Satalite Internet? long story

This is my go to site for real world experience on pretty much any subject since there is such a vast amount of knowledge here.
So here is my problem. At home I currently have Frontier phone & DSL internet. The internet has been down for over 2 weeks and their customer service is so bad I dont expect it to be repaired anytime in the near future if ever. Unfortunately they are the only game in town where I live other than satellite internet.
Ive used them for not only just internet but land line telephone (no cell service here either) and I streamed my TV using Roku.

Ive talked to Hughesnet and they claim I can do all this through them. They have some kind of phone service for $20 a month and said $80 a month for the internet. My concern is the amount of TV I can stream in a month. Their website indicates only about 30 hours of streaming video per month with this plan. Thats only one hour per day. Their salesman claims I will have no problem streaming whatever I want because of some new Gen5 feature they have. Anyone have Hughesnet and stream their TV service with it?

This is hearsay, but my brother lives in an area with no cable service, they need internet for work and had a Hughesnet dish
installed last year. He is not happy, they do not stream, they have another dish for TV shows, they only use it for internet
access and he finds it to be slow and intermittent.

Rich

Satellite internet is the service of last
resort.

Have you complained to your state's
utility commission about Frontier's shoddy
service? You might find they are capable
of doing better with a little motivation.

I'm using Hughes net and while it could be faster it sure is a heck of a lot better then the AT&T dial up I had. Hughes net is my only other choice so it is that or dial up. It does go out once in a while due to heavy rain but not often. I also use them for my phone service. Cell phones do not work where I live most of the time unless you want to climb up on the roof and even then it is iffy at best

Had Hughesnet never again poor service and even
poorer customer service. I?ve heard vistat satellite
internet is better but have no experience.

As noted, go to regulatory agencies to let them know what is going on with Frontier. I think that is a more sound solution than Satellite.
Satellite net is a near failed choice. Viasat is some better than Hughes, but will still have stability issues in harsh weather. Jim

I've not heard anything good regarding Hughesnet from anyone that's had it.

What do you mean "been down??

Have they told you it?s their problem?

Have you talked with a rep. & did they reset your modem?

Did they say it?s not their problem so you?re waiting for a tech?

Can you not get any help from them at all?

What?s the story?

(quoted from post at 21:35:56 12/21/19) I've not heard anything good regarding Hughesnet from anyone that's had it.

Click to expand...

We've had Hughesnet for something like six years or more. While faster than dialup it is not like cable or cellular internet. Had to get Gen 5 when a tree took out the old dish, it is faster and was cheaper, $54/month vs. 65 before. I bought the equipment, which now includes Wi-Fi. It is slow in bad weather but not a big issue. .

Dsl is served over regulated copper cables. And the FCC ruled that the phone companies have to sell it its competitors for resale at a loss. SO>>>>>> from that day forwards, the phone companies have STOPPED all investments in copper plant. They will invest into fiber plant as it does not have to be given away below cost to the other companies for resale. SO>>>> they are in no hurry to fix the copper, do not rebuilt copper, and have cut most of the people who work on copper. WHEN the government steps in and makes companies loose money in certain areas, they the companies will basically get out of that area. You can complain the utility commission, but as most phone companies have stopped the sale of all new dsl circuits it very difficult to expect results. You will probably NOT like satellite service. SO.. either wait for the dsl to be fixed, or move to the new data services via delivered over cell service modems. The new cell service modems are the future data service for rural areas. AND there can be more than one provider. But the rates are still a bit higher than DSL.

I am using Hughesnet. They are the second satellite internet provider we have had. Neither have been entirely satisfactory, but it's satellite or nothing.

As long as you don't require much other than access to sites such as this one, it works okay. You will run out of high speed data quickly if you try to stream much TV or video. We signed up with Netflix, and ended up cancelling because we quickly ran out of high speed data. We have the most expensive plan Hughesnet offers, and it's still not enough data for watching TV. They like to advertise "No Hard Data Limits", BUT what they don't adcertise is the fact that once you have used up your high speed data allotment for the month, they throttle your speed down to the point where even sites such as this one load very slowly----or not at all. Forget any kind of TV or video for the rest of that month-----UNLESS you go back to them and purchase additional high speed data "tokens". Purchase of these will immediately speed data back up, but at a high cost.

