Is unlimited data in Hughesnet future?

[TG2]

Just curious if Hughesnet will ever get unlimited data. Excede has come into my area an offers it. Speeds up to 25mbps, unlimited data for $150 per month. $100 for the first 3 months. It's expensive, but when you consider unlimited data, it's worth it when you can get no other services. I've had average service with Hughesnet, it's just to expensive for the small amount of data you get. Even the 50GB plan for around $129 is laughable to be honest. For $20  more bucks I can get unlimited. Anyways, hoping you all change your minds and jump up to the future. Thanks!

[GabeU]

Perhaps in the future, but doubtful that it will be anytime soon.  It's not a question of what they feel like offering, it's a question of throughput.  

And, as has been suggested, the grass isn't always greener, no matter how it may look from a distance.  

[BirdDog]

The new standard for "unlimited"  (Exede) seems to mean they don't shut you off entirely.  HughesNet could start offering 500 GB plans with the caveat that they might start slowing things down at 10, 20, 30 50 GB based on loading. Actually no different than what is already being offered IMO.

The "unlimited" thing is very subjective and a lot misleading as far as I'm concerned. Exede can say they have an "unlimited" 150 GB plan but the speed can still be anything from 1 Mbps to the max possible speed. Nothing is guaranteed by either provider if you read the fine print.

Nothing is guaranteed by either satellite provider when it comes to constant speed. You won't get max speed 24/7 with Exede "unlimited" plan, I guarantee that. Just like I don't get max speed 24/7 with my plan on HughesNet. Sorry, not how it works with either provider.

[GabeU]

Very true.  When it comes right down to it, Hughesnet's service is already unlimited, just not with the advertised high speed part.  

Actually, technically, even the legacy plans were unlimited, though the FAP speeds were/are VERY slow.  

[TG2]

 I understand. But If I can get the same or close to the same speed I'm getting now, the larger data plan for approx. the same price is a better deal. They do have a short bonus period, 3-6am, but it's unlimited. I was curious if they'd slow the speed down to limit the amount you will get daily. But according to my neighbor, doesn't seem to be. But I'm still going to research and make sure. Like what was mentioned, the grass isn't always greener. I'm patient, and have plenty of time to research the blogs and get people's opinions. Thanks for the info!

[Saxgod]

Not to blow up your spot and it’s why I’m now counting the days my contract ends with HughesNet but excede doesn’t throttle people when they hit their data limit. **bleep** I’d pay for Hughes 50gb plan if they allowed unlimited data. I’d pay that price and keep the service but I can’t. I live in a small town and my kids game. They have to use two other systems cause you can game on Hughes. But you can watch online films Netflix or Hulu etc. 20gb today isn’t anything ESPECIALLY when you watch in 4K. I get throttling people but **bleep** I need unlimited. Maybe getting rid of net neutrality will light the fire under companies asses to spread high speed internet across America. If it doesn’t I’m gonna vote for someone to tie their asses back down cause I’m tired of people in big areas getting FIOS speed and I’m paying a ton just for 20gb and if I want to watch anything cool waiting till 2am so I can use the 50gb I have available. Watched a film in 4K last night and it took 15gb of data lol. It’s ridiculius. Keep me as customer past my contract date please. I love the service but hate the fact others are getting so much more with another competitor in my area and getting the same kind of service.

[GabeU]

@Saxgod

First and foremost, please follow the Community Guidelines and refrain from the foul language.  This is a public website, and the guidelines are in place to keep it user friendly, both to those who utilize it, and those who read it.  

Now, to the topic, Exede most certainly DOES throttle the speed of the service when one reaches their data limit.  How it's throttled and what it affects varies from plan type to plan type.  

Hughes' throughput is much more restricted than land based systems, and giving unlimited high speed data isn't feasable.  Satellite internet is not made for cord cutters.   

Again, if you're going to post here please have the courtesy of following the Community Guidelines.  

[Saxgod]

Okay you don’t have to be a mean person to about it. The first sentence was just fine. Mentioning it AGAIN down after was why you’re being mean. Now to your comment that maybe true EXCEPT Hughes allows you to buy however many tokens you want. $75 bucks for a 25gb token and I just called those are unlimited. So to use customer service terminology doesn’t work. Also YOU ARE RIGHT. After 150gb they do throttle. Why can’t Hughes offer that.

As I told them you have me for a year and a half. I HOPE they allow an unlimited plan. Heck I’d pay $200 a month for that. They are letting me jump up to 50gb to see if it works. Oh and BTW not a cord cutter. I just watch Netflix, Hulu, as well as have directv. Don’t know if you know but Star Trek is online only. So you have to have CBS as well. So again I get why they are limiting people to 50gb. It’s about bandwidth. They don’t want the demand on the system to be dragging the network down. I’m an IT Audit consultant so I get how networks work. If it was a case that the system can’t handle individuals have unlimited data then they wouldn’t allow unlimited tokens. Anyway the system can handle it and people are willing to pay for it.

