It took a very long time for satellite broadband operator WildBlue to get their first satellite into space, and it wasn't long after that the company quickly began suffering from capacity issues. Back in 2007, resellers for satellite broadband company WildBlue informed us that the carrier had frozen new orders because they were struggling with capacity. This week the carrier says they're adding additional capacity which should help them with some of these capacity concerns -- for now.

According to a new announcement by WildBlue, the company is adding additional capacity in the form of Ka band capacity bandwidth reserved on EchoStar's AMC-15 satellite. The additional bandwidth will be used to serve WildBlue customers in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Arkansas. That bandwidth only went live this week, roughly five months after the company signed the deal with Echostar.

Wildblue currently offers broadband in three flavors. The company's "Value" tier offers 512kbps/128kbps speed for $49.95. The company's "Select" tier offers 1Mbps/200kbps for $69.95, while the company's "Pro" tier offers 1.5Mbps/256kbps service for $79.95. All three tiers require a two year contract.

WildBlue caps users with what they call a "fair access policy" (FAP). According to WildBlue's FAP (pdf), each tier comes with a thirty day usage limit, which, if crossed, results in users being throttled back to 128kbps downstream and an astonishingly painful 28kbps upstream. Select customers can consume 7,500MB downstream and 2,300MB per month, while Select and Pro customers are restricted to 12,000MB/3,000MB and 17,000/5,000 respectively.

Historically, neither WildBlue or HughesNet's limits have increased with added capacity, as that capacity is expensive and fills up quickly. Both companies also benefit from a captive audience of broadband subscribers who have no other option, meaning that high prices, sketchy service, and very low caps are generally the norm. Check out our user reviews of both WildBlue and HughesNet broadband service to see what we mean.