I have had Hughesnet for about four years. It?s hit and miss for
streaming. Not all that great for what it costs to run. Unfortunately
with no DSL or cable available it?s about the last choice we have
other than maybe going with Directv and try their service to do it all.
Everyone wants to sell a landline phone service as part of the deal in
order to do it and I just do not want one, but they tell me they won?t
provide service without it.

Good luck trying to get Frontier to do anything. I lived in NE Minnesota where it was mostly Frontier or nothing. Many many complaints to the state about Frontier service and slow or total lack of customer service. State said yes, Frontier needs to improve but that's about all the state said. Frontier is still the same, poor service.

DWF

Satellite internet service varies completely by location, every area is isolated. If you want to know how it is in your area, you need to ask someone in your area. Some areas are good, others bad, some "ok", some good in the morning and bad at night, just depends.

I've been around it almost 25 years, most of my neighbors have it, mostly Hughes now as the competitor is now double the price for half the data in my zipcode. I had sat. almost a decade. It is not a good choice for streaming more than a little amount of video. It's very easy and quick to go over the priority data, especially with video as it uses a lot. However, if your area isn't congested, it may work a little better. Also, the satellite is very far away in orbit, so light/the signal takes time to travel back and forth, there's a larger and noticeable delay when you do stuff. Voice has a delay when you talk, you get used to it, but it's annoying. There are other things that it can cause issues with, but you can get used to it. One noticeable thing for example, typing in a search box or something, when it comes up with suggestions, the suggestions will be delayed. Not anything important, but if you have kids, grandkids, (or you...) do multiplayer coop gaming, that doesn't work practically on satellite. Turn based games do though.

Read on their official forum. https://community.hughesnet.com/

Do you have cell service? Which carriers are in your area? If you can get a little service outside, an antenna can help. Most carriers have a plan at one price or another, some "unlimited" that aren't too bad. And, in many cases, better than satellite choices (if their service isn't congested). I have a discontinued prepaid jetpack plan with Verizon. It's unlimited, I can download 100s or over 1,000 gigs with no issue. Streaming is in HD. You can only get it now if someone gives up their plan. They don't have anything comparable currently. It was $65 for the first line on prepaid, or $45 if it's the second line. AT&T has a plan for $35, and they offer actual home cell internet in some areas, so does Tmobile (in some areas). Verizon is my only carrier. There are some other options.

And if you don't have cell service, I'd very highly suggest waiting if you can. The current satellite carriers both require a 24 month contract, there is no trial period, and you have to pay the termination fee on day 1 if you don't like it (barring unusual circumstances where you can get that waived). Starlink -might- be coming. Don't know what they will offer, but it could be very good service. Starting later next year. It is a maybe, so don't count on it, just mentioning it.

Satellite would me last desperate choice, never had anyone I know happy with it.

I just switched from a Line of sight wireless service to AT&T cell internet using one of these...
https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-LTE-...ion/dp/B01N5ASNTE/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top

In the reviews one guy shows photos of the outside antennas he used to get cell service in a rural location. It will also work with T-Mobile and others. Not exactly sure how to tell if you can get cell service to where you are but I would sure be looking into it.

We are lucky as I can see a cell tower and cell service is great where we are, just on the wrong side of the highway for fiber.

Problem is no cell service in my area either so that is not an option.

I would have to say I cannot complain too much about Hughesnet. I've had it for a few years, and the problem is heavy rain, snow or cloud cover. Then it really lows down. Also when the kids get home from school, it slows down. Also slow on Sat and Sun sfternoons when most are home. In our township, we've voted in fiber optic internet access for all. They're working on it, but it seems we'll be hooked up next year. Sadly, they're some nature nazis living around here, and they sued to stop the company from drilling the cable in underground during the winter. This is so the Missasugua rattlesnake can hibernate undisturbed! Can you imagine such stupidity? This has delayed the project a full year.

(quoted from post at 02:38:00 12/22/19) What do you mean "been down??

Have they told you it?s their problem?

Have you talked with a rep. & did they reset your modem?

