how-to block ads
|
»next review in page
Review by Vince_C 
UPDATED: 45 days ago
member for 2.6 years, 8 visits, last login: 45 days ago
 Grayson,Caldwell,LA
 Contract price not specified.
 "It actually worked years ago."
 "Completely useless service most of the day and night now."
 "Not worth the cost!"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Mail,DNS,News:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
When I first acquired this service years ago it worked great. I could do almost anything with few exceptions.
Hughes' fair access policy will keep you from doing such things as watching videos and downloading service packs for twenty two hours out of a twenty four hour day.
However, over the past year, this service has degraded to the point where I can barely run the test @ »www.speedtest.net in the afternoon. Here is a link to my latest test result from just a few minutes ago: »www.speedtest.net/result/591362293.png
After viewing the results, you tell me if this service is worth $59.99 a month! I can answer that with a resounding NO!
My suggestion: Don't waste your time and money on this service. If you do, it may work fine for a while, but the service will degrade. Hughes will be of no assistance and have you running in circles trying to get it fixed. They have abhorrent business practices that are driving away long time loyal customers! Be weary and be aware before you decide to purchase this service.
Attachments:
Followup comments:  
Mon
@direcway.com
| Thats Right Well i know the felling about HUGHES NET i had it about 10 years now and its not worth crap. 69.95 month and most of the time its slower than dial-up,this been going on to long now.search goggle about HUGHES NET lol you'll see. and my 2 cents the fcc seen like they don't care about are issues. maybe there good buddy's up to the Big Offices.. | |
| 
george357
join:2009-09-18
Hot Springs, NC
 ·HughesNet Satellit..
| I am a lucky 1 I guess. I have had it for about 2mos now and I still love it. It does get a little slow during "primetime" 4pm-10pm eastern but even when slow it is soooo much faster than my previous dial-up.
George
--
Spaceway III HN 9000 Pro+ Plan 1.6 Mbps Down. Acer 5000 series laptop w/AMD 64 bit Turion 1.6ghz, 1gb Ram, 90gb HD. Windows XP SP3, Ubuntu 7.10 Dual OS. FireFox 3.5 | |
| | Snilubez
join:2007-03-20
Salem, OR
| Re: I am a lucky 1 I guess. give it time, when I first got it it was great too, especially during that first month when I still had the option to cancel without penalty. but it's been slowly degrading over time. but there are no other internet options available where I live. Hughes knows it. and that's why they think they can get away with it. do a little research on the internet, you'll find many many testimonials like this. oh yeah and they screwed a lot of people out of the $150 rebate they were supposed to get | |
|
Patrick T
@direcway.com
| Hughes Net is a Load of BS I have had hughes.net now for 6 years. The worst waste in money i have ever seen. There is no other choice in internet here other than crappy dial-up, and who wants that. You cant play any online gaming, you cant get updates of softwere i need, if its slightly cloudy out forget about going to google. and dont even get me started on that "Fair" access policy bs. My mother, who is a freelance computer tech. gets boned because of it. When she redoes some ones pc, of course she has to re-install drivers and service packs. They are hindering her from getting paid, and thats pretty much a nazi thing to do during this crap heap of an economy that we are in. And every time i see that damned Hughes.net commercial, i want to go down to where they work and bash in all of their faces with my hughes.net box. DO NOT GET IT. THEY WILL EXTORT YOU. im not surprised they havnt been sued yet. well lets wait till Feb. when the National Broadband Policy hits congress. Good Fight Hughes net i hope you die. | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of HughesNet Satellite Broadband |
 | »next review in page (previous review)
Review by jimmy990
UPDATED: 46 days ago
member for 47 days, 3 visits, last login: 44 days ago
Urbana,Wabash,IN
Contract price not specified.
"Alot faster than dial up."
"Fap, cost, and did I mention the FAP!!!"
