anyone using HughesNet (sat. internet)?

[Le Pirate]

About to be relocated for work, and it looks like it might be my only choice....Other than dial up 



good experiences?
bad experiences?
any experiences?

I was looking on their site, and it has some Fair Use policy that caps you at 500mb. Guess my streaming netflix is done 

[ducpainter]

About to be relocated for work, and it looks like it might be my only choice....Other than dial up 



good experiences?
bad experiences?
any experiences?

I was looking on their site, and it has some Fair Use policy that caps you at 500mb. Guess my streaming netflix is done 

I think Mr I and somegirl have it.

The fair use policy bit them a couple times in the beginning I think.

[motoboy]

good experiences? All I could get at the time, it is better than Dial up. 
bad experiences?    Not very good at all with a bit of cloud cover. (slow)
any experiences?    Over all rating is I think it sucks.
I was looking on their site, and it has some Fair Use policy that caps you at 500mb. Guess my streaming netflix is done  Ya this part really sucks !!!!!!

My work partner is using Sky Beam and really likes it, I will be checking it out soon.

[Popeye the Sailor]

Eh, it's been reliable, although slower than cable or DSL. You are also limited to certain bandwidths, so....turn off pictures etc in your browser. It's not bad, but you'll also never see another video again. I would recommend downloading a program that 1) keeps track of your usage for you and 2) lets you download during the "no-limit" hours. So you could still get online movies, just no instant gratification.

Would I do it again? Sure. Would I prefer cable or DSL? Absolutely. YMMV.

[Ducatiloo]

Eh, it's been reliable, although slower than cable or DSL. You are also limited to certain bandwidths, so....turn off pictures etc in your browser. It's not bad, but you'll also never see another video again. I would recommend downloading a program that 1) keeps track of your usage for you and 2) lets you download during the "no-limit" hours. So you could still get online movies, just no instant gratification.

Would I do it again? Sure. Would I prefer cable or DSL? Absolutely. YMMV.

+1 me too, the FAP is kinda ridiculous, I've checked and they had throttled me all the back to 14 kbs for 12 hours.  Better than dial up but not much else.

[somegirl]

I use it for work, download speeds are fairly comparable to an aircard, upload speeds are much slower.

It's been pretty reliable, I can even do webex sessions although I only do these if I am watching the session only - if I have to control a webex session I prefer to go into our office and do it from there.  For email and web browsing it's totally fine except for watching videos.

It really sucks with VPN.

Download the hnfapmon to keep track of your usage, as MrI said there are also download managers you can use.

I also run FireFox with AdBlockPlus and NoScript to avoid unwanted bandwidth with autoplay videos or flash sites.

[mstevens]

I had it for a few years and was thrilled to get rid of it in favor of cable.

I was also thrilled to get it, since at the time it was the only alternative to dial-up.

[Le Pirate]

so it sounds like its okay if it's the only option you have....



I found out that a couple miles up the road, you can get DSL. Anyone had any luck convincing the phone company to run it a little closer to their house 

[Le Pirate]

just checked Skybeam.


it says the cover Texas....but not the parts where I live. Damn.

[NAKID]

Do you have cell sevice? Can you tether your phone or use a card? Might be cheaper and no bandwith limitations...

[Ducatiloo]

Do you have cell sevice? Can you tether your phone or use a card? Might be cheaper and no bandwith limitations...

Most "unlimited" cell phone data plans have a lower MB limit than hughesnet.  I look into Verizon and Sprint a few months ago.

[NAKID]

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobilebroadband/?page=plans

Shows up to 5GB plans...

[Le Pirate]

Do you have cell sevice? Can you tether your phone or use a card? Might be cheaper and no bandwith limitations...

nope. no cell service either.

...well. Thats not totally true. my t-mobile phones have absolutely no service what so ever there. I have one option for cellular phone service, but I really don't want to do it.

AT&T.

the only carrier that has any signal out where we are moving. Just the thoughts of ATT service makes my stomach churn.  

I don't know what I'm going to do. I've always lived in decent size towns/cities where the DSL and Cell coverage flowed freely. We are going to be 25 miles from the closest town. Probably the weirdest place I've ever seen. Beautiful lake, and multi million dollar houses, but no town/businesses to speak of. It's going to be atleast 15 miles just to get gas.

My regional director said this is a promotion, but i'm not so sure  

[Ducatiloo]

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobilebroadband/?page=plans

Shows up to 5GB plans...

That's way below HughesNet . The HughesNet  FAP kicks in after 300-450 mb per a day.  5GB a month is 2 netflix movies... or one Vista service pack 
Although a broadband card will have faster upload speeds and less latency

I can't believe I arguing for HughesNet   

[Pakhan]

Do you have neighbors with internet? 

http://www.oxid.it/cain.html