Did they say it?s not their problem so you?re waiting for a tech?

Can you not get any help from them at all?

What?s the story?

Click to expand...

What do I mean by "been down". Well that s a good question. After weeks of no internet Im still not sure where the problem actually is.
Let me tell you what I ve done. Ill try to be brief but it will be hard. I have had no internet since the beginning of December. So far I ve tried by myself and with Frontiers poor over the phone help the following steps.
I ve tried 3 different modems all connected to the outside service box with brand new phone cords.
First one was the one I was currently using and purchased myself. Its been working for nearly two years and I bought it to improve my WIFI coverage which it did. We have done several hard resets, reboots etc. but all I can get is a blinking DSL light.
Second was Frontiers original DSL modem which was working when I replaced it with the above. Same procedure and scenario as above.
Third was a working modem from a friend who has Frontier and let me briefly borrow his modem. I did not do a hard reset on this, just hooked it up as above and still got just a blinking DSL light. No internet light.
I have had numerous appointments where a service tech was supposed to come to my house. I took off work and waited for him on 2 separate days only to have him not show up, call, text or make any contact whatsoever. Next day each time I call and am told I am in a "common cause" which means numerous widespread people are without service. That is eventually closed each time and still I have no internet. Neighbors have internet and are connected to the same street box as I am. They have had no outage at all.
Eventually a tech apparently comes to my house with no prior notification whatsoever and leaves a note on my door "everything s fine". Unfortunately, not knowing he was coming I wasn t home.
I repeat all the above tests again with the modems plugged into the outside box and still nothing. Finally get to an "escalation specialist" who is in Texas and speaks clear English. She walks me through all the resets and settings of the modems again plugged in the outside box with yet another brand new cord. Still nothing.
She sets up yet another tech service call but it again follows suit and no one shows and Im again put into a "common cause". She calls the local area manager to discuss the problem and tells me she was appalled at his attitude.
She is sending yet another new modem which I m waiting for but have little hope it will fix the problem.
Im at my wits end! Any suggestions are welcome.

Since the neighbors have no outages, your drop & interface box may be OK.

Can you open the box & check for loose, broken or corroded wires?
Sometimes the solid wires can break off if the stripper nicks ?em.

If you?ve got a modem plugged in now at the box or through the house wiring, remove it.
Wait at least 24 hours for the ISP to drop the (DHCP #) line.

At the box, take the original Frontier modem, plug in the telco/ethernet line & then the AC line & turn it on.
If it gets a new #, it should settle in a few minutes.

If still no good, let it sit & see if it connects later in the day.

The salesmen on the phone know very little, and they will tell you anything. Forums are full of these types of comments. People ask specifically if their kid can game on the system, the salesman says "yes", even though they can't do the type of games they want. Same with watching videos. People ask if they can do that, they'll even say they do a lot, then they go over their data in 2 days, and it doesn't work. Don't listen to the salesmen. Pretty sure from what you describe, you will not get along with the service. UNLESS you subscribe to something like Directv or Dish (and if you do that, you shouldn't connect the receiver to internet, or it will download stuff and put you over too).

Bottom line is, unless you are in a "magic" beam area with very few subscribers, you will quickly go over the priority data if you use video, and you will be slowed. Going over priority data here, you don't hit 1 meg most of the time, that would hardly do standard definition. Now, basic browsing with a little video here and there, you'd likely be ok.

Video quality varies a lot, there isn't a set usage amount. But Netflix uses an example of 3GB per hour for HD, can be more, can be less, depends on the content and provider. So, in my zipcode (plans may vary by zip), the plan that is $130 per month the first year, and $150 the second comes with 50GB (plus 50GB at night/month, 2am-8am). Add in $10 for the equipment lease, and more for tax. That's about 17/hours/month of HD video during day hours. But, they also limit streaming speed to reduce the quality so it lasts longer (might be able to turn that off with Hughes, I forget).

I get the idea of "poor" DSL. They run lines some 20 miles or more from some villages, not out of mine though, fiber, very poor on the end. There are a very small handful of villages within 30 miles radius of me, they might offer "up to" 5 meg, might never see 1, often doesn't work well enough to stream audio without skipping.

