# Anyone have Satellite Internet?



## lwilli201 (Dec 22, 2006)

I have been looking at Wild Blue and another sat internet provider, and the cost for what seems to be pretty slow download speeds. Is 512 really 512 download speed? I rarely get that good with my 3MB DSL.

Any experiance with Wild Blue would be appreciated.

Thank.


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## RoadDawg (Apr 2, 2008)

I have Wildblue now. I've had it for about 6 or so months. I had Hughesnet before that for about 18 months. My experience is the wildblue is better. Seems to be a little faster.
Both are very frustrating on rainy days. Either very slow or not at all. Seems to be much more picky than my satellite TV. On most days I get about 1 meg download or a little less. I don't check the speed all the time, but I seem to get consistent speed.
I have had cable modem when I had an office in town. You're not anywhere close to that speed, but now I have an office in my home (out in the sticks), it's my only real option other than dial up.


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## lwilli201 (Dec 22, 2006)

Rain fade was a concern of mine. Lots of storms around here. Thanks for the information.


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## MeSue (Oct 7, 2007)

My experience is the opposite of RoadDawg. I had Wildblue for about 15 months and it was AWFUL. When it got so bad as to be unusable and they wanted to charge me more than a new install to fix it, I switched to HughesNet which was SO MUCH better. I used them for 6 months until I got DSL.

My reviews of both are on DSL reports:
Wildblue: http://www.dslreports.com/comment/2554/61639
Hughes: http://www.dslreports.com/comment/1678/61638


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Much of the success of satellite Internet systems depends on the installation being done correctly. If the dish is off just slightly it can drastically effect performance. I haven't used WB, I had Starband for quite a while (was an early Beta tester) and installed a couple of Hughes systems. They are much more susceptible to rain fade when compared to DBS, and, of course, it's much more frustrating to deal with.


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## lwilli201 (Dec 22, 2006)

Thanks for all the replies. Does not look like it would be better than my DSL, which could be better, so I am going to can that idea.


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

lwilli201 said:


> Thanks for all the replies. Does not look like it would be better than my DSL, which could be better, so I am going to can that idea.


probably not a bad idea.... from what I've heard... satellite internet should be a very last resort...


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Well stated, Mr. Rocker.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

lwilli201 said:


> I have been looking at Wild Blue and another sat internet provider, and the cost for what seems to be pretty slow download speeds. Is 512 really 512 download speed? I rarely get that good with my 3MB DSL.
> 
> Any experiance with Wild Blue would be appreciated.
> 
> Thank.


I install HughesNet. I can tell you this. If you have the option of either cable or DSL for internet available, take them. Next in line would be internet through your cell phone provider. Next would be sat internet.

Sat internet is affected greatly by the traffic at any given time. While you may have a 768k plan, you may be lucky to get 200k durning peak times. Then you have the FAPs (Fair Access Policys), go over it, and now your stuck at near dialup speeds until you fall below the trigger point. The list can go on.

Bottom line, if you have any other option open, take it. Sat internet should be your last choice next to dialup.


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## lwilli201 (Dec 22, 2006)

RobertE said:


> I install HughesNet. I can tell you this. If you have the option of either cable or DSL for internet available, take them. Next in line would be internet through your cell phone provider. Next would be sat internet.
> 
> Sat internet is affected greatly by the traffic at any given time. While you may have a 768k plan, you may be lucky to get 200k durning peak times. Then you have the FAPs (Fair Access Policys), go over it, and now your stuck at near dialup speeds until you fall below the trigger point. The list can go on.
> 
> Bottom line, if you have any other option open, take it. Sat internet should be your last choice next to dialup.


That is sad. I wonder if sat internet will ever be able to compete with the other options. Thanks for all the replies.


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## ibooksrule (Feb 16, 2003)

i had verizion wireless card on my macbook pro laptop before DSL and then Cable modem. It was ok nothing super fast but i got 500k sometimes about 1MB. If you can get 3G access it is a little better. If you can get a good cell signal in your area see who has the best signal and get a card or usb cord from your phone to your computer. 

I have a good friend who installs wild blue and has done hughesnet and he says that not only is it a pain to install but if you get an installer who doesnt take the time to make it dead on your internet will suffer. And it is greatly affected by weather.

