Product Spotlight : HughesNet - HughesNet Satellite InternetHughesNet Satellite Internet
(old news - 09:01AM Wednesday May 30 2007)
tags: satellite · consumers
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:
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..
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:
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:
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.
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:
"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:
"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:
"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."
"People are writing the BBB about the recent Fair Access Policy changes and contacting the AG's office to try to get something done."
"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.