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Cell phone data vrs Satellite data

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Jacqueline Tier
New Member

Cell phone data vrs Satellite data

There is a discussion over on the Exede board where the claim is that streaming a movie through the Exede connection uses 6X more data than streaming a movie through the Verizon (cell phone) connection.  I'm curious to what people (including the employees here) have to say about this topic.  I would like to assume that if I have my computer connected to Exede (or Hughes) and watch a video it would use similar amounts of data as streaming it if I set up the hot spot on my cell phone and connect the EXACT same computer to the Verizon network and watch the movie from the exact same source with the same settings.  Any input?  
41 REPLIES 41
Melissa6
New Member

Thanks Sgoshe, I try to keep up with the best of you all 🙂 lol... And no definetly not 6X but a noticeable difference none the less!!  I couldn't really tell ya the difference using a phone as the device , I honestly can't see tryin to watch lt alone enjoy a movie on my little 3.5 in.    give or take screen. But it would definetly be my theoretical guess that smaller screen would/should equal smaller data size, maybe I'll try it some day for shitz n giggles 🙂
Shane Sterling
New Member

Charles,
 So what you're saying is a computer over wifi is using more data than if it were directly connected? Maybe I misunderstood but if that's what you were saying I'm about to run a 50 foot networking cable in order to save on some data , lol.
Shane Sterling
New Member

You could have also meant that the computer used more no matter whether wifi or directly connected I suppose. That last sentence may have thrown me off a bit.
Shane Sterling
New Member

I was unable to find the comparison data that I mentioned above but if I run across it again I will gladly post a link here for you all to read it at your own disposal.
Shane Sterling
New Member

On the subject of your last post I receive about 6-8 Mbps via cellular hotspot and already have the 10gb shared plan and 3 phones for $170 a month with a few extras with AT&T. It actually seems faster than Hughes most of the time but I am also having some issue with Hughes at this time. I have a technician scheduled for Monday in fact. As far as the cellular plan I plan on going to the 30gb plan soon to help cushion the data usage on Hughes a bit.
Shane Sterling
New Member

They just announce rollover to me this month as well sgoshe. I'm wondering will that be available with the 30gb plan they offer. If so it very well may be a substitute for the higher data usage applications v/s do them on my Hughes account. I do really wish Hughes would add more data allowance to their plans though. They are just too limited for this day and age.
Shane Sterling
New Member

1024mb is a true gig, how is it justified to call anything less a gig?
Jacqueline Tier
New Member

My Verizon 4G LTE connection gets the same or higher speed than I get on Exede which is anywhere from 15 to 20mbps  I must be in a less busy area. 😉  I also was able to grab the deal in October and have a sweet price on 30 GB of data through Verizon to cushion our satellite service but if we make the switch to Hughes since we can get their new 50 GB plan here we might be able to cut back a bit again on Verizon.
Jacqueline Tier
New Member

 I have watched a few videos on my cell phone (Galaxy S5) and it worked pretty  nicely to pass the time while my husband was in surgery a couple months ago but normally that's kind of a small screen.  😉   Interesting on your observations though, we have been streaming BB games through the Verizon connection because we usually have data to spare there and maybe that does give us more bang for our buck so to speak.  
Jacqueline Tier
New Member

Then the computer over both connections should use roughly the same amount too. I should install a data monitor on my computer and try both connections and then report back to both forums what I see.  I'm like Shane though if I tether with a cable it should use less?  Or am I confused... lol. 
Shane Sterling
New Member

I for one have had a bad experience with Hughes so far. Maybe that will change, maybe not. I have come to expect the worst so far to be honest, but maybe you'll have more luck with it than I have, who knows. Some people seem to have reasonable connections with Hughes, mine not no much up to this point. I'd just say to be cautious about opting into a new contract. Be sure you know what you're getting into beforehand. I walked in thinking I knew what to expect and so far its been a nightmare, hopefully to end soon in some shape form or fashion.
Jacqueline Tier
New Member