I think Cable will always be on top especially with fiber optics. I remember getting our first cable modem years ago when cable was in very few places and we had dial up. And it was something to get like 300k or something like that. And in just a few years we are not at 15MB well around here a year ago we were only at 10MB so i can see 20MB in a year from now.

I dont think Satellite internet will ever be able to compete with cable. Except in those areas where Cable doesnt reach. BUt who knows maybe someday they will have a way of making it go into rural areas.


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## mahoneystech (Apr 22, 2008)

I have installed WB for a while ( over 200 installs and service calls) and one thing that I have to say in agreement with a previous poster is alot has to do with your intial install, even more so when doing an internet dish than a tv dish. WB and Hughes are by "spot beams" and need to be mounted to where there is even less chance for the dish to move which can cause your slower speeds. I have seen several installs (both tv and internet dishes) that would be moving with the least amount of wind which lead to poor signal strength and then lead to early failure of parts such as the TRIA or modem. My best advice is use WB or Hughes as a last resort after DSL or cable. The cost factor itself also is something else to consider. Intial setup up cost between $300 - $349 not including in non-:nono2: standard mounting options.:nono2:


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## Brandon428 (Mar 21, 2007)

Satellite internet is the worst. Avoid at all cost if possible. I had Hughesnet and the only enjoyment I found out of the system was counting down the days till my contract was up. Latency and FAP are what cripple satellite internet.I would take the slowest DSL any day over satellite internet!


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## lwilli201 (Dec 22, 2006)

mahoneystech said:


> I have installed WB for a while ( over 200 installs and service calls) and one thing that I have to say in agreement with a previous poster is alot has to do with your intial install, even more so when doing an internet dish than a tv dish. WB and Hughes are by "spot beams" and need to be mounted to where there is even less chance for the dish to move which can cause your slower speeds. I have seen several installs (both tv and internet dishes) that would be moving with the least amount of wind which lead to poor signal strength and then lead to early failure of parts such as the TRIA or modem. My best advice is use WB or Hughes as a last resort after DSL or cable. The cost factor itself also is something else to consider. Intial setup up cost between $300 - $349 not including in non-:nono2: standard mounting options.:nono2:





Brandon428 said:


> Satellite internet is the worst. Avoid at all cost if possible. I had Hughesnet and the only enjoyment I found out of the system was counting down the days till my contract was up. Latency and FAP are what cripple satellite internet.I would take the slowest DSL any day over satellite internet!


Sounds like real good advice. Thanks all.


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## slimline (Oct 30, 2007)

lwilli201 said:


> I have been looking at Wild Blue and another sat internet provider, and the cost for what seems to be pretty slow download speeds. Is 512 really 512 download speed? I rarely get that good with my 3MB DSL.
> 
> Any experiance with Wild Blue would be appreciated.
> 
> Thank.


commercial sat internet is much better .......


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## rotomike (Feb 24, 2007)

Install is of the most importance and I install both and work on computers and Wildblue's latency is double Hughesnet and secure sites are 6 times slower with wildblue. If you have to go Sat Internet then go Hughesnet handsdown!!

Im on hughesnet now and my ping times are in 700's and wildblues will be 1400's and secure sites with wildblue you may as well have dial up. Satellite internet is only for those without any other option of hi-speed. 

Mike


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## puckwithahalo (Sep 3, 2007)

> That is sad. I wonder if sat internet will ever be able to compete with the other options. Thanks for all the replies.


I used to work tech support for E*'s wildblue service. We were straight up told to tell customers that WB is not meant to compete with other high speed options such as DSL or cable. Its not practical for it to try. It is meant as an option in areas where the infrastructure for cable, DSL, cell phone providers just is not available. Not really fair to slam a service for not matching up to a service its not meant to compete against and probably never will.


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## ejjames (Oct 3, 2006)

Those fair access policy agreements would be a non-starter. some have monthly DL limits of something like 6-11 Gbs per month. I can go through that in a day, if you watch any streaming, or download large files. I think i would rather have dial-up instead of constantly watching my bandwidth usage.


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## cablewithaview (Jul 22, 2007)

I've had Wild Blue since the beta testing days. If you have access to cable or DSL, stick or go to it. WB, Hughes, StarBand among others I don't recommend unless it's the only option you have for speed. WB has popped me several times with the FAP. I have threaten to challenge it this last time and my speed was brought back to normal without further altercations.


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