What's location got to do with it?

[gaines_wright]

  Some of you may have read my earlier post on how unhappy I am with Gen5 data losses.   I'm now looking for another provider.  It seems the only choice out here where I live ( in the woods ) is Viasat. 

  So I go to their website, and the first thing they want to know is my zip code. What possible difference could my location make?  It certainly doesn't matter to the satellite where its signal ends up!

Then it hit me.  They want to know the other choices I have, and the competion they face, so they can design their plans and pricing for maximum profit.

This may also help explain why some people are not getting the data problems with Gen5 that I am.  Every time my modem reboots  it downloads software from the satellite.  Is this sofware customized for my location?  I beginning to suspect that this is so.

  The bottom line is that I could upgrade Hughes to more data for about the same price as changing to Viasat ( What a coincidence! ). So, I guess I'll stay with Hughes for a while.   Even though I hate getting ripped of like this.

  I'm coping right now by doing most of my browsing during the bonus period.  Otherwise I'd run out of data half wy through every month.  This NEVER happened with Gen4

[MarkJFine · Accepted solution]

The most dangerous form of Occam's Razor at work. Sometimes, the simplest deductions are not the correct ones, especially if they involve wild conspiracy theories.

Your zip code is used for sales applicability, the ability to find a cost-effective and technically qualified installer, and even tax purposes.

Oh, and your exect location is necessary for the ephemeris data required to aim and acquire the satellite.

My suggestion, if you truly have a data issue, is to do a little ground work using the tools found elsewhere on this board, and isolate what is causing the problem.