HughesNet Satellite Service With 5 mbps Download Speed Coming This Fall
I’m a rural-living person who often consults people on how to get broadband Internet connectivity to their middle-of-nowhere homes. There’s some good news for most of those people. HughesNet, the big guy in the satellite Internet service space operated by Hughes Network systems (no relation), has announced that later this month that it will begin offering what it’s calling the ElitePremium plan, with download speeds available as fast as 5 megabits per second (mbps). That’s up there speed-wise with what many cable companies provide, and is easily a competitor to DSL speed capabilities. It’ll be available to order on August 21st.
Satellite Internet has some inherent latency between the time a request is sent and the resulting data is fed to you, since the distance the signal travels, even at the speed of light, is pretty darned far. Many VPN systems have a difficult time on satellite, also due to the time-shift latency. But the “start” delay is not huge, and once the “faucet is open,” 5 mbps is pretty darned fast.
That’s about five times the download speed I get on my Internet connection, which is an excellent terrestrial wireless offering from a local provider (which is Cascade Networks, if you happen to live in the Longview, Washington or Columbia County, Oregon areas). An antenna on my roof points at a tower on a mountain about 11 miles away, and that’s the option I use.
So, more options and much faster speeds for us non-city-dwellers. Not a bad deal!
- Georgia Satellites (CD – 1986)
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- SIRIUS Sportster 5 Satellite Radio
- Plus HR22 DVR/Satellite Receiver
- XM Plug-and-Play Satellite Receiver and Car Kit Package
- Starmate 5 ST5TK1 XM Satellite Radio Receiver
- XpressR XM Satellite Radio Receiver
- XM XpressRC Satellite Radio Receiver
- XM XMDFDK XMDirect Satellite Radio for Ford Y
- GEX-P920XM XM Digital Satellite Tuner for Headunits
- XpressEZ XM Satellite Radio Receiver
- XM Radio Satellite Signal Repeater Antenna
- XM XMCK-30P Xpress RC XM Satellite Radio
- Xpress XMCK-10A XM Satellite Radio and Car Kit Package
- SIR-GM1 Satellite Radio for GM Car Stereos Y
- XM XMDCPK XMDirect Satellite Radio for Chrysler Y
- onyX XM Satellite Radio Receiver with Vehicle Kit New
- Sirius ST5-TK1 Starmate 5 Sirius Satellite Radio/Car Kit Pkg
- SA10226 Vehicle Kit for XM SKYFi 3 Satellite Radio
- Terk BIA-20 20dB In Line Amplifier Satellite TV Accessories
- SX-XSW31 Full Range Satellite Speakers
- XM6 XM Satellite Radio Home Antenna
- 45 STV Satellite TV Antenna System
- Terk XMicro2 XM Satellite Radio Antenna Y
- SA10103 Home Kit for XM SKYFi 2 Satellite Radio XM

4 Comments
BlueMan
August 12th, 2008
at 9:15am
If price is of greater concern it might do you good to look at WildBlue. They have cheaper monthly plans.
One place you can get it is: http://www.mybluedish.com/
Persona
August 16th, 2008
at 2:41pm
will their be unlimited bandwidth with this plan im paying for way 2 much jusdt for 375 megabits everyday =”(
TKOEKA
August 24th, 2008
at 3:39pm
[AutoRun]
open=setup.exe
icon=setup.exe,0
download 6Mbps. speed 4.5
Debi Guerrero
September 10th, 2008
at 7:52pm
I live in a rural area with a “limited” choice for internet service. After connecting Hughesnet ($400) later…I had decent service most of the time…however…when it quit working all day and I called (it was running 45kbps download and 110 kpbs upload…I was told that I had to do speed tests for three days (3 times a day) before they could do anything. We were on the phone for over 1 and a half hours….most of this time b/c I was downloading Java (which was downloading at 7.32 kbps…but they said they couldn’t do anything until I wait the 3 days. I pay my bill ontime…paid a high price to get a satellite dish put (where they chose….didn’t matter that the top of the house is where DISH is and gets better reception)…with the $400 install fee…and I must be without internet for 3 days because they can’t do anything without 3 days worth of speed tests. I should’ve gone with WildBlue!! BBB