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Posted on 07/12/2008 5:11:31 PM PDT by gost2
I knew it wasn't that good but I live behind a hill and can't get wireless from the local ISP. I decided to go with Hughes cause they are a big company and I figured they would do it right. 28kb per second dialup just wasn't cutting it.
WRONG!
$600 up front for the dish and installation and $70 bucks a month and one year later and I'm ready to rip the #$%&!@#!! dish off the wall and go looking for a Hughes executive to plant it in.
They don't tell you... in fact they lie lie lie but the truth is even with the 'pro' plan at $70 bucks a month you get 375MB in any 24 hour period and if you go over it you get thrown into 'fair access' for 24 hours and your download speed drops to like 2kb per second. Literally. IF I let my two computers go a couple updates too long and bammo ... the download kicks me over the liimit. Last night I downloaded an album off of iTunes (first time) and bammo ... 'fair access'. Now pics on websites ... even avatars don't load.
Even when its normal you get 100kb per second download tops. Usually less. It's a long long long way from 'high speed' as they are selling you on TV these days. Don't fall for it. Satellite Internet is caveman internet.
Hughes has been spending a lot on TV adds lately. Don't believe their BS. Satellite Internet is a last resort resource only. Like if you live at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
I live in the country and often work out of my house. I used Hughes for about three years because at the time it was the only alternative to dialup. I was very pleased with it. Sure, the speeds weren't that great, but they were about fifteen times faster than dialup. The latency didn't bother me much because I'm not a gamer. I only got nailed by the FAP once or twice and that was because I was downloading a lot of music. My area later became included in Sprint's broadband coverage area, so I was able to switch to Sprint wireless Internet. Based on my experience, Hughes was a pretty good solution for people with no alternative but dialup.
I thought Al Gore was taking care of this? Everyone is paying several bucks a month into his ‘kitty’ in order to get internet to the hinterlands.
Do you have cell phones out there? Alltel has wireless approx $60/mo. 2.4mbs down.
When I start traveling that’s what I’ll get.
Yeah, that’s my next experiment. I just got an iPhone and plan to try AT&T’s data card next. Rumor has it that the Macbook Pro is up for a case upgrade (redesign) any month now and as soon as it comes out I’ll get one and an express card. Probably won’t work in my house as I live on a river and am 150 feet lower than the surrounding hills. If they’d just put a tower on the right hill.
I was doing a little checking into cell phones and data the other day.
Was amazed at the poor coverage of ATT.
Alltel and Verizon (soon to be one Co.) have much better coverage.
In the East it’s pretty solid except for W.Va- E. Ky..
The Rockies are iffy.
Of course, Iphones are incompatible w/ those Co.s
Also looking at the maps it appears data has to have a better signal than voice.
Good Luck
I have Hughesnet and could not agree more. It really sucks. It goes out so often that I can’t count on it being available. The speed is less than advertised and if you download a large file it can cause you to go over their “fair use threshold” for the next 24 hours. That is probably less than dial-up rates to punish you for 24 hours for downloading what they consider to be a large file. Just biding my time till the contract ends. Have cable internet available now in my area!
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http://www.dslreports.com/ If you plug in your zip code on the “Review Finder” link on the right side you can find real people reviews of providers in your area.
http://speedtest.net/ Probably not dial-up friendly. Test your internet connection speed so you can brag about it.
We have ATT 3 mb/s DSL. http://www.speedtest.net/result/295696282.png Not as fast as our cable internet was but better up time.
Installation was so easy a caveman could do it.
Just a suggestion.
I would suspect there’s a program out there that will alert you as you approach the cutoff point. That would seem to address some of your concerns.
Oh man ... that’s sick. (overthetopincrediblygood)
I want.
1.5Mbps on large files. Sorry if I wasn’t clear.
I have the Pro Pak.
We should find out which system Al Queda is using, they don’t seem to have a problem transmitting anything. :(
My neighbor has Verizon for her laptop, and she’s constantly complaining. I have Alltel for my cell and I’ve never had a problem.
Now that Verizon and Alltel are going to be the same company, I’m shakin’ in my boots wondering if my cell coverage is gonna get worse.
Everytime one company takes over another, they usually throw out the stuff that actually works.
I agree.
I’ve had Alltel since they were, I don’t remember their previous name. Actually I think they have changed name twice since I got them. Have always been happy w/ their service.
I’m spooked by the prospects of the merger.
I had Mindspring at one time, their service dropped off when Earthlink took over.
Same with Piedmont A.L. and US Airways.
The bigger they get , the more impersonal they become. Lose sight of the customer and rely on computer printouts.
Meant to add..
I think they use much of their same equipment now.
The coverage maps are very similar.
Both are CDMA technology. ATT and others are GSM.
Apparently data requires a better signal than voice as it seems to be reflected in the coverage maps.
Just wait ‘til TV goes digital. Lots of people are going to get a rude awakening.
What is now a little snow in the picture will be unwatchable on digital. A bunch of jumbled pixels.
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