Bandwidth Usage not enough for a family of five

[RPhillips]

I have been with Hughesnet for awhile now. When i first bought a plan it was the second cheapest. Now im at the 159.00 plan and 75 gigs is not enough. its gone in either a few days, or by the end of the week. So i have to order the tokens. My last months  bill was 425.00. the month before that, 535.00. I have configured the bandwidth to where doesnt take as much but yet its not enough. I have emailed Hughesnet about getting UNLIMITED FAST satellite internet. They said they are either working on it or they will briing it up....ITS BEEN 5 YEARS!!!! After numerous emails and calls......Nothing. I'm thinking of switching to another satellite provider. I would go with Viasat but they offer 65gigs on their best plan. After that its $10 a gig. 

That is my complaint. HUGHESNET NEEDS TO GET WITH THE PROGRAM AND OFFER UNLIMITED FAST SATELLITE INTERNET. 

[maratsade]

There's no getting with the program. Satellite internet, by its very nature, is a limited broadband technology that can't be expanded.  Terrestrial internet  (such as cable or fiber), on the other hand, can be expanded, so your time would be better spent lobbying your representatives in Congress to bring cable or fiber to your area. You could also lobby the companies that offer terrestrial cable to stop snubbing rural areas and bring broadband to your location. 

[MarkJFine]

Let me try to understand this: You're complaining because you're using up your data plan too quickly and buying an excessive amount of tokens on your own volition?

I don't claim to know your particular situation, but HughesNet can't change their business model - no satellite internet company can do what your're asking. However, there are things you can do to mitigate your problem, such as:
1. Cease random, individual streaming and/or watching videos on Facebook, etc.;

2. Use the lowest 'data saving' rates for whenever you do stream;

3. Disabling automatic updates on all devices and do these manually during the bonus period;

4. Disable routine backing up to the cloud which uses an exorbitant amount of data; and

5. Disable using wifi on phones (and any tablets with sim cards) to use their LTE/5G data plan instead.

There are many other like things you can do if you think it through and manage it accordingly. Just saying.

[RPhillips]

How do we know they cant change? Is it because they actually cant or actually wont change. 

I have lowered the bandwidth usage. Took off my DISH on the internet. Made sure my kids devices are not updating except when in town. I have done what i can to not use as much bandwidth. 10 years i've been with hughesnet. I have found Starlink can be in my area. Unlimited Satellite FAST internet. Ive done my homework on this. I would rather 210.00 a month than 159.00 plus tokens that may be needed. 

[MarkJFine]

"How do we know they cant change?"

Think this through: As @maratsade intimated, the system is designed with only a limited bandwidth for so many users in a specific region before the satellite is launched. It's not like you can just go to space and modify a satellite the same way you can add a blade to a server in a terrestrial trunking station. Giving everyone unlimited bandwidth on a limited system would render the whole system unusable.

Good luck with Starlink. Can't wait to see what happens to it once they get over-sold and people start complaining because they can't hurl any more LEOs into their constellation to increase bandwidth demand for a given geographical region. And, you may be waiting a long time: They're way, way, way, behind schedule.

[maratsade]

@RPhillips , I think your frustration is understandable, and I hope you will be able to find a new ISP that will work better for you and your family. 

[GabeU]

The problem is throughput. A satellite has a finite level of throughput, and that throughput is divided between all active users connected to it. In order to make that throughput work as well as possible for all subscribers using it, high speed data limits exist. Those limits require prioritization of online activities, especially bandwidth intensive ones like streaming. Removing those limits would result in the system becoming slower than molasses for everyone, as scores of subscribers would be trying stream. The system simply can't support that. 

Data Tokens allow people to still engage in activities at higher speed after they've exhausted their normal allotment of high speed data, but it's meant as a temporary solution, and again, something prioritized.

Though it's a guess, streaming is eating through your data. HughesNet just isn't designed for regular, frequent streaming like people do with ground based services.

[MadamePineapple]

I understand your frustration 100%! We are a family of 5 as well. We just signed up at the end of August since HN is the ONLY option where we live in WV. My frustration is that they offered the 75GB as their highest tier, yet halfway through my first cycle a 100GB tier was magically available. Even after upgrading our plan to the 100GB and doing the following, we still went over our 100GB limit & the bonus zone amount within a week:

1. Turned on video saver feature in our account

2. Downgraded all of our streaming services to the lowest SD tier instead of the HD tier

3. All consoles/PCs/Devices are set to manually update (which we end up updating during the bonus zone)

4. No online gaming

5. Do all downloads of songs,movies,podcasts,mobile games while in town to utilize 5g/4g/LTE

6. Stream on main TV only and disconnect all devices from wifi when streaming

Unfortunately the prior replies are correct that satellite internet is not something that can be easily improved like broadband or fiber internet. Yes, Starlink is projecting to be here in WV in 2023 & my family members and friends who use it in their super rural areas they live in say it is actually great. It is a broadband service. 

What would be more beneficial for large households like ourselves is to increase the data amount from 100GB to 500GB before throttling the speed & move the bonus zone start time from 2am to 12am. Most people are up at 12am compared to 2am & will allow them to start any updates to devices without having to mess with their sleep schedules. Also, adjusting pricing on their plans. I am currently paying the same amount for 100GB that I paid for 1.2TB with download speeds up to 1GB in AZ (lol granted it was fiber and AZ is a lot more populated than WV). 

I just wanted you to know that you are not alone in this struggle! 🙂

[maratsade]

" It is a broadband service. "

So is HughesNet.  They fit the federal definition of broadband. 

If there is a new satellite next year, there may offer a 100 GB package. 500GB? No. You can dream about it and ask about it, but they will only do what the technology allows and what will benefit the largest amount of people. 

[GabeU]

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@MadamePineapple wrote:

What would be more beneficial for large households like ourselves is to increase the data amount from 100GB to 500GB before throttling the speed & move the bonus zone start time from 2am to 12am. 🙂

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That's will likely not happen anytime soon, and I suspect not even after the new sat goes up and comes online. The system has a finite throughput. Offering plans that have much higher data limits are going to result in a lot more people engaging in bandwidth heavy activities, and more often, which strains the system to a point that it slows for everyone using it. Keeping the system usable is the point of the data limits, which necessitates prioritization of online activities, especially the bandwidth heavy ones like streaming.

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@MadamePineapple wrote:

I am currently paying the same amount for 100GB that I paid for 1.2TB with download speeds up to 1GB in AZ (lol granted it was fiber and AZ is a lot more populated than WV). 

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Geosat internet is the most expensive internet per user to both provide and maintain.

[maratsade]

@GabeU 

They would also likely be unable to afford the exorbitant prices of the kind of internet they think they want.