| EXEDE | HughesNet | |
|---|---|---|
| PRICE (Approx.) | $49.99 to $149.99 | $29.99 to $89.99 |
| DOWNLOAD SPEED | 12 to 25 Mbps | 25 Mbps |
| UPLOAD SPEED | 3 Mbps | 3 Mbps |
| ANYTIME DATA | 10 – 30 GB | 10 – 50 GB |
| BONUS DATA | UNLIMITED | 10 – 50 GB |
| INSTALLATION FEES | FREE | FREE |
| CUSTOMER SUPPORT | 24/7 | 24/7 |
| SPEAK TO REP | Pending | Pending |
UPDATE – In March 2017 Hughes launched Gen5 and opened service and it’s getting great reviews.
HughesNet Gen5 has 25 Mbps on every plan!
WATCH VIDEO: What’s New With HughesNet Gen 5
What You Need To Know About Satellite Internet
Satellite Internet works like satellite TV. The satellite orbits the planet above the equator at approximately 22,000 miles above the earth. The satellite orbits at the same pace as the earth rotates. This allows a users satellite dish to stay connected to the orbiting satellite. The complete system is fairly simple. It is made up of a (1) Satellite Dish, (2) a Modem, and of course (3) an Orbiting Satellite that receives and transmits data.
How Does The Installation Work?
Most satellite internet providers will install your satellite dish free of charge.
How Does The Installation Work?
Most satellite internet providers will install your satellite dish free of charge.
How About Equipment Needed?
Most satellite internet providers offer users the ability to rent or lease the equipment for around $10 bucks per month (not much different than renting a cable box) or buy it for a few hundred dollars.
Isn’t Satellite Internet Slow?…Enter Satellite Broadband
NOT ANYMORE! We newer more powerful satellites, and even better ones coming soon, as well as other technological developments… the speed of satellite internet has increased dramatically and is now on a par with DSL and cable. So, high-speed satellite broadband has arrived!
Is It True That Satellite Internet Doesn’t Work When It’s Raining?
When there is a terrible thunderstorm or blizzard there could be a temporary interruption of service. But, it is only temporary and not anywhere near the problem it was once thought to be. Further, during a thunderstorm, folks should turn off their computers anyway! Any temporarily lost connection returns as soon as the storm passes. And since the majority of satellite internet users are in rural areas that don’t have access to high-speed internet via DSL or cable, the problem of temporarily lost service due to a storm is a more than reasonable trade-off considering the poor service associated with painfully slow dial-up internet connections.
Is It True That Satellite Internet Costs A Lot?
NO! That is an outdated myth. The cost of satellite internet is on a par with competing high-speed internet services.
What’s The Bottom Line – Choosing A Satellite Internet Service
In our view, the best satellite internet services are Exede and HughesNet. There are others and there are new offerings that will become available in the future.
Exede Satellite Internet or HughesNet…Which To Choose?
There are a number of variables that affect this equation depending on where you live and the amount of usage on a particular system in a particular geographic location. And this may change over time. Exede currently offers speeds of 12 Mbps to 25 Mbps. But as of March 2017, HughesNet offers 25 Mbps on every plan since the launch of their Gen5 satellite! Gen5 is HugheNet’s fifth-generation satellite Internet service, featuring faster speeds, more data, and built-in Wi-Fi. Gen5 from HughesNet available coast-to-coast in the United States.
WATCH VIDEO: About Exede
Exede launched ViaSat1, its first satellite in 2011 and their satellite internet service commenced in 2012. The company has been enormously successful. When their newer, more powerful ViaSat2 satellite is launched sometime in 2017, their already incredible growth is expected to become explosive. James Sayre, the owner of Fresno-based BJ’s Communications, has installed ViaSat’s Exede satellite-based internet at lodges in all three California national parks, says… “Out of all the stuff we’ve done in terms of satellite internet, Exede is the best product I’ve ever dealt with.”
The History Of Satellite Internet
Satellite internet has been available for some time. Satellite internet via the connection between a satellite dish in the home or office and an orbiting satellite positioned over 20,000 miles above the equator. Those orbiting satellites receive and transmit information in connection with a network operations center, or NOC.
Satellite communication works much like land based connections and has most of the same features. This technology is advancing at lightning speed over recent years but it all started back on October 4, 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first orbiting satellite, an event that was the start of the space race, a part of the then Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. A lot of technology has evolved since that date. There was Telstar 1, the first commercial communication satellite.
This was a geostationary satellite meaning that it remains fixed while the Earth rotates, an idea that originated with Arthur C. Clarke, a science fiction writer. The worlds’ first successful geostationary satellite was called Syncom 3 and NASA launched it in 1963.
The first attempt at satellite Internet with moderate success was Microsoft’s Teledisc.
Teledisc was supposed to create broadband satellite constellations with the use of many low orbiting satellites. This project was abandoned in 2003, the same year highlighted the launch of the very first successful satellite aimed towards consumers by Eutelsat, a French based satellite internet provider.
Satellite internet is a critical technology for people who live in a remote area where no other high-speed internet connection services are available. It is significantly faster that dial-up internet and is getting faster and faster with the advent of more powerful, technologically advanced satellites.