• No Hard Data Limits** If you exceed your plan data, we won’t cut you off or charge you more.
• Fast Speeds For Rural America Every HughesNet plan comes with a fast connection to do more of everything online.
• Bonus Zone Night owls and those who need a little more data will love Bonus Zone.  You get an extra 50 GB of data usage per month, so long as you use it between 2 AM and 8 AM. 
• Video Data-Saving Features If you’re streaming, HughesNet will use built-in SmartTechnologies to automatically compress and optimize your content so you use less data every month.
• Built-in Wi-Fi Every HughesNet plan comes with all in one Built-in Wi-Fi so you can easily connect all of your home’s devices without wrestling cords! Plus, the integrated modem includes a satellite modem and Wi-Fi router so no bulky equipment in your home either.

**Video streaming services with minimum speed requirements may not operate properly. During high-traffic periods, you may experience reduced speeds.

† Customers can purchase plans as low as $49.99 a month.

^50 Mbps speed available on select plans, in select areas. Actual speeds may vary and are not guaranteed. Speeds and uninterrupted use are not guaranteed and may vary based on a variety of factors including: the configuration of your computer, the number of concurrent users, network or Internet congestion, the capabilities and content of the websites you are accessing, network management practices as deemed necessary, and other factors. When you connect to the HughesNet service using Wi-Fi, your experience will vary based on your proximity to the Wi-Fi source and the strength of the signal.

HughesNet is one of two companies that provide nationwide coverage of Broadband internet services.  Both Viasat and HughesNet have been pioneers in developing the technology to deliver satellite-based internet.

Satellite Internet has been around since 1996.  In rural America, the product rightfully earned a bit of a bad reputation with speeds not capable of keeping up with an ever-expanding internet.  In the last two years, the product category has made dramatic improvements in performance. Today’s satellite-delivered internet is a very good product, the best option for millions of Americas.  We recommend satellite internet, either HughesNet or Viasat, to consumers that do not have access to advanced terrestrial-based broadband such as Cable or Fiber, and where DSL speeds delivered are poor.  Satellite Internet is available anywhere with a clear view of the Southern sky.

HughesNet products are incredibly reliable with over 99.99% signal reliability.  That means in an entire year, the average customer will experience less than one hour of downtime.  HughesNet is the largest satellite broadband provider in the US and is increasingly being used by the US military to deliver secure, reliable connections.

With the 2018 launch of their satellite, HughesNet was able to cover the entire U.S. with minimum speeds of 25 MBPS.  From the Hughes December 2018 press release:

“Today’s satellite Internet is faster and more reliable than ever before. In fact, the latest FCC report found HughesNet consistently met or exceeded advertised speeds, delivering 180% of advertised download speeds and nearly 200% of advertised upload speeds. Moreover, compared to DSL providers, as shown in the FCC report, HughesNet is faster, provides a higher quality service and consistently delivers speeds that are better than advertised.”

HughesNet was able to achieve the honor of the #1 ISP in the US in over-delivering on speed vs their advertised speed.  HughesNet is extremely cautious about protecting the quality of its service.  Often promotional pricing will be less aggressive and sometimes they close down areas in which a spot-beam is nearing capacity.    

You can see the exact plan specifications and options at your address here.

Is HughesNet fast enough for how you use the internet?  Surfing, browsing, social media will perform well on HughesNet.  All plans are fast enough for streaming video, but data limits will make HughesNet a poor choice if your intent is to use a streaming service provider as your primary video service; it’s not for “cord-cutters”.

HughesNet, by nature of the Geosynchronous Satellite product, has a design limitation, latency. 

A lot is happening when you pull up your search bar and hit enter on your keyboard.  When you ask your browser to “go to Facebook”, that command is up-linked from your computer, through your satellite dish, at the speed of light, to the satellite sitting 22,236 miles above the equator of the Earth. It takes milliseconds for your request to hit the satellite, whereupon the satellite sends the request to their gateway location on the ground, then back to the satellite, and milliseconds for it to get back to your computer.  Quick as you can snap your fingers – Facebook! 

The time it takes for a command to be delivered and returned is known as “ping speed”.  The theoretically fastest possible ping time over a geostationary satellite would be 476 milliseconds or just under half a second; a bit longer if you are in Minnesota vs someone in Texas.  In its most recent 2018 report, the FCC testing showed Hughes’s median latencies were 594 ms.

What does that mean for you?  For normal surfing the internet, downloading or streaming, a ½ second of latency is hardly noticeable making HughesNet a viable option for your Internet needs.

Viasat takes a somewhat different approach.  Viasat plans typically have much higher thresholds before they implement any reductions in speed.  Typically, the costs are higher for the larger Viasat plans. 

Once you reach the limit of your plan’s data, Viasat will reduce your speed when the network is congested, but performance may not be impacted at all in non-peak times.  Another measure Viasat uses to control data usage for their customers is to limit the resolution of video downloads to “small screen” quality on their lowest plans, or SD quality on mid-tier plans.  For the occasional Netflix streamer, on their lowest-cost plan, this means the picture quality is poor if displaying on a regular TV. 

Both Viasat and HughesNet users, even those on the lowest data plans, regularly use over 100 GB of data, far more than their base plan allows.  Their approaches to how they control the data usages are different, the outcomes are similar.

How you use the internet has to be considered when evaluating HughesNet plans. Plan  

HughesNet works great for general web browsing, social media, and light streaming, but you need to choose a plan that is appropriate for how much you’ll be streaming, and how many users.  Remember, all the plans deliver the same speed, it’s the amount of data before any throttling that changes.  

• If you are a light user in a 1-2-person household, occasionally streaming Netflix or similar, a few hours per week, the 15 GB plan should be OK.   
• An average household takes its most popular 30 GB plan.  It doubles the data for only $10.
• Larger families or heavy users should consider the 100 GB plans.

HughesNet reports their customer retention for their higher-level plan users is far higher than when customers choose the 15 GB plans.  While I’m sure that is the case, I would argue than when you completely understand the product strengths, limitations and plans you can make the decision on which plan best fits your budget as well as the demands you will place on the product!

You can see the exact plan specifications at your address here.

BundleFinders strives to provide consumers with the most accurate and unbiased information about internet providers anywhere.  Even though we are authorized retailers for many vendors on this website, we will display updated information and provide links to vendors we have no relationship with, allowing you to determine the best fit for your situation.

Sources: Geostationary Orbit from Wikipedia

HughesNet Terms and Conditions