Hope you are able to get your problems resolved.  Its been hard for us coming from an outstanding company at our other location (fixed wireless broadband) on all fronts, service, customer service, tech support all the best we have ever dealt with to a spot that is frustratingly just out of reach of alternative options.    We became friends with the people we bought this place from when we were forced to relocate our farm business and they had Hughes so I was able to chat with them about the quality of their reception and speed and it sounds like they had pretty similar service to what we get out of Exede, so unless Exede coughs up a lot more data in the next month or two we will likely switch and then hope within the two year contract another option for internet becomes available.  We really hated to get on satellite at all because we  had had a nightmare experience with Wild Blue in the past but I literally spent hours online and the phone searching for a company that would be willing to expand or just one we could try to connect to and no luck.  At the time we connected Exede had the better plan option though I seriously considered Hughes at the time because of our past experience with Viasat.
CharlesMcCool
New Poster

Shane no I didnt mean to confuse you, if you have a good wifi router and wireless card in your computer and you have good signal between them there should be no difference in connection speed or data usage between wireless and hardwired, in my case I only use wireless, now if the signal is weak then you could see a little more data usage if your computer has to keep resending data due to poor signal but in my statement above I was trying to say there should not be any difference in data usage between hughes using wifi or hardwired and the same computer as with using say a cell hotspot
Shane Sterling
New Member

I appreciate you clarifying it a bit. After reading it the second time I kind of figured that's what you meant.
ljaj2008
Freshman

I have the 10GB HughesNet plan and pay $30/month (each) for unlimited data plus 13GB data to share as HotSpot for two of my phone's (husband doesn't really "get" smart phones). Bill for three phones per month unlimited talk/text, 1GB shareable one phone, other two as described above is $160/month total.

I have streamed successfully over HN (a test to see how fast streaming burned through data - we are moving there and aren't there full-time and using internet as much yet), depending on the service. Hulu and Netflix are less picky than Sling.

I have had a lot of page time-outs and resets with HN - similar to when my cell is on Edge or 2G. I still haven't gotten my laptop to run HN's speed test (maybe the Win10 upgrade is the issue), and it isn't available on my tablet.

My experience with this over six weeks - HN is adequate for general information service, spotty when attempting to shop, stream, etc. Better off on my cell phone.
maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

"My experience with this over six weeks - HN is adequate for general information service, spotty when attempting to shop, stream, etc. Better off on my cell phone. "

 

It must depend on where people live and how many phone towers are nearby....I can do just fine with HN, including streaming and shopping, while the internet service via the phone is pretty rotten.  I can't stream with the data from the phone, unless I drive to a town.

I don't know how you guys do it. We have HN 50/50 and 2 AT&T unlimited plus cell phones that more or less get 22 gigs before they gimp you down and I don't have any problem eating up all that data. I couldn't do 10gigs shared lol
BirdDog
Assistant Professor

Don't know if you all realize this OP is over 3 years old. If you'd like actual help it would be best to start a new post. Comparing cell data and satellite data isn't really asking for help which is what the Tech Support section is for.

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Didn't seem a problem to respond to this one as it was just a comment -- it'd be helpful if old posts were locked, though.

 

"Comparing cell data and satellite data isn't really asking for help which is what the Tech Support section is for."

 

Right, but people post tech support questions to the General Discussion section and they get answered. I think until threads are locked and someone moves post to where they belong this will continue to happen and the site will be messy.

BirdDog
Assistant Professor


@maratsadewrote:

Didn't seem a problem to respond to this one as it was just a comment -- it'd be helpful if old posts were locked, though.

 

"Comparing cell data and satellite data isn't really asking for help which is what the Tech Support section is for."

 

Right, but people post tech support questions to the General Discussion section and they get answered. I think until threads are locked and someone moves post to where they belong this will continue to happen and the site will be messy.


Definitely not a big deal just very old post and seems to be "beating a dead horse" when comparing apples and oranges.

 

And a definite yes on they (mods) should really go through and close/lock some of these very old threads. I know this whole site is part time job for them though. Perhaps they have an intern or newbie who could do it.

ljaj2008
Freshman

Oh - I have T-Mobile and have for more than ten years. We are in rural west central Missouri.