"If dial up is your only option then get it"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Mail,DNS,News:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
I have been reading alot of bad reviews on here about hughes net. I dont know if I just got lucky or maybe there treating me good until my 30 day trial is up. All I know is that I did my research before I got this Internet, I looked at wild blue and starband, hell I even thought about skyway. I think alot of people sign up for this thinking its going to be as fast as the dsl they had at there old place... and they never take the time to read up on things before they go for it. My average latency is around 560-600 some times its a little higher depends on the weather, I have the hn9000 and the home plan speed test show 900k-1.1mb other than the fap I really dont have any complaints. Heres my advice to others that are turned away from the bad reviews Do some research and know the limitations before you sign up, Watch your installer and make sure there doing what they said they will do. My installer was really good I followed him around asking him a bunch of questions that I already knew the answer to just to see if he would tell me the truth and he did. Told me his name and where he was from and gave me his cell number in case I had any minor issues with me system. Spend the money on a pole mount and make sure they use concrete to set the pole. Just remember that satellite internet is not broadband, dsl or fios. it is what it is and thats a alternative to dial up so dont expect to get it and start playing WoW or streaming movies because its not meant to do that. As of now Im very happy with my service...and I will update after my 30 day trial is up to let every body know if all is still good.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of HughesNet Satellite Broadband |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by (hidden by request)
Posted: 46 days ago
(review was emailed from domain sfetech.net)
Newfield,Tompkins,NY
Contract price not specified.
"Ridiculous, inflexible spam filtering"
"The minute I have an option, I'll switch"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Mail,DNS,News:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Everyday Hughesnet SPAM filtering catches emails from people I get mail from on a daily basis. I have called tech support to ask them to turn spam filtering off, but they can't. I have tried adding good email addresses to the safe sender and safe domains lists. But the system still catches and holds emails from trusted sources every single day. Some days, it will allow several messages from a sender through, and catch two others. There is no logic to the ones it catches. This forces me to log into the account through myhughesnet.com and scroll through every spam message to pick out the ones I should have received. I think they've constructed it like this to force users through their portal.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of HughesNet Satellite Broadband |
| »next review in page (previous review)
 Review by caribconsult
UPDATED: 48 days ago
member for 6.7 years, 966 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Mayaguez,Mayaguez,PR
Contract price not specified.
"None, really"
"Slows down ridiculously during busy times (PM-early evening stateside), too damn much tinkering required."
"¡Adios y gracias!"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Mail,DNS,News:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
I bought DW 4000 /CE. The best part was the ordering and installation. The local vendor gave me all the details accurately, the installers showed up on time and did a fine job and it worked right off the bat. Two days later it went down and the company sent out the installers a day later and they replaced the feedhorn on the antennae and it worked again and continues to work.
I don't like the fact that when it rains, which it does frequently here in Puerto Rico, the service just drops out alltogether, but I have no other broadband options right now. DSL and cable are both here on the island but not where we live up in the mountains. I do have dialup as a backup but when cable/dsl comes here I'd switch in a NY second. I use internet to connect to all my clients stateside and reliability is key. Prior to this I had cable internet here and DSL in California and both were cheaper and superior to DW.
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 fact that they make you pay for the dish is an outrage, but I think the real problem is lack of competition. It's kind of like the old Lily Tomlin routine: "We're the phone company...we don't have to care!" Here in Puerto Rico there are two choices for satelliteTV - DirecTV and DishNetwork - and so they are constantly battling to get customers, and the prices and service continue to improve from the customer's point of view. This is what DW needs--someone to push them.
It's now nearly two years since I have my DW4000 and I would have to say I'm liking it better. It has been REALLY reliable, going down only after a severe lightning storm. The local vendor I purchased it from replaced both modems under warranty and repointed the dish, all for free! I would say performance has improved by I can not quantify this...it's more a feeling arising from a combination of overall performance boost and some speed testing as well. My previous statement that I would switch to DSL or cable in a heartbeat still applies, but I am definitely liking the DW a lot more than before. I've even used it periodically for PCAnywhere and Terminal Service access to stateside clients and while it's not 'smooth as a baby's butt' 'all the time, it has improved. What would be the single biggest improvement to me would be a boost in upload speed, say to around ISDN levels -128k or so. I frequently have to upload large files to clients and this is where I really miss DSL or cable. I've heard that DW7000 offers this but I've also heard about widespread customer dissatisfaction with DW7000 and I'm not ready to jump.
