HughesNet Internet Services are a Joke

I have posted on various sites before, but I live in the woods, where I have 2 options for Internet – dialup and satellite.  Well obviously I would go crazy with dialup so since the late 90′s, I’ve turned to satellite. While it’s changed names a couple times, I’ve been with HughesNet since the beginning. If you have no choice at all – and I do mean NONE – then satellite is the way to go, but if you do have a choice, DO NOT go with satellite, and I mean this strongly DO NOT!!

While I am thrilled to NOT go with dialup which means in a way I have to “love” HughesNet, I must tell you that it is a very strong LOVE/HATE relationship.

Why? First, because of their “Fair Access Policy,” you get very limited bandwidth each day.  I’ve had to upgrade several plans to even be able to half handle our Internet usage.  And with this, I have to not let Cameron watch YouTube vidoes (just a few and we’re over our usage and shut down for 24 hours), play few games, etc.

Speeds? Well they are much better than dialup, but they are still WAY slow if you are accustomed to any high speed Internet.  Want to watch a movie online? Or even just that 30 minute episode of your favorite tv show you missed last night?  Well, give it up.  Your speeds are too slow, and even if you could manage it, you’d be over your FAP in about the first 15 minutes of the movie.  Yes, I’m serious! Want to try something like Vonage to reduce your phone bill? Won’t be happening with satellite Internet.

But I could deal with slower speeds and the Fair Access Policy without many complaints. I mean I don’t like it, but it’s life, right? This is where my real problems lie:

1. Customer Service – except for this last time I’ve called, I always speak to tech support that I’m pretty sure is based out of India.  You cannot understand half of what they say, and to be quite honest, they aren’t real knowledgeable when you do understand and have real communication.  You can tell their answers are canned, and probably they’ve never even been on a computer hooked up through this service. Oh, and even when you make them aware, you know your way around computers, they still talk to you like you’re a 3rd grader who knows nothing about computers.
2. Monthly Expenses – For limited speeds and such a limited amount of daily bandwidth usage, I pay almost $100 a month!  CrAzY, right?



3. The Other Expenses: This is where I get the most pissed off.  This is where I think HughesNet becomes “a joke” as I titled this post.  I pay $100 a month every month for subpar service, but when I have connection issues, it costs me MORE money!  More.  Yes, my service has been SLOW lately, and I mean dialup slow.  Slow enough that I can’t even do most of the things I like to do online, but after going through a surprising good customer service call with a genuine, native American English speaker, I am still informed that just to get someone to come and look at my equipment and try to determine where the problem lies will cost me another $125!!  What the ****?  Oh, and if there is equipment failures, who do you think must pay for the parts?  You guessed it – ME!  So for $100 a month, they don’t even guarantee that you’ll stay functioning.

My parents have been with Cable and DSL and in both instances, they paid substantially less than I do for faster service without limits on usage, and guess what else? When their connections fail, tech support comes out for free and fixes the problem for free!

Again, if you enjoy the country life as I do, you must make Internet connectivity sacrifices, and in that instance, I do recommend you consider satellite Internet services; however, if you have any other high speed options, jump on them!  They have to be better than HughesNet!

Note: The only other provider I know of is Wild Blue. Upon investigation, I discovered they are basically the same as far as prices, speed, and high expenses of service calls; however, their FAP is by the month instead of the day.  For many users this might be better; however, I’m curious to know how long you are shut down when you exceed it. While I get furious at HughesNet when we are turned off for 24 hours, I’d be even more angrier, if I exceed my FAP with Wild Blue in a week and was shut off for 3 weeks?!  If anyone knows how this work, I’d be very interested in knowing.

Above you will read my opinions on HughesNet Internet Service.  These are my opinions based on my service with the company over the last 10 years or so.  Please note, I wrote this on my own will to share with you my horrible experiences and to prevent my readers from the same experiences. I received no compensation for this post.

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