HughesNet

HughesNet currently has the highest coverage area in the nation with all fifty states falling under its service area. One of the major satellite providers in the nation, HughesNet has focused the core of its business on providing internet to underserved or un-served areas, often rural or small towns. Its recently increased speeds up to 100 Mbps is the new HughesNet. This is satellite internet reinvented with faster speeds and lower latency. With ninety-eight percent of the country under HughesNet’s coverage area, it’s almost guaranteed that they’ll be an option available to any consumer.

HughesNet uses geosynchronous satellites to provide its customers with broadband internet connections. Since HughesNet was initially founded, it’s launched multiple satellites with a previous launch occurring in 2017 with the “EchoStar XIX,” and the latest being JUPITER™ 3 (EchoStar XXIV) is powering HughesNet’s newest satellite internet. This launch allowed the company to reach broadband levels, increasing speeds to 100 Mbps across the board. It also increased the available bandwidth that HughesNet offered its customers as well as simplifying their pricing structure with unlimited standard data. HughesNet does operate off of priority data caps though its internet can be considered unlimited. At no point does HughesNet charge overage prices or shut the internet off if a customer goes over their “priority data” limit, instead just having to deal with reduced speeds until their next billing cycle. If a customer does need more priority data before their next billing cycle rolls around, HughesNet has made data tokens available, increasing priority data and increasing available speeds in the process.

HughesNet is a great choice for rural customers as wired connections are often completely unavailable in America’s more remote locations. Satellite internet allows them to access the world wide web at broadband speeds allowing for any activity. It does have its drawbacks though. The biggest activity this can be seen in is virtual private networks. A majority of latency issues have been solved by their new high capacity satellite, and Whole Home Wi-Fi with the latest Wi-Fi 6 standards and optional Mesh Wi-Fi Nodes for wall-to-wall Wi-Fi coverage. When using a VPN, download speeds even when within the priority data limit can take anywhere from fifty to seventy-five percent longer. This reduction in speeds is not guaranteed with some VPN users not having any issues whatsoever. With that being said, it is something to take into account when considering a satellite internet provider.

For many rural customers, satellite internet is going to be one of the only viable options open to them. That doesn’t make it a lesser product though. When choosing the right package for you, assess your needs, your internet usage, and your budget to choose the package that will leave you satisfied and meet all of your digital requirements.