysticGogeta
The Robot Devil
Premium Member
join:2005-03-14
Katy, TX

MysticGogeta

Premium Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

No kidding I would prefer 1.5/1.5 with zero caps then that crap.

meinmd
@verizon.com

meinmd

Anon

Re: That $800 T1 Line

5meg plan for probably $300 a month...no thanks.

And with that $300 a month you get caps, 1200ms latency, horrible tech support and horrible speeds during peak hours.
adams_aj
join:2004-08-31
Smithville, MO

2 edits

adams_aj

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

The on-board switching, has the possiblity of cutting that latency, possibly in half.

Also, a lot of you are saying "no thanks". But do realize, that this is only the next best thing to dialup--which is still a lot of folks' only other alternative.

Jim Kirk
Premium Member
join:2005-12-09
49985

Jim Kirk

Premium Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

Sorry, but I'd go with mobile broadband before this. If that wasn't available, I'd still stick with dial-up.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

1 edit

fiberguy2

Premium Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

..

GPSF0L
@cox.net

GPSF0L to adams_aj

Anon

to adams_aj
So what you're saying is, since they have a monopoly for high-speed, they can charge those folks whatever they want and put whatever restrictions they want--- I see.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9

Premium Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

said by GPSF0L :

they can charge those folks whatever they want and put whatever restrictions they want--- I see.
If the limitation of the service capability demands it, yes.

jester121
Premium Member
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL

jester121 to GPSF0L

Premium Member

to GPSF0L
Since it's their satellite, YES.

Feel free to build and launch your own satellite and offer whatever you want for $19.99/month.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

1 edit

fiberguy2 to GPSF0L

Premium Member

to GPSF0L
said by GPSF0L :

So what you're saying is, since they have a monopoly for high-speed, they can charge those folks whatever they want and put whatever restrictions they want--- I see.
Glad you do.. but do you really? Where is the "monopoly" that you speak of?

Google is your friend.. "satellite internet" - and then also look at »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly ... check it out.

void of all that.. see the other two replies above mine as well.

number3fan
Number3fan
join:2003-10-15

number3fan to adams_aj

Member

to adams_aj
or you could move to an area that actually has broadband, like i did. NO dsl, NO thanks.............
not an option for everyone, just some of us.........

keyboard5684
Sam
join:2001-08-01
Pittsburgh, PA

keyboard5684 to MysticGogeta

Member

to MysticGogeta
Yep, a T1 line, even in my remote area, is about $480 a month. I would certainly take that T1 line over satellite. Plus, the T1 is not going to cap me, latency will be less than 20 ms, I can get almost as many IPs as I want, there just are way more advantages to the T1.

If you are even considering this high tier package, probably because you are rural, consider a T1. The price is more but advantages are far more. Plus, the speeds will actually seem far better than what you get from satellite. Yes, they say 3 megs (5 megs, sorry) but in reality I doubt you will really appreciate it. The "Feeling" on a T1 line while surfing and then sitting on a satellite connection (even VSAT systems) are completely noticeable.

That is another thing. The heading seems to make everyone think there is just HughesNet or WildBlue for satellite broadband, that is not true. If you want to, you can install a VSAT system, use the BGAN network, there area a lot of options usually only used by businesses or people that really travel to places like the jungle, but it is an option which is forgotten. They do not advertise much because
A. They do not need to, they have plenty of customers.
B. Those systems do not want to overload anything like the residential services do.

But still, in most areas (at least here) it makes no difference where you live, a T1 HAS to be run if you order it, and the ILEC HAS to deliver it, part of the negatives to being an ILEC (the ILEC runs the local loop but order from the carrier like ATT or Sprint, or whatever, but the ILEC has to put in that loop)
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

have you considered the install that most T1s would cost some people? especially if they had to build out a new line or something. install can almost tripple the price of what the T1 would be. And have you ever seen how high they can go in some rural areas especially if the only one that can provide access to the area is a Co-Op or some small provider that doesn't give a damn?

keyboard5684
Sam
join:2001-08-01
Pittsburgh, PA

keyboard5684

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

I agree, to a point. But myself having installed T1s to many areas both Alltell (well, Windstream now) and Verizon did not charge distance/mileage.

However there where install fees which could be eliminated with a 2 year contract.

Frame-relay for some reason does have a mileage fee. Not sure why, set tariff rates in the state of PA maybe?