FALL 2006: Service on the 4000 just falls apart, especially late afternoon to late night. After much 'round and round' with TIer4 TechSupt, I bite the bullet Feb 07, and get a 7000 home upgrade. It was expensive as hell - we don't have the same deal here in Puerto Rico that you statesiders get. New dish, new 2w. transmitter, kept the cables but put in new connectors. The installer was totally knowledgeable and did a fine job. It runs very decently. I've done some speed checking using FTP transfers to my website and it consistently runs faster than the advertised speeds, by some 20-25% Uploads at 170kbps, down at just under 1mbps. Not bad. I'm told the 2w transmitter will keep me connected thru heavier weather than the old 1w. unit so that's a real plus here in the tropics where it rains a lot. Let's see how long this love affair lasts!
DECEMBER 2007: I decided to upgrade my plan to PRO, since I had been FAP'd twice recently by two ill-behaved websites that were pushing music at me and burned my FAP. After the upgrade, my POP3 mail from my website no longer worked!! I could access it via a dialup connection, but not with HN. I spent hours on the phone with various techies, some knowledgeable, others not, but no resolution. I downgraded back to HOME plan, same problems, even though it had worked for 5.5 years! I called back to HN and insisted on speaking to advanced support, who elevated me to Tier4 Engineering, and they finally isolated the problem to their router and specific frequencies, and they promised to resolve this within 48 hours. Let's hope. I'll post the results here.
Here's a tip for circumventing India: call BILLING and ask to be transferred to advanced support. It worked several times for me.
DEC 18: Still no resolution to my above stated issues, I have yet to hear from Tier4, and further testing reveals that both my FTP and telnet services no longer work with the new HN setup, whereas they work fine with dialup. HN is sinking fast in my estimation, and they didn't have very far to drop in the first place. One techie at advanced support was able to get me to access some secure sites like my brokerage and banking accounts, using proxy settings for ALL protocols, something I've not had to do with 7K before, but I can't complain - at least I can access these things now. I'm rapidly becoming OPOC (One P*ssed-Off Customer).
DEC 19: Wonder of wonders. I finally called corporate and got to speak to a rep from the President's office!!!! A stunning turn of events! He immediately connected me to his top technician who got my situation straightened out in a matter of 30 minutes or less and explained it all although I must say I didn't really 'grok' every part of it, since a lot of this stuff is way beyond my technical ability. (My specialties are LANS, accounting and business apps, etc, not satellite systems.)
Anyhow, this fellow was able to not only restore all my service but he upgraded me immediately from HOME to PRO plan, then he stood by while I tested every aspect of the connection and made sure all was well before ending the call. No more proxy settings, speeds are within spec. What can I say? This was far and away the most efficient and knowledgeable tech support I have EVER seen from HN. Would that all their techies had his ability.
Beginning 2008. Wonder of wonders again , there is now an alternative to HN where I live. Sprint offers wireless internet, I live in a well-covered area according to them, and user-friends tell me it works really well, downloads never below 450-500, usually up to 800 even during busy hours, and one guy witnessed 1.2Mbs while at the San Juan Airport Uploads in the 450 zone.
NO FAP!!! No download limit, same price as HN Home, and the hardware can be as little as $29. A Sierra Aircard595 is $100
I am seriously thinking of trying this out and bagging HN. Even though I upgraded to Pro, and have a big (..98m) dish, the speeds fall down to the 200 down 40 up range from about 2pm till way past midnight here in PR. We are one hour later than Eastern Time. I had tried SPRINT service almost two years ago and it was too slow, but obviously there have been advances made. More on this later
JAN 2008. The end may be in sight! HN tried unsuccessfully to move me to another bird and gateway, and upon failure, they agreed to let me out of the contract without penalty. Great news. I took advantage of Sprint's 30 day no questions asked trial period and am evaluating the system as I write. I have the Sierra AirCard595 plugged into my laptop
Although advertised speeds (ha ha!) are up to 1.2Mbps, I generally get 450-750kbps, but this is faster than HN most of the time, even my Pro plan, especially during the afternoons and evenings. NO FAP! Uploads are zippy - 300-500kbps not uncommon.
