Forum Discussion

rmvelin's avatar
rmvelin
Freshman
8 years ago

Who's NOT upgrading to Gen5?

So I've been waiting all this time for the new satellite to be up and running and now I'm reluctant to upgrade.   1)When I first started with HughesNet I was told I could stream Netflix with the pl...
  • C0RR0SIVE's avatar
    C0RR0SIVE
    8 years ago

    1: Everyone I have spoken to that is on Gen5 can stream Netflix just fine, even while in FAP if they use SD.

    2: Yes, upgrades to Gen5 will result in you being locked into a new 2 year contract.  This is normal with any form of equipment upgrade.

    3: Chances of the system becoming congested with in the next few years (those signing up now should be out of contract before congestion becomes any concern) is slim to none, though occasional gateway expansions will probably occur as customers come on board (why build the entire facility at the start when it's not being used?).  In 5-6 years, it's possible, but hopefully by then Hughes will have another satellite in the air to stave off inevitable congestion of the system.

Jasmer's avatar
Jasmer
Freshman

I thought about it a little and we probably won't upgrade for a few reasons.

 

1.) We're content with Gen4. 10gb/month isn't really enough, but I don't mind a few days of facebook and slow pinterest when we burn through it toward the end of the month.

 

2.) With that in mind, the customer service rep I spoke to made it sound like we were going to have to pay for installation (something like $99) OR get like $5 off our bill per month, and I believe she said that was temporary only for like 12 months. So basically a lateral upgrade to more or less the same plan was going to cost us more per month. No thanks. That's stupid.

 

3.) In the coming years our area will be getting DSL access. Frontier keeps saying Soon™. DSL runs along the lines in front of our property, but our power and phone and stuff come from the road about 20 acres behind us and it isn't out there yet. It will be eventually, I mean it's inevitable unless we have the option to trench a line from the road ourselves and connect into one of their existing lines. In other words, I may not want to be locked into a 2 year contract after all.

 

4.) You mentioned that as time went on the system got bogged down. With people migrating to Gen5 and new customers probably starting on Gen5 by default, Gen4 will probably unclog a little and return to satisfactory service.

 

Overall we're perfectly happy with Gen4. Upgrading sounds nice, and an extra 10 GB/Month sounds nice, but unless I can get some very clear answers to my questions (the CS rep was kind of vague and I am not good with accents) we've decided it's a flat out "no" for us.

GabeU's avatar
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV
8 years ago
Jasmer wrote:

4.) You mentioned that as time went on the system got bogged down. With people migrating to Gen5 and new customers probably starting on Gen5 by default, Gen4 will probably unclog a little and return to satisfactory service.

While it is most definitely true that the ES17 (the Gen4 satellite) does have congestion issues at times, it took quite some time to get that way.  The ES19, which is the satellite most Gen5 customers will be pointed to, has more than twice the capacity of ES17, so it will most likely be quite a few years before it starts seeing any noticeable congestion, if it ever does.  And regarding people moving from the ES17 to the ES19, it will most definitely help.  I don't know how long it will take to notice any real difference, but it will almost assuredly happen.  

 

Jasmer wrote: 

Overall we're perfectly happy with Gen4. Upgrading sounds nice, and an extra 10 GB/Month sounds nice, but unless I can get some very clear answers to my questions (the CS rep was kind of vague and I am not good with accents) we've decided it's a flat out "no" for us.

Are the questions the rep couldn't answer clearly all billing related?  If there are some non billing questions, like something related to the service itself, we may be able to help to answer them for you.