You are in Ohio so it may be a completely different story, but here, no real install fee problem. This is a very rural area so they do have to install a lot of repeaters (one a mile about I think is the rate) but in many cases they are already there (the telco just adds a card).
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

Ohio is different VZ and ATT both here normally charge an install. If they do not charge mileage it has to be built into the price for them. Especially in the more rural areas that are miles away from the nearest fiber line they own.

dvd536
as Mr. Pink as they come
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Phoenix, AZ

dvd536 to keyboard5684

Premium Member

to keyboard5684
said by keyboard5684:

Yep, a T1 line, even in my remote area, is about $480 a month. I would certainly take that T1 line over satellite.
Including loop charge?

PhoenixDown
FIOS is Awesome
Premium Member
join:2003-06-08
Fresh Meadows, NY

PhoenixDown to DrModem

Premium Member

to DrModem
You know there's a problem when the first five posts have people comparing the rates to a T1 line.
cooldude9919
join:2000-05-29

cooldude9919 to DrModem

Member

to DrModem
said by DrModem:

Is looking more affordably equal every day.
T1's can be had for much less (~$400-$500) depending on your loop distance and if the LEC will even install in a residential address. Get a few neighbors to share and it starts to look pretty decent.
nnaarrnn
join:2004-09-30
Charleston, WV

nnaarrnn

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

Yeah, I can provide a t-1 just about anywhere in the state (WV) for around $300.
yaw
join:2004-05-19
Morgantown, WV

yaw

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

Really? Residental?
nnaarrnn
join:2004-09-30
Charleston, WV

nnaarrnn

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

Pretty much anywhere. Now, that's DATA ONLY. We re-sell ntelos T-1s, we handle all the traffic through our routers across our Metro Ethernet fiber. Of course Verizon still owns all the copper, and would have to make a change or two, but there's no difference in copper coming to your home and the copper coming into your business. The only thing that would have to be done, is a pair at the CO be punched down for a digital connection for the smart jack that would have to be installed on your premesis. T-1s these days are pretty much DSL on crack, to get around loop distance limitations. They're not TRUE serial T-1s anymore.
yaw
join:2004-05-19
Morgantown, WV

yaw

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

I'll have to keep you in mind. thanks.
WVBill
join:2008-07-04
Summit Point, WV

1 edit

WVBill to nnaarrnn

Member

to nnaarrnn
Hmmm - very interesting. OK, so I live outside of Summit Point, WV. Frontier is my telephone company. The CO is in Charles Town - about 8 miles away (the way the crow flies) so I can't get them to provide DSL.
Way outside the range of any 3g broadband.

Can you run a T1 to my house? How much? Seriously.

I live in a small subdivision of 10 homes. If I could set up a WiFi hot spot off my T1 and split the cost of the T1 (Let's say $500?), we could do lots better than Hughesnet.

Is this dreaming or a real possibility?

WVBill
nnaarrnn
join:2004-09-30
Charleston, WV

nnaarrnn

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

I will ask my boss. I didnt know frontier had any footprint in WV, Like I said, we re-sell ntelos T-1s, and ntelos may have a deal with frontier. I know the most expensive client we have pays $400, and they're all the way down in Williamson. (souther tip of the state)If you would like, you could PM me your street name/zip code and I will see what we can do.

Anonymous88
Premium Member
join:2004-06-01
IA

Anonymous88

Premium Member

Rip off

I know satellite broadband is a lot more expensive to provide but those prices are outrageous. Also you get a 24 month contract and take a look at this

"If you are not completely satisfied, you may cancel your service within 30 days of activation. Installation charges are not refundable. If you are on the $0 Upfront Plan, you will incur a $400 equipment and installation fee.

If you cancel after 30 days and are on the Upfront Payment option, there is a $400 service termination fee. If you are on the $0 Upfront Plan, there is a $400 equipment and installation fee, and a $400 service termination fee. For both the Upfront Payment option and the $0 Upfront Plan, you may return your HughesNet modem and radio (transmitter) to receive a refund of $200."
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4 to nnaarrnn

Member

to nnaarrnn

Re: That $800 T1 Line

hmmm that is one customer that pays that. I can bet you anything that you can not get a T1 anywhere in the state of WV for under $400 like you claim. Even if you resell from another provider. Which i don't know why anyone wouldnt go to them since you're giving away their name.

the ILEC gets the last and final say on where they will put a T1 or anything of that sort. you should know that. If they do not want to put it in a residential area or can not due to they do not have the equipment there they can and will BILL the carrier for that and then you will bill the customer. That's even if the ILEC would do it.