It functions like dialup networking using a cell phone instead of a modem and phone line. I've tested streaming video and if you use the low settings on the medial player it is quite viewable and smooth. It's also portable. On trips to the states I just take the device and plug it right into my laptop.
I believe I will be ordering the Millenicom USB wireless device and router after reading some favorable reviews here about MC (a SPRINT reseller), and I like their hardware setup, plus they are cheaper than SPRINT, still no FAP, easy to reach when their phones are working right ( I've had several conversations with the company prez and tech support) and don't add taxes to your bill!! It works out to about $20 less than either sprint or HN Pro.
THE LAST WORD: I'm pulling the plug on HN and going wireless, probably with Millenicom. I'm waiting to receive their gear, but I've been experimenting with a Sprint setup using a Sierra Aircard PCM unit and it's a big improvement over HN. No FAP, more consistent speeds, and an overall feeling of more zip, and I live right at the edge of the reception area. One poster on BBR reported using a coffee can (!!) as a sort of non-parabolic reflector and that really boosted performance. I'm going to give that a try as well, but at this point, it's ADIOS HN.
LAST UPDATE: The very helpful HN guy at Executive Customer Care agreed to let me out of the contract with no penalty, and he offered a $400 refund on the dish for which I had paid $700 a year ago. I took about no seconds to decide to accept this. ¡ADIOS y GRACIAS!
Followup comments:
caribconsult
Premium
join:2003-03-19
Mayaguez, PR
·HughesNet Satellit..
 ·Millenicom
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| Recent upgrade Hi, Dunhill, long time no speak!
I finally bagged the 4K system, bit the bullet and upgraded to a HOME edition of HN7000S, 2w xmitter, .98 dish (already had that) and new connectors on exiting cables. It works as advertised. Download speeds have exceeded advertised speeds frequently, the upload is way better and overall it runs smoothly. Yes, the 4K was faster AT TIMES, but it became pretty obvious that HN was phasing it out and service would continue to deteriorate, not improve.
I still contend the price is way too high, especially here in PR where we don't get the generous discount upgrades offered stateside. Do you get these? If we had received the same deal as a stateside 4K user, it would have cost around $50, instead of $700.
Jeff
--
HN7000S-hme G16 1370Hz-Hz RSL86-88, .98m dish w/2w. radio, W2KPro & XPPro clients via LnkSys Rtr & WAP, cabled & WX NICs & USB adapt, Mozilla everywhere. | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of HughesNet Satellite Broadband |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by george357
UPDATED: 50 days ago
member for 70 days, 90 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Hot Springs,Madison,NC
Contract price not specified.
"Much faster than Dial-up, available in where no other potions are."
"Little slow during peak time, minor weather outages, a little expensive."
"IF you have no option other than dial-up give it a shot"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Mail,DNS,News:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
I have had the HughesNet internet service since Aug. 21st 2009. I got the pro+ plan which gives an advertised 1.6mbs download and .25mbs upload for $79.99 a month. I get these speeds 19 hours a day with know problem, I get slowdowns between 6pm-10pm eastern time which are related to the increased usage of the system during that time. I have had only minor weather related outages since I got the system and when I do my satellite TV is usually out as well, just the nature of satellite communications. There is no way I would ever consider going back to dial-up but I would not hesitate to upgrade to a different type of provider either. DSL, FIOS, Cable, or a good Cellular plan is definitely going to be better than satellite but if you don't have those options then HughesNet is the way to go.
George
Followup comments:
junbon21
@bellsouth.net
|  Hughesnet
| |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of HughesNet Satellite Broadband |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by Luminaris
UPDATED: 52 days ago
member for 3.9 years, 316 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Winchester,Frederick,VA
Contract price not specified.
"It does stay connected for me"
"Way too overpriced for what you get"
"I wouldn't bother with them. Too slow and overpriced"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Mail,DNS,News:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
Look, the bottom line here is simple, it's a satellite connection. I knew going into this that it was a risk but what ISP isn't a risk anymore? Either you're happy or you're not. I have the HN9000 modem, a Linksys wireless router and 5 computers that connect to it. The initial install was very good although, the installer never came back to finish installing cable clips to hold it to the outside of the house.
