Ten Reasons Why You Should Not Buy Satellite Internet Service
Satellite Internet Service is Ridiculous
1. Expensive - Why pay as much for satellite Internet service as you would for other broadband options that are a lot better?
2. The dish - It's satellite Internet, so you need to get a dish installed JUST to use the Internet. The setup fee is $150 - $225. Already have satellite TV? Well, you'll need another one right next to it. What a great way to show off to the neighbors, huh? Yea right.
3. Technical Support - It's decent at best, but every time I called in to fix a problem with satellite Internet (which was every other day) they would tell me something completely different. One day they'll tell you to configure your network settings a certain way, the next they'll tell you to reset the settings, then finally you call in and they tell you the feature is not supported or compatible with their service.
4. Compatibility - Almost NOTHING is compatible with satellite Internet. Do you use America Online? Good luck. Do you have networked computers? That's going to take a lot of effort. Every time we set up some new service to use satellite Internet, we would have problems that took a minimum of 2-3 days to fix. We're not computer illiterate either, my family has been troubleshooting technical issues for years, and every time we dealt with satellite Internet service, it would take hours upon hours to fix the issue.
5. Horrible upload speed - Do you enjoy playing online games? Not gonna happen with satellite Internet. The upload speed is terrible. Sure, it's possible, but the experience is equivalent to being connected through regular dial-up modem.
6. Bad weather - If it snows or rains, your reception will be extremely low and may not work at all. Kind of counter-intuitive on a stormy day when you're stuck inside and you can't even browse the web!
7. The signal cuts in and out. It will tell you the signal strength is excellent, but the Internet still won't work. Sometimes you have to reboot the computer and wait 15 minutes before you got any reception back.
8. You need a clear view of the southern sky. Not a big deal, but if you've got big trees surrounding your house, you're in trouble.
9. Low Speed - When it's all good and working, the Internet speed itself is still ridiculous. They cap you out at 700kbps. They call this the "Fair Access Policy" (a.k.a. FAP. Any regular Internet forum user will get a good laugh at that.) That's NOTHING compared to cable and DSL services, which offer anywhere from 1,000kbps-10,000kbps. HughesNet does offer a "professional" plan for $10 extra a month that upgrades you to a whole 1,000kbps per month! Whoo-hoo!
10. MAC user? Well, you're in luck. It is supported… unless you're using an operating system older than 10.1, then you are out of luck.
Well, there you have it. Ten reasons why NOT to order satellite Internet service. It's pricey, it's a hassle, it's limited, it messes up your roof, and you don't get any special deals. The ONLY reason you should ever, ever, ever consider using this service is if you have absolutely NO broadband options in your area whatsoever… and you're desperate for something better than dial-up speed. Oh, and you don't play games and have a clear view of the southern sky. But you know… that's no big deal... (Ha!)
Published by Matt
developer, writer, traveler, athlete, marketer View profile
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- Differences Between Satellite Internet and DSL: What You Need to Know! This article describes the differences between satellite internet and direct subscriber Line (DSL) internet and how to decide which is best for your needs.
- Review of the Wild Blue Satellite Internet Service Wild Blue is a Satellite Internet Company. This is a good and bad review for a good service that needs to work on info-structure issues.
- Pros and Cons of Satellite Internet I've had Satellite Internet service for less than a month. It has its ups and downs.
- Looking into Satellite as a High Speed Internet Service Provider?
- What is Broadband Satellite Internet Access?
- Don't Confuse Cable Broadband with DSL
- Work from Home with a Satellite Internet Connection
- Social Media and Satellite Internet Service
- WildBlue Satellite Internet Service Review
- How to Get Around Satellite Internet
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- HughesNet information - www.direc-way.us/
- Satellite Internet is worse than Cable or DSL
- Don't consider Satellite Internet unless you are desperate
- $150 setup fee
25 Comments
Post a CommentIs there any company out there that can deliver the internet via satellite? Obviously the ones mentioned are generally unacceptable. I need it for a place in the Philippines.
I use Xplornet, which I believe is a Canadian subsidiary of HughesNet. What is advertised as "high speed" is faster than dial-up, but prone to extremely frustrating bouts of intermittent connectivity. Online gaming performance is mediocre. Trying to watch a YouTube video on Xplornet may cause violence, internal bleeding, or mild delirium.
I think that satellite internet is a great idea, but the companies making it available charge far too much and falsely advertise the quality of the service. I have no other option, so I am posting to warn those who may have more than one option for internet service.
100% True what you wrote. The Lactancy is really bad. Satellite Internet as you say should be for people who are living in very remote areas.
I have to agree that satellite Internet access is terrible. I've had WildBlue now for a few years and it is very unreliable and not really broadband. It is so bad that I created the site WildBlue-Sucks
(http://www.WildBlue-Sucks.com)so that other WildBlue users could vent about the expensive, unreliable, bad service from WildBlue. I don't know about HughesNet since I have not used them but I can defintely say that WildBlue sucks! You don't want to sign up for that!
Satellite internet is the worst, I'm on the Hughes Network and with the fair access policy you can't do anything, your basically throwing your money away.
Some People have commented that they can play online games without any issues? You must be talking about solitare or a hidden object type of game. Twitch gaming DOES NOT work. To prove it to you satellite lovers fire up you XBOX360 or PC with a multiplayer online first person shooter and watch the lag you get. No matter how great your connection is there is a mandatory .5 second lag. 22000 mile round trip cant possibly work. Dial up has an at best ping rate of 200-300 ms still twice as good as anything satellite can provide. Just to set the record straight.
funniest thing I read today. Matt should be a comedian
I agree with you. satellite internet is a dud. I preferred 56k over it. Yeah, 56k is slow, but at least its up when I want it. Satellite internet goes down when it "MIGHT" rain. Do not get it for any type of gaming people, I warn you!
HughesNet is absolutely , positively horribly. 0.5 second ping is an outright lie, I can't get any faster than 3 seconds and online gaming is a constant disconnection. Don't get it if you want to play online poker. IT WILL FAIL MISERABLY
I totally disagree with most of you. I have used hughes for 4 years now and I have certain issues but what do you expect form something that goes to space and back? Of course the weather is going to interfere. For those of you that complain about that it is nothing but ignorant and spoiled. How can something that goes through the air be better then something that goes through a cable.I am a business owner and use it for my business. You say go back to dial up where I live there is no dial up. I live off solar power as there is no hydro service either. I have no phone system either so I use voip with my hughes satellite service. I have the large dish and a business package. I run mulitple video streams everyday, and I am never subject to fap. As far as I am concerned it is a progressive technology. It will get better with time. But in the meantime for those of us that have no other choice then it is a wonderful alternative and a great service.