The chances of it being done in a residential area?!? SLIM to NONE!

Even with Frontier- i don't see them doing it especially after the cap they put out.

But on another note-- go to the ISP B2B forum and check there about getting a T1 quote. Lots of people there will compete for your business and provide you quotes within a few minutes. They won't have to "check" with their boss.
nnaarrnn
join:2004-09-30
Charleston, WV

1 edit

nnaarrnn

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

I've never had a problem putting a T anywhere. Some of our clients are out in BFE, and we didnt have any trouble getting a T in for them. It may have taken longer, than say putting one in downtown charleston, but they got a T at no extra cost for being out in the middle of nowhere. My boss just says we can put one whereve ntelos has a presense, and that's at least everywhere verizon has a presense in WV. For business class service, an ILEC/LEC will pretty much do what it takes, with the right contract of course. I dont claim to be an expert about loop length and what not, my job starts on the CPE side of the smartjack.
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

you must not have dealt with an ILEC much. they don't care who you are regardless of the contract unless it means that they what want they want and that is always $$$$$$.

But you can not tell me that VZ isn't getting something out of NTelos as far as installation or something else either Ntelos or your company could be eating the install/build out cost if there is one being charged. VZ will not build out a line for free if they're going to spend their own $$$$ and not get anything out of it besides a few dollars for the loop charge.

GPSTom
@comcast.net

GPSTom to WVBill

Anon

to WVBill
said by WVBill:

Hmmm - very interesting. OK, so I live outside of Summit Point, WV. Frontier is my telephone company. The CO is in Charles Town - about 8 miles away (the way the crow flies) so I can't get them to provide DSL.
Way outside the range of any 3g broadband.

Can you run a T1 to my house? How much? Seriously.

I live in a small subdivision of 10 homes. If I could set up a WiFi hot spot off my T1 and split the cost of the T1 (Let's say $500?), we could do lots better than Hughesnet.

Is this dreaming or a real possibility?

WVBill
why don't you just give us your home address and we'll check it out?
older dog
Premium Member
join:2005-06-09

older dog to WVBill

Premium Member

to WVBill
About 5 years ago Frontier quoted me a 128/128 line 50,000 feet from the CO at $220 a month.

Now Frontier is capping all its residential DSL lines at 5 gigs combined up and down.
Frontier providing DSL to your area in not much of an improvement.

keyboard5684
Sam
join:2001-08-01
Pittsburgh, PA

keyboard5684 to yaw

Member

to yaw
Does not matter if it is residential, does it? Why would it? A T1 is a T1.
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Re: That $800 T1 Line

it depends on the lines and equipment in that area can support a T or not. If not they telco can refuse to install it or charge build out costs to the carrier or customer.

yolarry
join:2007-12-29
Creston, WV

yolarry to nnaarrnn

Member

to nnaarrnn
said by nnaarrnn:

Yeah, I can provide a t-1 just about anywhere in the state (WV) for around $300.
A month? or damn equipment?

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI

1 edit

Nightfall to cooldude9919

MVM

to cooldude9919
said by cooldude9919:

said by DrModem:

Is looking more affordably equal every day.
T1's can be had for much less (~$400-$500) depending on your loop distance and if the LEC will even install in a residential address. Get a few neighbors to share and it starts to look pretty decent.
If Hughesnet is your option for broadband, odds are you aren't going to get a T1 for $400-$500 a month. People that far out in the sticks are going to get rates around $800 if not more.

wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY

wifi4milez to cooldude9919

Member

to cooldude9919
said by cooldude9919:
said by DrModem:

Is looking more affordably equal every day.
T1's can be had for much less (~$400-$500) depending on your loop distance and if the LEC will even install in a residential address. Get a few neighbors to share and it starts to look pretty decent.
Thats an incorrect statement. T1's can be had some places for $400 to $500, but certainly not all. There are many areas of the country where the loop alone will cost you almost $1000 (or considerably more), IF you can even get a T1 at all. Realistically people buying a $300 a month satellite connection are probably not able to buy "cheap" T1s, otherwise many would.

••••••••••

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI

Nightfall to DrModem

MVM

to DrModem
said by DrModem:

Is looking more affordably equal every day.
If HughesNet is your only option for broadband, the T1 line for $800 is a viable option if you have the extra $500-$600 per month. Not many have that just laying around.

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

spewak

Premium Member

I am waiting

I am waiting for the SuperElitePremiumPlantinum plan myself!