I pay 79 bucks a month for the pro plus plan with a 300M a day limit. I knew going into the service what the limitations are and read the fine print. Nothing else was avaliable at the time so, I ordered it. Having two teenage daughters on this connection has been painful but, we've managed to make ends meet with it. We've only been FAP'd once (luckily) The speeds that I have been receiving with this service is so-so and it varies so much. Of course it works better late in the night, early morning and it seems to work better during the day. After work in the evenings, forget it.
I've seen many times where pages time out, I get TCP connection errors, buffering videos (just like being on dial up) and for a while there, my modem would just keep resetting itself. Litterally, shutting down and then coming back and would do this repeatedly 4-5 times in a row. It's been about 2 months or so since that has happened.
Gaming on hughesnet is possible as, I'm an avid world of warcraft gamer. Latency varies usually from 700ms to 1500ms and it is playable. The only real character I have trouble with is my rogue when he's in stealth mode and he sneaks up to attack. The latency makes it impossible sometimes but, other than that, it is playable. At least for me anyway.
Now that AT&T has very recently installed 3G service to my area, I upgraded my phone to one that tethers to my computer. It works so much better than hughesnet so, looks like I'll be getting rid of hughesnet.
In conclusion, If you just like to surf the net, IM and simple things like that and don't mind paying a small fortune for such a small amount of bandwidth, by all means hughesnet is for you. Otherwise, save yourself the headache and stay away.
Just an update. I have now switched over to Verizon wireless broadband and, it blows hughesnet out of the water. I still have the hughesnet service but am in the process of cancelling the contract which I have a year left on it. I refuse to pay 79 bucks a month for such garbage service any longer. I know they are going to charge me for cancelling the contract and want me to return the modem and unit off the dish itself. Should be an interesting process and I will update this as I get it completed.
Followup comments:
Yaqui
@solcasinos.com
| Hughesnet I have Hughes net because I don't have a land line and it was the only service offered in my area. They are the worst ISP I have ever had.If I had a land line I would go back with Net Zero at 9.95 a month the service and product were much better. Hughes net at 59.95 a month is like a thief in the night. I wrote to the State Attorney General and they got Hughes net to give me one month of service free. My problem was that I didn't read the fine print before I signed up. | |
| 
compuguybna
join:2009-06-17
Nashville, TN
| From Hughes To Verizon A difference between night and day.
Have had TWO Hughesnet systems since Jan 09.
Both have failed miserably. Complained enough...got both cancelled.
Discovered that VERIZON had three cell phone towers in a 10 mile radius.
Found a service called Millenicom that resells Verizon services.
$59 a month.... no contracts....no taxes.....No equipment to break (simple USB modem).
And a consistent 800Kbps to 1.2mbps connection.
HUGHES, you suck! I'll never go back to satellite! | |
|
george357
join:2009-09-18
Hot Springs, NC
·HughesNet Satellit..
| My 2 cents I got Hughes on Aug. 21st of this year. I absolutely love the service compared to the dial-up I had before. I got a great install and I think that makes a huge difference in the service experience. I do have slowdowns in the evenings usually between 6-10pm est. Slowest I get is about 360kps down and 20kps up. These slow downs do not start at the same time on cue or end abruptly just a gradual thing during the normal "heavy use period". I have had a few weather outages but the were only minutes long and my TV usually goes as well. Is Hughes an alternative to cable,dsl, fios, or a good cellular plan? Absolutely not! But it sure beats the crap out of any dial-up I have ever used. So if you have no choice other than dial-up give it a shot.
George
--
Spaceway III HN 9000 Pro+ Plan 1.6 Mbps Down. Acer 5000 series laptop w/AMD 64 bit Turion 1.6ghz, 1gb Ram, 90gb HD. Windows XP SP3, Ubuntu 7.10 Dual OS. FireFox 3.5 | |
|
Be Cautious
@direcway.com
| Been a Satellite User for 8 Years I've been a satellite user for the past 8 years, way back since Direcway. Due to my location, other options are not possible. I am a web software developer by profession and need every ounce of bandwidth I can get, and this service is a horrible love hate relationship.
