2019 HughesNet Satellite Internet Review

HughesNet is one of the largest satellite based internet providers in US. It is available in all the 51 states with a strong customer base.

There are four plan options for the customers to choose as per their budget and requirements. The provider is able to provide a reliable internet service and is budget-friendly as well.

To know more about it, let us explore more about the plans, speed, coverage, and other aspects of the provider.

How are the Plan and Pricing?

The speed offered for all the four plans is 25 Mbps. Here, we can see that, even the starting plan offers an internet speed of 25 Mbps. But, this is not the case of Viasat, one of its competitors, where the starting plan provides only 12 Mbps, which is quite low. For a price of $59.99, it is quite worthy to get an internet speed of 25 Mbps.

Since the starting plans are affordable with a reliable speed of 25 Mbps provided, the provider is highly preferred among the budget users. If you require higher data also, there are plans which can provide you with 50 GB of data at a rate of $149.99 per month.

Is HughesNet Internet Good?

As the speed offered by the provider is 25 Mbps for all the plans, it looks impressive. Moreover, it provides a speed, which is either the advertised speed or more or less the same speed. This would be a great advantage for the customers.With respect to the aspect of advertised speed matching with the speed provided, it can be viewed on par with the prominent providers like Verizon, Xfinity, AT&T, and others.

How’s Coverage Aspects of the Provider?

Prominent providers using DSL, fiber optic, and cable based internet connection are able to provide higher speeds even up to 1 Gbps. These providers are available in almost all the cities but do not provide coverage in certain remote rural areas.

The satellite providers like HughesNet internet are present in all the states and provide coverage even to rural areas, which becomes the major advantage of the satellite providers.

Due to the coverage that they are able to provide, customers in rural areas have no other option to choose other than the satellite providers. Thus, they gain their importance, due to which they have also gained a large customer base.

Though their speeds are lower compared to the other types of providers like fiber, DSL, and cable, they are able to maintain their popularity in the market, mainly because of the coverage that they provide.

Is HughesNet Internet Unlimited Internet?

With its Gen5 features, the provider is able to provide unlimited data. There are no difficult data caps for the plans, which make it highly preferable.

With its internet, you can always stay connected to your family as well as friends through the social media platforms, browse information online, or use the internet for your mild business-related activities or do work at home.

But, the bandwidth of the satellite internet itself is limited. So, to avoid congestion, it becomes necessary for the provider to reduce the speed of the internet for the users, who have already reached their bandwidth limit or the data caps provided.

So, after reaching the limit mentioned in the plan, the users will be able to realize that their internet speed is reduced. This happens because the provider shifts the priority to the users who have not reached their maximum usage limit.

Therefore, after the data limit for the plan you have chosen is reached, you are not denied with the internet access. But, the speed is reduced until your next billing cycle starts.

How about the Contract Period?

The satellite provider offers you with a 24-month contract. Though the contract period might look long, it would be advantageous to go with it.

During this period, the provider gives no surprises to the customers with a price hike. It maintains the price during the period. This helps the customers to save a lot of money, while they enjoy the reliable internet service.

When you opt for internet plans but would like to end up the service within three months’ time, then, you would end up with the early termination fee of $400.

When you opt for termination of your service after three months, there is a decrease in the termination fee of $15 every month. So, it would always be good to complete your contract period before leaving the service to avoid any loss of money due to it.

Latency

HughesNet takes a lot of time for communication as the information has to go to the satellite and come back every time during transmission, unlike other types of providers like DSL, fiber optic, and cable. This time lag is called latency.

Especially, when you are playing some multi-player games online, you might notice that you will not be able to play effectively or will not be able to play at all.

The provider is trying to improve this aspect so that the user will not realize the discontinuity while performing activities like online gaming, streaming, and downloading.

How to Go About with its Equipment Installation?

You require a modem and a satellite antenna for the satellite internet provider. But, it is always not required to purchase them. Instead, it can be leased also. It looks slightly expensive when you purchase as well as go in for a lease.

It costs around $14.99 per month if you go for leasing the equipment. If you purchase, it would cost around $249.99. Again, it depends upon your need which is going to decide whether you are going to purchase or lease the equipment.

If you are in a rural area, where you are going to opt for HughesNet and if you plan to settle in some other city after a few months, it would not be worthy to go for the purchase of the equipment. Instead, you can lease it, so that you would not lose your money while you relocate.

The satellite provider does provide professional installation services through vendors. So, the quality of the service might not match with the industry standards.

Have You Chosen a Wrong Data Plan?

Before choosing a plan, it is always good to ascertain how much data you would require so that it would be easy for you to choose the right plan. Let us take a quick look at the limit of data that can be obtained from various data plans of the provider.

With the amount of data that can be squeezed in each data plan of the provider, it is easily possible to find out which plan will be useful for your requirement. You can plan in such a way that you are able to cater to all your requirements like audio and video streaming, browsing, and gaming with the data plan you have opted for.

Even if you are not able to ascertain your need correctly and have chosen a wrong plan, the provider gives the flexibility to its customers to switch over to other plans. It charges no additional cost for giving such plan changes to customers at any time. The monthly bills are processed according to the changes done.

Thus, its customers have the benefit of switching over their plans as per their needs, even if they opted for a wrong plan or if their needs are changing.

How is its Customer Service?

Generally, internet users always look out for prominent providers who are able to provide a reliable, high speed internet service with affordable rates.

But, in some areas, where the high speed internet providers who are prominent in the industry like AT&T, Verizon, Xfinity, and others, who use DSL, cable, or fiber optic technology are not present, the role of satellite providers comes into existence.

So, mostly the customers there will have no option other than the satellite based internet providers. Therefore, customer support would be of least priority as far as the satellite providers are concerned, as there is no choice for the customers in that area.

Generally, HughesNet provides two payment options for gaining good customer support. The two options include Basic Express and Premium Express. But, they are able to provide good technical support, if required.

Though there are mixed reviews with respect to customer care, the provider is continuously focused on improving the customer service department. The customers can get their queries, if any, resolved by calling the customer support representatives. They can also get the details of various plans available.

Conclusion

Compared to other satellite providers, HughesNet provides a reliable internet with a consistent speed throughout the US, thereby satisfying the needs of the customers.

Even the starter plans which are budget-friendly are able to provide 25 Mbps. Moreover, the advertised speed is maintained, thus, giving value for the money that you spend.

Though satellite internet providers are not preferred, considering the location where you are put up, it is recommended to opt for HughesNet.