Hughes Net

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,337]

We have Direct TV at home and have been customers for about 6-7 years. I have know for some time that they offer high speed internet service, starting at $59.99 per month with the "Home" plan with a speed of 700 Kbps. See this link. We don't have any other course for high speed unless it's satellite based, i.e. Hughesnet, Wild Blue or Star Band.

Yesterday we received a letter from Direct TV offering us Hughesnet for $39 a month, which I'm assuming is the 700 Kbps speed. My question to the more knowledgeable in these things - is that speed fast enough over dial up to warrant the $39? I don't know if they're offering a discount on the equipment and/or installation, so I might have to pay for that also upfront. But the real question is the 700 Kbps speed? :whistle:

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,114]

Terry, dialup is at best 56kbs where I would suspect most connections are slightly lower. I don't know how much your dialup costs but 700kbs would be a big noticable difference. Although in the high speed world, 700kbs isn't all that great you would get the following benefits.

1. full time connection - when you turn on your computer it is on, or like me leave a computer turned on all the time so you know when email comes in.

2. much faster download and upload speeds.

3. if you have multiple computers, you can have a home network where all computers use the internet (yes I know of Windows internet connection sharing it stinks)

Disadvantages are

1. requires a clear view of the southern sky, if you have DTV you probably do

2. could be prone to outage

3. equipment costs

4. with satellite you can't have VOIP phone service, the latency is too large.

5. there could be a delay since the signal goes 22,300 miles up and 22,300 miles down which is about a second. Doesn't sound like much but in the old days of half duplex communication, you would type a character and 1 second later it would show up on the screen.

If you have a chance to "test drive" the system you should. If it were me, I would get it without doubt.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,337]

Thanks, Karl, for the quick response.

I have noticed during some storms, or just real over cast days, that we can loose satellite signal briefly, though it's not a lot. I like the idea of not tying up a phone line and having the internet up and running at all times (with dial up it's best to disconnect when not in use). I guess the biggest attraction for me is speed and not tying up the phone line. I think they offer 30 day guarantee, so if I don't like it I can cancel my service and receive a $200 refund for the equipment (I have to eat the installation fee).

It's something to consider - I have been holding out before because of the $60 a month bill. $39 a month is a lot more inviting, but I'm not sure if we used the internet that much to even warrant that much. I haven't looked over their offer, so I'm assuming I still have to pay for the installation and equipment, though I noticed they offer a $100 rebate on their site. Hmm, decision time I guess.

Oh, my dial-up service is about $10 a month, so I guess I will only be paying about $30 more a month for high speed. The deal breaker might be the equipment and installation charges.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,114]

For me it was a no brainer. If you're just going to hook your Mac to the internet, that's all you'll need to buy. If you hook a PC up, you will need a router even if you DON'T have multiple computers. The router has built in hardware firewall functions to keep people out of your computers.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,337]

Thanks, again, Karl. It would be a no brainer for me also, but I guess I have to convince the wife, though I think she uses the internet at home more than I do, i.e. paying bills, checking out ebay, etc. The part that's not a no brainer to me is the equipment and installation costs - I'm not sure what that's going to be. :whistle:

[CasualObserver 3,406]

Terry, is the $39 a fixed long term thing, or a 1 year promo? Even if it's the promo, high (er) speed internet is becoming nearly a necessity in this day and age. It's not there yet, so don't misunderstand me, dial-up is still a good service. You just can't do a lot of picture or movie viewing, and program updates are nearly impossible with todays program file sizes. I don't understand why they can't get dial-up to go any faster, but I admit, I know nothing of the actual workings of the technology. Telephone wire is a wire... DSL is a wire, Broadband is a wire.... what's the holdup?

I will say like anything in today's entertainment technologies, Satellite TV, DVR, DVD, HDTV...etc... once you step up in technology, it's harder to ever go back. Sometimes you also need to look at it as an investment.... might be cheaper to get into a plan now as opposed to later, as usually it's cheaper and easier to upgrade when you have a need later.

just my

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,337]

Jason,

I also appreciate your perspective, as well as Karl's. You bring up a good point, on the promo thing; even though I haven't reread the letter, I suspect it is a promo pricing (I have been wanting to use that smilie ). I suspect, though wire is wire, the phone line cable is outdated and can't handle the data flow of some newer technology cables available today. The phone company would have to run all new cable and I don't see that happening in my rural area - yet. Maybe some day when the area becomes heavily populated (that's not something I look forward to, but I guess it's a trade-off). But that's not going to happen anytime soon.

I'm afraid if it is a promo pricing, then we get hooked on the faster speeds and the convenience of not tying up a phone line, then they socked us with the higher monthly rate (which will probably go up anyways) and we will have to suck it up and pay it as we wouldn't want to go back to old dial-up. :WRS:

[Teddy da Bear 11]

I am in the same situation. I have looked at Hugh's Net. There are cheaper ones available....but I do not know how long they might be in business.

I know that Hughs net is offering a rebate at this time which covers the cost of the equipment.

For me I just want the opportunity to tell AT&T to "pucker up" and kiss my big white butt! I have been slammed by them, ignored...signed up for plans I did not authorize.....and the list goes on.

My wife and I would just survive on cell phones. And then we would need a satellite internet service.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,337]

I finally had time to reread the fine print - they tried to hide it in the colored graphics of the fold out they sent. The $39 is good for the first year and then it goes up to $49.99 - and it's not Hughes Net, it's DirectTV in conjunction with Wild Blue - I didn't read the thing too good the first time and just assumed it was Hughes Net. Wild Blues cheapest package is for 512 Kbps, not 700 like Hughes Net. Still faster than dial up though, a lot faster.