SLD
Premium Member
join:2002-04-17
San Francisco, CA

SLD

Premium Member

Re: I am waiting

And after, SuperDiamondElitePremiumPlantinumPro
ydoucare
join:2003-03-12
Lafayette, IN

ydoucare

Member

Re: I am waiting

Don't forget the SuperExtremeDiamondElitePremiumPlatinumPro plan.

Apophis
Jaffa Kree
Premium Member
join:2001-12-27
Holmen, WI

Apophis

Premium Member

To the Fap Even Faster!!

Wow, congrats on hughes for being retarded, now we can all get to the gey-Fap even faster.
PDXPLT
join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR

PDXPLT

Member

Re: To the Fap Even Faster!!

said by Apophis:

Wow, congrats on hughes for being retarded, now we can all get to the gey-Fap even faster.
Spoken by someone who must have DSL or cable available to them.

And who talks like a 14-year old.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Speed schmeed

I tend to agree.

Granted, Spaceway3 may improve latency a bit (those who are on there please report your latencies...I'm guessing they're in the 500-600ms range?) nut sat internet is still sat internet, and at the rate Hughes is going it's like they want to oversubscribe the bird by a disgusting amount, at which point they can FAP you back down to dialup on your $300-a-month plan.

Granted, 5 Mbit from a satellite is nice, but what about the uploads? Also, it looks like the cost per megabit is $60ish all the way up the line, and you don't even get the full speed if you use the connection at all. Heh, in about 13:20 (minutes:seconds) of solid DL on the 5 Mbit plan, you're FAPped. That's disgusting.

As far as T1's go, if you're using sat, chances are your T1 is gonna be expensive, but if you share it around then it should work out, plus it has a 486 GB cap downstream and a 486 GB cap upstream. Yes, I'm talking about the physical limit of a 1.5/1.5 connection. Really puts thins into perspective, that an $800 T1's cost per GB is less than $1, and that's a non-bulk, low-bandwidth dedicated circuit.

HughesNet's sat service, on the other hand, is a joke. How about giving a 1M symmetric Spaceway3 plan for $100 a month, with a rolling 50GB cap per month? That would be reasonable, or at least halway reasonable, doncha think?
Kord
join:2006-10-27

Kord

Member

Upgrade Now

And for a mere $400.00 we can give you a 9700ARP modem with red blinky lights that does jack to help your connection. And don’t forget about another 5 year contract to get it.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

88615298 (banned)

Member

If I had to have satelite

I'd rather pay $90 for Wildblue's 1.5 Mbps package. That cap while also low is at least 17000 MB dowload 5000 MB per month. Sure beats Hughesnets' 15000 MB TOTAL cap per 30 days.

I'm sure this new 5 Mbps tier will cost around $250. How do they think REAL people can afford that? I think it's sad I can get 10 Mbps from Charter for $50 and poor souls living a few miles away have to pay outrageous prices for 5 Mbps internet AND have crappy caps.

•••••

netwire
Premium Member
join:2001-04-27
Dallas, NC

netwire

Premium Member

It's crazy man...

The prices they are charging do not meet the service they are supplying. I do understand however, that some people who have no other option would be more than happy to splurge (if the can) on service like this. To be honest with you, back before I discovered EVDO in my area I most likely would have thought about forking over that kind of cash seeing I do not have DSL or Cable in my area. I think the money would be better spent forcing telco's to expand their network to more rural areas.

••••

stomp357
join:2003-04-13
Lake Charles, LA

stomp357

Member

500MB a day?

What is with those caps? Most game patches take half of that, while demos these days take more than 1GB. Not to mention the extreme prices for the privilege of not being able to use the service.
kjpwv
join:2006-10-24
Fairmont, WV

kjpwv

Member

What a joke


If you actually get those speeds you would hit the FAP in a minute and 40 seconds... someone has some real math wizzes in the marketing department.

KP
/2 years of suffering on sat internet
/one of those getting throttled everyday

ztmike
Mark for moderation
Premium Member
join:2001-08-02
La Porte, IN

ztmike

Premium Member

HA

How long till they max out this new speed tier? They see that they have a new satellite then later down the road, their going to find that they taxed this one to the brink also..then it'll be just the same as it is now.

DarkSol64
join:2005-06-26

DarkSol64

Member

The one perfect word for sat's value

Useless

metachronos
join:2005-01-26
Green Bay, WI

metachronos

Member

A better idea...

For the price of the 5mbps service you could probably rent a studio apt in a nearby city, get a broadband connection for it and drive there whenever you want to use the internet.