Let’s hope they take advantage of net neutrality rules, more specifically being declared a telecom and now considered an information provider means they won’t have as much regulation being forced on them and they will expand the network. The fact they are still offering Service plans with a discount isn’t a good sign cause if you have high demand USUALLY they will stop offering those nice savings because demand will allow for it. Economics 101.

Anyway I apologize for using swear words on Hughsnet personal site, but as I told customer service on the phone after I posted and as I will tell you and anyone who’s not a rep demand is there to justify $200 a month for unlimited. You can do like exede and cap like you do at 50, 30, and 20. Offer a 150gb plan for $200 with the 50 gb between 2-8am. That way your plan is actually better than exede and you’ll make us folks with you guys happy. They trap people for 3 years. You guys only do 2 years. So compete. You have no section 2 rules anymore and you have a new corporate tax cut. By no means am I a Trump fan but according to him you guys have no excuse no not to offer even better services especially for what we pay. Heck they have their unlimited I think at $100 bucks so do $1 a gb and have the plan at $150 plus tax so it will be more but you guys get your $150. Would be an idea to keep all is Hughes users happy and not looking to jump ship. I contemplated paying the $300 early termination fee. I’m giving you guys a shot to give us something better.

I do believe you guys have a great service. So PLEASE stop using the technology can’t handle that. That’s not true. The tech can handle it. There’s a market for people like me and I’m not a cord cutter there’s just more stuff to watch on Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, CBS, or my iTunes movies I have. I’d really like to stay with Hughes. Don’t lose the war to Exede. You guys have been in the game since 1997. I had one of your guys first directv boxes back in 1996 when it was USSB and directv and when you had internet I almost got it till a local isp offered dialup speed for way less. Don’t lose to a newcomer. I have many friends in my area and county who are choosing your competitor. Compete with them.

[GabeU]

@Saxgod

You have to take the ability to buy as many tokens as you want into context.  The few people who may actually choose to buy token after token after token so they can stream constantly isn't going to stress the system like a few hundred thousand people who would do so if they could buy unlimited plans.  Unlimited data means one thing....streaming, and a LOT of it.  As you are aware, that's the most data intensive consumer activity on the net right now.  Hughesnet's system simply can't handle it, but it can handle a few people here and there doing the same by buying tokens.  

As was noted in another thread, the ES19 can, theoretically, provide the bandwidth required to stream in HD to about 44,000 people at any given time.  That's it, and that's not counting anyone else on the ES19 doing anything whatsoever, so the reality of being able to provide that to those 44,000 is an entirely different thing.  

Again, HughesNet can't offer what they can't provide.  Who knows what the future may bring, but as it stands right now, with the equipment they have in place, it's not going to happen.  

[Saxgod]

But again exede starts throttling at 150gb. So why not do that. Charge $200 a month for 150gb. Don’t call it unlimited even though that’s what exede calls it. So why not do that? Basically 150gb and maybe have unlimited off peak hour from 2am-8am. Why not do that?

[GabeU]

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@Saxgod wrote:
But again exede starts throttling at 150gb. So why not do that. Charge $200 a month for 150gb. Don’t call it unlimited even though that’s what exede calls it. So why not do that? Basically 150gb and maybe have unlimited off peak hour from 2am-8am. Why not do that?

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Why do you keep making the assumption that Hughesnet's system, and throughput, is identical to Exede's, or even a number of customers than can justify offering such?  Just because one sat internet company offers something doesn't mean it's main competition can, nor wants to, offer the same, with the latter being customer dependant.  Hughes has a much larger number of customers than Exede does.  To stick with your choice of auto analogies, you can fit six average people in the average sedan.  It becomes much more difficult when you try to put four average people, plus two 400lb people, or even three average and three 400lb people, in that same sedan, as not only is there not going to be any room for anyone to move (throughput), the car is going to have more difficulty moving up hills and such at speed because of the extra weight (capacity).    

Sure, they could offer it, then have thousands of people sign up for it over the next few months, then have the system slow to such a crawl due to people continually streaming with all of that data that people begin having issues simply downloading their email.  What then?  

HughesNet offers what the system can handle within reason.  Start offering what it can't support, then not only do all customers suffer, but so does the company.  THAT'S Economics 101.  You don't offer what you can't provide, nor offer what will cause everyone on the system to suffer.  

Again, it all comes down to what the system can handle, and they aren't going to offer what it can't support.  

[BirdDog]

Yep, do 150 GB plans so people can complain even more about slow speeds. 

Amazes me how folks don't relate plans to capacity, speed and individual experience.