What I find extremely disappointing is that the technology has not changed much over the past decade for users. Previously uploads where limited to a land line, but since then HughesNet acquired Direcway and the hardware improved and now you have two communication without a land line. They've made improvements to the hardware users use, but the actual technology to the bandwidth has not. I see the same speeds and experiences now, as I did 8 years ago.
I have the HNS7000, that I've had for the past 2 years. I find it somewhat laughable when I see advertisements promoting it's speed. It's a disillusion and false claim(practically false advertising), because it's highly dependent on numerous factors.
Over the years, they have done little to improve on the demand of the modern web. Rich media on the web has increased rapidly and more and more web services are providing abilities to improve lifestyles, such as Voice Over IP phone services, video on demand, streaming content, social network media sharing(video, photos), gaming networks, operating system updates, software downloads and robust web applications etc. If you'd like to do any of the above, forget about it, you will be ripped off and disappointed.
They provide somewhat adequate services for web browsing, email and quite honestly the old school era of transactional web. It reminds me much of the NetZero days, in where they take over your operating system/browser, try to cache your content through their "Web Acceleration" software, monitor your activity and try to reduce your bandwidth consumption. The technology hasn't changed in years, and I doubt they will in the next several years unless the FCC and consumers push back.
The Fair Access Policy has been in place for nearly 10 years and it's a huge capital gain for the company because they can throttle your limitations so that it doesn't force huge shifts in demands to improve their costly hardware. I guarantee I am hitting the same satellite from 10 years ago!
I've been victim to FAP numerous times to which they essentially turn your connection off. I can tell you, it's even slower then dial up! They will do little to restore your service, even if it's an honest operating system update.
During peak times 5pm-1am, the speed is throttled to an average of double modem speed. It's been this way for years, and it depends on the volume of users they allocate to your node. The more users that consume that channel during those times, the slower your speed.
The system is constantly fluctuating with numerous errors and performance issues. You can view it in your modem settings and reports. You'll see hourly reports of constant Uplink Queing(which they blame on traffic), and Web Acceleration (since I don't allow them to cache and exhaust my computer resources). Which if you are not using their content caching application this will reduce performance.
If you do choose to use the service you'll need to be somewhat savvy to monitor your bandwidth consumption. You'll need to turn off your automatic system updates, or schedule them between their unlimited time of 2am-5am. You'll want to have some sort traffic monitoring application or firewall, turn off your public wifi and keep in mind your bandwidth consumption.
It's a huge love hate relationship when you have no other choice. They capitalize significantly on the supply and demand charging a base of 60 a month for limitations of rich web experiences.
If you are an active web user, be cautious. This service is better then modem speeds, but I'd suggest seeking WiFi alternatives, DSL, Cable or other service that doesn't cap your experiences. I'd also suggest you closely monitor your consumptions.
The company and service as a whole really is piss poor. You will rarely, if ever speak to a support call center in the US. All calls are overseas support to which they follow tight protocols. The company has done little to improve over the years in adjusting to the demand of the modern web.
So tread cautiously if you choose. | |
| 
theGhostPony
join:2009-07-31
Lexington, KY
| Since March 2008 Overall satisfied, given the limitations which I knew about in advance. HN aims for the rural dial-up crowd that has no other broadband options. It captures them and traps them. I was one of those poor b@stards. My dial-up was so bad, 5 miles from the telco central office that I could barely get 26.4 - their physical plant is well over 30 years old and in terrible condition.
My two serious gripes against HughesNet:
Installers mounted my dish on a telephone phone near my house. Then they wanted to charge me extra to come back and do it right. It's still there. HN response was to basically give me the middle finger. There is no incentive for the contracted installers to do even a half way decent job.
