Dish internet question?

techguru408

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Original poster
Sep 10, 2007
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I am moving to a new rural location that has NO existing internet service and has no cable line run to the house. I have been a DISH customer since 1998 so know I am going that way for TV. My question is I have heard about DISHnet, how does it actually compare to cable internet? (If this is wrong forum please help don't flame, thanks)
 
if cable or dsl is available, don't even consider sat internet

the biggest disadvantages are the data caps and weather outages
 
DishNet is really only for someone who has no other alternative. It's exensive, it does not compare at all to Cable Internet or even good DSL. So if there is another alternative, even if you have to pay to have a cable line brought in from the street, do it, or make sure there isn't DSL available.
 
Another thought. What is the Sprint coverage in the area? If it is at least 3G, you can get a mifi hot spot with AFAIK no data cap. It can feed more than 1 device. I've rented one in the past and they work.
 
Sprint, T Mobile, AT&T, Verizon all offer Hot Spots they are expensive but available in the country. Satellite internet is available and relatively expensive. We have an over the air service that uses microwave broadcasts starts at $46.45 for 150 Gb per month limit
 
Read the Dish support forum - no one has anything positive to say, most are very frustrated with slow speed & limited data use. Has to be another alternative.
 
We really haven't had any issues with speed at all with our installs. At least not like we did with Wildblue. The biggest downfalls have already been stated, data caps and weather.
 
well, sat internet is better than 3g. that said, avoid dishnet if you can because you will likely get Hughes. Exede is far better, and has a 12 mbps beam across much of the country now. both companies are now offering voip phone service fairly cheap now.
if you are expecting anything close to cable you are in for huge disappointment. but if sat Is all you get, then at least you have something
 
Do all of you who replied so negatively actually have satellite internet? It is actually much better than it used to be, and far superior to the few alternatives. I've been using WildBlue since it was first offered through Dish back in 2007, and upgraded to Exede just over two years ago. Yes, the data cap is a pain, but like all things, you can learn to manage. And as far as weather outages, mine has never been any worse than my Dish TV service, and that is definitely not as bad as the cable companies want you to believe.

The speed currently is phenomenal. Even though my service is rated at 12Mbps, I routinely download large files at upwards of 16Mbps. And if I do the heavy downloading at night, it doesn't impact my data cap. My service is actually faster than my brother's cable internet. Now, there is still the issue of latency, but again that is something you can get used to.

I know there are some differences in the usage rules, and free times between Exede and DishNet, but both services use the same technology now, and are very similar in their capabilities. DishNet was not yet available when I upgraded, so I was allowed to stick with ViaSat, and I even get the bundling discount just like DishNet customers.

So, if as you stated you have no DSL or Cable available, and really need broadband (and who doesn't these days), it is my opinion that satellite internet will serve you very well.
 
yes, I have hughes through dishnet. I consider it to be terrible service, but...it is my only option here. I really wish I had gone with exede because they are far easier to work with regarding data caps. my family of 4 eats the hughes data cap in about a week. no movies streamed, just normal use.
I think a lot of people shy away from exede because of the past (wild blue), but I would very happily give up my $10 credit on my dishnet bundle to have exede. also I think direct is offerning the same bundle - with exede.
no way I am switching to direct tho.
 
People have no choice whether they get Hughes or Excede when they sign up for DishNet. The retailer or Dish CSR selects what ever service is better for that area. Sometimes it's Excede and sometimes it's Hughes but the customer never knows.
 
More often than not, I get call backs from frustrated customers I've installed about slow speeds when streaming video or downloading large files over satellite internet. Also, many complaints about the advertised 10GB plan that really breaks down to 5GB anytime and 5GB between 2am-8am. As well as outages that occur during severe thunderstorms. I'd go with other options if they are available.
 
Data Caps Reached in Four Days

We are on Dish Net and our data caps are used up in about four days into the month. We can't watch or listen to any video during the day or listen to any music. We get up early in the morning to watch a couple shows on Netflix, before 8AM. Our dish out back says Exede on it, but not sure if that is service we are getting. Our Dish Net is throttled down to a crawl after 8 AM and it is almost as slow as dial-up to wait for a page to open. It is frustrating to wait so long for pages to open for the last 27 days of the month. We live in the country, so cable is not an option.
 
We are on Dish Net and our data caps are used up in about four days into the month. We can't watch or listen to any video during the day or listen to any music. We get up early in the morning to watch a couple shows on Netflix, before 8AM. Our dish out back says Exede on it, but not sure if that is service we are getting. Our Dish Net is throttled down to a crawl after 8 AM and it is almost as slow as dial-up to wait for a page to open. It is frustrating to wait so long for pages to open for the last 27 days of the month. We live in the country, so cable is not an option.

yep. if exede is your service, it is relatively easy to up the capacity (extra $$ per month but maybe worth it in your case). if its hughes, seems to cost quite a bit more, but you can buy just a gig or two at a time, for a lot of $$. Its all some of us can have. but as a hughes customer, I am vouching for / installing for exede from here on out.
 
More often than not, I get call backs from frustrated customers I've installed about slow speeds when streaming video or downloading large files over satellite internet. Also, many complaints about the advertised 10GB plan that really breaks down to 5GB anytime and 5GB between 2am-8am. As well as outages that occur during severe thunderstorms. I'd go with other options if they are available.

who is doing that? which company. I have always heard it advertised as it is... 10gb plan is for 10 gb daily (nights are another deal).
 
who is doing that? which company. I have always heard it advertised as it is... 10gb plan is for 10 gb daily (nights are another deal).


This is what I hate about the marketing for the DishNet. They advertise the $39.99 price point that includes the $10 you can get when you have Dish TV as well. What they don't tell you is that you have to pay a $10 lease fee on the modem which puts the price right back to $49.99. Not only that but that package only gives you 5GB anytime data but people are mislead to think the $49.99 package is 10GB.
 
I have dishnet with hughes. at 49 per month, it is 10 gb for daily use throughout the month, and 10 gb nightly, called anytime use. was advertised to me correctly.
exede has unlimited night use.
 
I have dishnet with hughes. at 49 per month, it is 10 gb for daily use throughout the month, and 10 gb nightly, called anytime use. was advertised to me correctly.
exede has unlimited night use.

It depends what the plan was when you signed up. I believe it's different now.
 

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