I must be really ignorant. All of it is intertwined in my mind.

Cord cutters who expect HD video streaming and gaming 24/7 also make things worse. Some even expect ultra HD. Smack my head and hit it with a hammer!

[GabeU]

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@BirdDog wrote:

Cord cutters who expect HD video streaming and gaming 24/7 also make things worse. Some even expect ultra HD. Smack my head and hit it with a hammer!

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I can't remember where (either Facebook or Twitter), but I saw someone just a few days ago complaining because their hour or so of streaming in Ultra HD used 18 plus GBs of data.  Kind of one of those SMH moments.  Streaming in Ultra HD on a service that has the high speed portion of the data capped.  Again...SMH.  😛 

[Saxgod]

See look at you being mean again isn’t that against community standards to be bullying on a forum. You guys act like you’re from the 90s of high speed internet and have dumb dialup. Of course if I had dialup I would use satellite but IF a company is advertising “HIGH SPEED” internet they need to be able to offer plans in such a way that can cover folks. I find it VERY silly you guys act like well it’s satellite internet it must be not use the bandwidth. You probably don’t understand what they are doing with wireless currently and being able to force quite a bit through. In fact if you capped the bandwidth to 10mbps you can still get away with 4K video and doing other things while adding more space to your pipe. You guys know this right? You know how budget the size of your pipeline? Other companies do it.

My point is Hughes knows how to they just don’t want to cause they can justify charging people whatever because they had the monopoly on the market. Now that exede is in the space they need us to push them to think better and reorganize things so that people can get the full benefit of their package. I don’t care that I can’t get 25mbps for 50gb. I’d rather have 150gb at 10mbps. GET IT. Now stop being bully on the forum. I mean you don’t like language well I don’t like online bullies. And you were talking about me watching ultra HD and using 15gb. Smh REMEMBER I get tagged in your attempt to make fun of me.

[Saxgod]

If you offer high speed internet you expect to be able to cover it. If directv can give you 4K and 3D channels constantly then Hughes can cover high speed internet they choose not to because they think it’s all about speed. The speed isn’t the issue it’s the pipe. You can could throttle back and allow only 10mbps and allow 150gb usage and you’d accomplish the same as 50gb at 25mbps. It’s all about their algorithm in how the manage the usage of their pipe if they are at all. Also you can’t online game with HughesNet or any satellite company Service I’m suspect because of the delay. Watching UltraHD is possible just like how I watch 4K on my Directv hmm smh you guys need to educate yourselves before shaking your head at people not realizing the tech is able to handle this kind of stuff.

[MarkJFine]

It's fascinating how people will easily believe Excede when they advertise "no throttling up to 150GB", but think Hughes is lying when they advertise "high speed internet".

[Saxgod]

It’s fascinating that people think Hughes doesn’t have the capability to offer high speed internet and allow up to 150gb for a specific amount. High speed doesn’t have to be at 25 Mbps. I’d much rather have 150gb at 10mbps then 50gb at 25mbps lol. But hey you guys assume it’s not possible. And throttling happens on Hughes during peak times as well or have you not had that issue yet?

[MarkJFine]

I know Hughes has the capacity to offer High Speed Internet. I've seen them do it. I've downloaded games over 6GB in under 20 minutes flat. Quite frankly that's exactly what I need the internet for, so it works for me.

The part you don't seem to understand is when 1k+ people are trying to stream SD (or more) simultaneously for hours on end on any particular beam, it's not called intentional throttling, it's called congestion and will slow down any system. Encouraging larger plan sizes just encourages more congestion and worse service for everyone.

So, if you think Excede isn't just fishing for a quick, larger market share that's eventually going to blow up in their face, you're mistaken. But, good luck with that.

Edit: And if you think people streaming aren't the issue, take a look in the Tech section, where nearly every slowness complaint starts with "I can't even stream...", and most aren't even aware of the resolution they're trying to stream at.

[maratsade]

Recently another ISP began offering unlimited data -- the result has been disastrous, and speeds have taken a huge tumble for everyone, even users who do not subscribe to the unlimited data package.  In fact, the company appears to be throttling speeds on purpose, just to allow for all that "unlimited" data.  Users are furious and are venting on the company's forums.  (I have found it very illuminating to read the support forums for a couple of other ISPs; there's a lot of perspective to be gained).   In any case, while there's "unlimited" data, people can't really use it, as the speed is laughable.

[Saxgod]

Well if you’re gonna make claims I’d love to see the links of this new unnamed company. Lol.

[maratsade]

Go to the company's support forums.  Simply search Google for the company's name and the words support forums.  There are complaints as old as 48 hours, and someone actually was complaining about the unlimited plan.  I'm not going to post the links here, sorry, but the main link to the support forums is community.nameofcompany.com. 

The company recently changed its name, by the way.