Customer (nonexistent) Service - these Indian idgits are a serious waste of time. All they know how to do is read a script. They have zero technical expertise. They are very well schooled at lying. And HughesNet goes well out of it's way to hide real actual Americans behind all sorts of firewalls and passwords. I've NEVER been able to reach an actual English speaking technician who knows what he's talking about. I'm beginning to doubt they exist.
In short, if we lived in "Perfect" a company like HughesNet would have been shut down long ago. What they do is barely legal. | |
| custcomp
join:2009-11-24
Winchester, VA
| re: Hughesnet in Winchester, VA If you are in the Winchester, VA area then you really need to look into Winchester Wireless for internet service. They have a good non-line-of-sight product with very low latency, that rivals DSL and Cable type performance. Their service is only $39.99/mo. and is available without a contract. They also offer a 30 day 100% money back guarantee to take the sting out of any "risk". They have been putting up new towers pretty regularly and have a good reputation so far in the area. Check them out at »www.winchesterwireless.com. Maybe they can help you get over the issues you are having with Hughesnet. | |
| | | |
| Forums » comments on review of HughesNet Satellite Broadband |
| »next review in page (previous review)
Review by BoonieBoy
UPDATED: 65 days ago
member for 65 days, 3 visits, last login: 6 days ago
Ava,Douglas,MO
Contract price not specified.
"Much better than dialup. Space-age."
"Cost. Typical inept corporate spaghetti logic customer service."
"If you need/rely on/love the internet it is a good thing."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Mail,DNS,News:
Value for money:
(ratings above consensus)
|
I have internet through Hughes because I have no other choice. A little digging tells me that the other satellite company in the area, WildBlue, is much worse than Hughes. I have the medium-speed version which costs about 70 dollars a month. For me this is worth it because I never watch TV, I am an information junkie, I am a night owl (when the internet is fastest), I am isolated in the middle of nowhere. I have to say that when I stopped comparing satellite internet with DSL, I found that much of my anger with Hughes was unfounded.
I've had many many problems with the company but they have always made sure everything was fixed. The help people in India are friendly and articulate, and they are as helpful as they are allowed to be. Hughes is really no different than any other large modern corporation. All that matters is profit. To have a good relationship with their employees and customers is a silly waste of money. Sometimes you get lucky when a bone is thrown your way.
If cable or DSL were available I wouldn't be using Hughes unless the price was competitive. I tried an EVDO setup through Altell which was a total disaster. I knew that cell signals are very weak here but Altell promised me that by utilizing a booster they would provide, everything would be fine. It wasn't.
The biggest problem for me is the Fair Access Program or FAP. I am suspicious in that Hughes does not provide any way to monitor your status. No warnings when you're about to get punished. I can't see how it would be very hard for them to provide some type of monitor. It seems to me that they are relying on a certain amount of cutoff opportunities to appease everyone. People say they have oversold the bandwidth they have. I am hopeful that soon this FAP will be eliminated when more satellites will be used and as the country gets more thoroughly wired for DSL and cable, etc. The internet is fast becoming the new TV which means serious amounts of data must be moved.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of HughesNet Satellite Broadband |
| »next review in page (previous review)
 Review by nasfan24
UPDATED: 66 days ago
member for 6 years, 631 visits, last login: 32 days ago
Cambridge,Dorchester,MD
Contract price not specified.
"reliable, fast,"
"needs lots of tweaks, slow upload"
"good value"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Mail,DNS,News:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
i placed my order for direcway on a Thurs. evening online. i was called by the installer that same night to schedule the install. the installer arrived right on time, this was Tue. installation took about 3 hours. i have a roof mount. installer grounded my dish, and took time to show me the basics. i was up and running although slow. after taking the time to review post and tips at broadband reports my speed increased greatly. for me dial up is the only option, so satellite is great. i have only been out of service once during hurricane Isabel. i do not do any gaming, mostly surfing websites. all feedback suggest that it is not good for gaming. i have not had a problem going to secure sites either. my credit card, cell phone, ect.i do a lot of IM with aol and no problems. i find direcway to be a great system.
