hughesnet or wildblue?
- Thread starter jhall2005
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You may as well ask the same question about "miracle whip or mayonnaise". Why not start by checking the Wildblue site, to see if it's even available in your ZIP code? For some folks, that takes Wildblue right off the table from the git-go.
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If you're going to use the internet daily you will want Hughes.
Their FAP is much more lenient. Wildblue limits your usage and will shut you down when you hit your limit. Hit your limit frequently and they can terminate your service all together.
This is the biggest complaint I get regarding WildBlue customers who switch to Hughes.
Their FAP is much more lenient. Wildblue limits your usage and will shut you down when you hit your limit. Hit your limit frequently and they can terminate your service all together.
This is the biggest complaint I get regarding WildBlue customers who switch to Hughes.
Hughes = daily limit (only have to wait a day to be able to use your service as usual after your bandwidth usage is up).
WildBlue = monthly lmit (have to wait the rest of the month once you use up the amount of bandwith usage allowed for the month). This is good if you have large downloads just once in a while that would put you over the daily limit but do not use it much beyond that on a limited basis.
I also know of several that have switches from WildBlue to Hughes due to this. Another reason I prefer Hughes is due to the fact that you have unlimited bandwidth usage between 2 am and 7 am that does not count towards your daily limit. This daily limit is refered to as FAP (Fair Access Policy).
WildBlue = monthly lmit (have to wait the rest of the month once you use up the amount of bandwith usage allowed for the month). This is good if you have large downloads just once in a while that would put you over the daily limit but do not use it much beyond that on a limited basis.
I also know of several that have switches from WildBlue to Hughes due to this. Another reason I prefer Hughes is due to the fact that you have unlimited bandwidth usage between 2 am and 7 am that does not count towards your daily limit. This daily limit is refered to as FAP (Fair Access Policy).
the only thing i can get is wireless internet and its not from a cell tower its some other kind of wireless. the antenna outside looks like an off air analog antenna but its small and it points towards a tower. thats what i have now but its not very reliable it cuts off all the time
If you can get service through a wireless internet service provider off of a water tank / tower in your area then that is way better than satellite broadband.
I agree with Stargazer. I've had Xplornet satellite (Canada) and I currently have HughesNet. Anything but dialup is better than satellite. The latency drives me crazy. Many web pages nowadays have a dozen or so locations where they load various pieces of the page. Each of those requires a visit to the satellite for DNS and element fetch. It takes forever. They have speed-up technology which does deep packet inspection, and it does help. I know that because I also use a VPN in some situations, and that's even slower since they can't look inside my packets. But, even with speed-up, it's still slow.
If there's anything you can do to get your wireless to work, I'd heartily recommend that you at least try it. There are many, many antennas available to improve wireless signals. Maybe your wireless company has an option? If not, if you can figure out what frequencies they use, you might be able to buy your own antenna.
As far as your original question, I've never used Wildblue, so I can't specifically comment on them. HughesNet and Xplornet are exactly the same, as far as "the user experience" (namely, how it feels to surf the web).
If there's anything you can do to get your wireless to work, I'd heartily recommend that you at least try it. There are many, many antennas available to improve wireless signals. Maybe your wireless company has an option? If not, if you can figure out what frequencies they use, you might be able to buy your own antenna.
As far as your original question, I've never used Wildblue, so I can't specifically comment on them. HughesNet and Xplornet are exactly the same, as far as "the user experience" (namely, how it feels to surf the web).
Your wireless Internet should be a lot more reliable than that. I work for a wireless broadband internet company & that is not how it should work. I would would contact that company.
Josh
That outside antenna that you have to receive the wireless internet signal is a yagi antenna which is very directional. Did you notice good service in the winter and poorer signal when spring came with the tree leaf growth? If so then it means that your signal degraded due to the trees growing out. Since that particular antenna is more directional then it would not take much to knock the antenna alignment.
It may not even be a signal issue, it could be other things such as oversubscribing (not enough bandwidth to handle all of the customers / traffic), interference (can be caused by other providers in the area or in a city area - lots of routers, phones, etc).
It may not even be a signal issue, it could be other things such as oversubscribing (not enough bandwidth to handle all of the customers / traffic), interference (can be caused by other providers in the area or in a city area - lots of routers, phones, etc).
Or it could be something as simple as tree growth or a new building that is interfering with the Fresnel Zone. I agree the OP should contact his WISP provider and see if they can improve his signal or possibly switch him to a different frequency all together.
my wireless service had been working pretty good lately but there for about a month it seemed like it was going off every weekend, it would go off saturday morning and would not come back on until monday. they dont have technicians that work on weekend so i was always out of luck. they also kept telling me my signal was very good and there was only 24 people using this tower or the tower was struck by lightening or the breaker on the tower went off. it was always something when you call so i just gave up.
icewalk17
Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
jhall2005 said:
I have HughesNet
I checked out both considerably and have a family member on the other end of town who has wildblue. Simply put, wildblue speed and latency, FAP, convience, and reliability is no where near Hughes,
This may be due to I am on the Hughes HN9000 platform that operates KA band with Hughes newest satellite, and wildblue customers are forced to use the KU band systems. I had a KU system a few years ago with Hughes via their HN7000S and it's was less than desirable. Hughes has additional plans and generous FAP unlike wildblue.
FAP - Only with Hughes can I reset my bandwidth at anytime myself. Hughes provides service tokens (1 free a month, extra are I think $10) that you can use anytime with a unlimited amount of tokens, to reset your threshold if you exceed. This is in addition to Hughes uses a rolling 24 period, plus gives you from 2am - 7am EST as a free period in which FAP does not count. Wildblue uses a 30 day threshold and has no resets, or such tokens.
Reliability - satellite always has reduced speed and increased latency during peak times, but I consistently reach speeds either near, at and over my plan limit. My family member with wildblue is lucky to get even 1/2 of what I get on any given day.
Whereas the points made in your comparison remain valid, this assumption is incorrect. Wildblue has been a Ka-band provider from the git-go. They've never had any Ku-band options - ever.
//greg//
icewalk17
Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
grohgreg said:
Wouldn't be able to tell as their ka operates just like ku- slow, unreliable and oversubscribed.
With all due respect-
Speed, reliability and number of subscribers are all independant of frequency.
Regards, Eric
icewalk17
Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
oldford said:
Exactly which is why I was referring to the various bands, that operate from various sats. It's well known that overselling causes reductions in bandwidth and performance in virtually ISPs including cable and dsl. Wildblue ad of now is oversold and not accepting customers in various area, thus for quite awhile the performance has suffered considerably for users
Sorry, but your use of "bands" still refers to frequency. Ku-band and Ka-band refer to the frequency range used between earth terminals and the satellite. Speed and performance are completely independent of what frequency band is being used.
Telecommunication satellites are little more than orbiting radio relays, performing a function not unlike that of microwave and cell towers. Just a helluva lot farther away. Speed and performance issues are all terrestrial, and that includes weather. It's over 22,300 miles to any given satellite, and preciptation only forms in the first 4 miles of it
//greg//
Telecommunication satellites are little more than orbiting radio relays, performing a function not unlike that of microwave and cell towers. Just a helluva lot farther away. Speed and performance issues are all terrestrial, and that includes weather. It's over 22,300 miles to any given satellite, and preciptation only forms in the first 4 miles of it
//greg//
What is the consensus on WildBlue from firsthand experience? (Customers, dealers and/or install techs only!) Seriously, how can anyone form an opinion based on their second cousin-in-law's roommates experience?
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