You say no cell service. If there's any provider at all that would have 1 bar or a bit below (at least detectable signal) while up on a tower, even if you can't lock onto it, you might have an option, but that's about it. Another option is a WISP provider, they have limited range, let's say under 10 miles a lot of the time (even 5). They put up antennas on things like water towers or grain bins. Other than those, or sticking with what you have, like I said before, I'd suggest waiting a while.

(quoted from post at 03:18:40 12/23/19) Since the neighbors have no outages, your drop & interface box may be OK.

Can you open the box & check for loose, broken or corroded wires?
Sometimes the solid wires can break off if the stripper nicks ?em.

If you?ve got a modem plugged in now at the box or through the house wiring, remove it.
Wait at least 24 hours for the ISP to drop the (DHCP #) line.

At the box, take the original Frontier modem, plug in the telco/ethernet line & then the AC line & turn it on.
If it gets a new #, it should settle in a few minutes.

If still no good, let it sit & see if it connects later in the day.

Click to expand...

Well, I received 2 new modems in the mail yesterday. Got my escalation specialist on the phone and tried both of them hooked directly to the box on the side of the house (dont know the proper name for that) with new phone cords. We went into the modems through the computer and she had me change a few settings but still no luck. So that's 5 different modems and numerous new phone cords all that have been hooked directly to the outside box. Not one has detected a DSL signal in my mind according to the lights on it and the specs you can read on the computer. She has tried repeatedly to get a tech out to the house again but they simply wont come. They make an appointment and then just cancel again and again and put me into yet another "common cause". Ones scheduled to come again this afternoon but Ill be absolutely amazed if anyone shows up!!

You're saying to just disconnect the modem completely for at last 24 hours and then hook it up again? Im willing to try anything at this point. Im at my wits end! Appreciate your help!

It sounds like you don't have a splitter in the interface box.
If so, you've got a filter plugged into the line on each phone.
Do you have filters on the phones?

Yes, unplug the modem for 24 hours or so.
Then plug the original Frontier modem in.
Plug the telco line in first & then the power.

Don't plug the computer into the modem yet.
Unplug any filters (if you're using them) from the wall jacks on all phones.

If the modem doesn't connect in a few minutes leave it hooked up through the day to see what happens.

Maybe the tech shows up today.

TimWafer - frontier internet user here. I can t help you, but I ve had a number of problems with frontier over the years. The worst was one time when service was lost in our area. I have 2 DSL lines coming in and someone at frontier got the services mixed up when recovering from that outage. I had the common cause and escalated issues and none fixed the issue. Finally I got a knowledgeable individual who took the time to go through all the settings on frontier s end and he finally figured out that someone on their end used the wrong information to set up the service (was changed during the original outage when they were troubleshooting). It took almost 3 weeks to get mine back after the original outage. Hopefully you ll get someone who can help you soon.

The service tech actually showed up on Christmas Eve and after 20 days without service, I finally have internet again. Still its not without its problems though. He had to put in a new service.

One problem is now my download speed was cut nearly in half to between 4 to 5 mbps. Thats not helping my streaming video. Also somehow in the process I have totally lost my email account. I cant access it from anywhere now and if you try to send an email to it it comes back no such address. It was working fine that morning from work. Will have to call today about that.

I guess those are just the perks after having my bill raised 33% this month! Pay more get less!

Complain to your consumer protection or public utilities board. I had a problem
with Frontier. (1 of many) The phone was so scratchy you couldn't hear anything
but static. It was like trying to listen to AM radio during an electrical storm.
This went on for over two weeks. Had to use my cell phone to contact state board of
ag trade & consumer protection after reporting problem to Frontier again and again
after them not showing up. Problem fixed within 2 day! Also received letter from
Frontier regional manager that if there was any other problem to contact him
driectly.

Don t go with hughes net. I had them for 3 years in the middle of nowhere Idaho. I was not happy, could not stream because the service was too slow. It reminded me of the old days of internet and a modem. I now have fast internet through a company called wilderness wireless, they do internet via RF link.... it s extremely fast. Do some more digging and find out if there are any new providers in your area...

There are more Stallone internet companies than just hughesnet.