update------
i continue to be pleased with my direcway dw6000. it is very reliable for me. outages are rare. as discussed in the forum i have experienced a signal drop after a direcway update. although i have not experienced any problems with that loss of signal yet. there is still no other option for me except dial up. i would recommend
this system to anyone without any other choice other than dial up. you should expect to have to tweak your system to get the maximum benefit.all the help you need can be found here at broadband reports
update------
I am currently out of contract with Direcway. I continue to be pleased with my system performance. I have had very few outages that are not weather related. I current have these speeds as my average around 896 down and 52 up. Very pleased. I use only 1 tweak and that is TCP Optimizer. I was originally placed on Satmex5, I have been changed to Horizons1 for about 2 -3 months now. . Yes it was due to slow speed for about 1 month. I was able to get Direcway to correct the issue with a sat change. That was a smooth transition. My original installer was the one who came out to change my bird. I do believe that Direcway is oversold. For me I am still satisfied with my DW6000 performance.
update---
I continue to be a happy Direcway customer. I have not had to call for support many times. When I have it was terrible. I had a hard time understanding the person on the other end. Speed is still fair. I have a DW6000 on the consumer account.
Download 30 Day Stats (Overall Average = 734 Kbps :: 90 KB/sec)
Upload 30 Day Stats (Overall Average = 43 Kbps :: 5 KB/sec)
I know not real great. I am happy with it though. I guess I am one of the lucky ones who have not had to deal with Direcway much. Although Wildblue is available to me I am going to stay with Direcway for now. Don't get me wrong if FIOS was to come my way I will jump on it in a heart beat. I have heard that a cable company called Bay Country Communications will be putting wireless internet to my area by the end of July. I will be checking it out to see if it is worth the jump.
Update 08-13-07
I continue to be happy with my DW6000. I have not taken the plunge to the DW7000 modem yet. I just can't justify the benefits at this time. System runs smooth 98% of the time. The remaining 2% is weather related.
Update 09-05-08
Well I am now using the HN7000S and I changed my plan to the Pro plan. I have better downloads and uploads then before. Heck it should be right. I am still happy with my HughesNet system. I did have speed issues recently. I got switched to a new transponder and it made a world of difference.
Update 9-22-09
I continue to be very pleased with my HughesNet system. I continue to get good download speeds and the upload isn't bad. I continue to only have Satellite, wireless or dial-up Internet available to me at my location. The wireless company is not very good at keeping their word, so I will not be going with them. I told them months ago, »www.delmarvawifi.com/ , that I would go with their service. I have not heard back from them since. I have also been in contact with a customer of theirs and they are very disappointed. They are now awaiting the installation of Wildblue.
Anyway. if you only have HughesNet available, I say go for it. You may have to go through some tough times if you get on a bad bird or transponder. However you can get changed if you need to. You will need to document everything.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of HughesNet Satellite Broadband |
| »next review in page (previous review)
 Review by Kevin_H
Posted: 67 days ago
member for 114 days, 85 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Suffolk,Suffolk City,VA
Contract price not specified.
"Service Reps are Manipulativable"
"Highest Pings Imaginable, Worst Customer service i have ever seen in my entire life, Throttling almost all day long, EXSPENSIVE!"
"I wouldn't reccomend this to anyone unless they have no other option AND if they are not short on money and time."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Mail,DNS,News:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
After 3 years you too will wish you had a pendulum like the one on harrypotter the movie that allows you to remove memories and banish them away.This will be one of thee most regrettable things you will ever do, but if it gets the job at hand done, then it gets it done. Thats what it comes down to, how BAD do you want that little bit extra past dial-up speed?
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of HughesNet Satellite Broadband |
| »next page (previous review)
 Review by stanley_qaz
UPDATED: 67 days ago
member for 6.7 years, 2661 visits, last login: a few hours ago
Gilbert,Maricopa,AZ
Contract price not specified.
"This is four years out of date, ignore it."
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Mail,DNS,News:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
|
No longer use this service but can't delete this badly outdated review. »Site FAQ »I've switched ISPs - Can I delete my old review?
Please ignore it and look at folks that have something more current than four years ago. Thanks.
Back in another year to change all the numbers to five years... :-(
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of HughesNet Satellite Broadband |
|
|
(35)
(59)
(59)
(26)
·