Ive had Hughes Net for over a year now. A few observations:
I would call the web browsing speed "tolerable".
Certain types of internet applications, especially Flash, give it a lot of trouble. Email websites (Gmail, Yahoo) go MUCH slower than on broadband.
You cannot in any way game online. My PS3 has trouble even connecting to the net to download content.
Download speeds are inconsistant, and top out at about 1/5 that of DSL. Sometimes, while downloading a moderately sized file (a few dozen MB) it will start out at my max speed and then slow down to dialup level, and then come to a complete stop.
There is also the "threshold limit" where you can only download so much content in a certain time period. I have never once exceeded this limit, but have been punished for getting too close to it several times (they shut you down to lowend dialup speed for about 24 hours).
Obviously, like satalite TV, bad weather can interput or stop the signal alltogther. This is expected, but there are also bright and sunny days where I'll lose my connection for hours at a time for no apparent reason.
There is essentially no tech support. All the phone centers are outsourced and not only do the operators speak very poor English, they are generally in a big hurry to get you to hang up. They almost never answer any question outside of the guidelines of the general FAQ. Getting a straight answer to any other question is nearly impossible. Only once, after waiting on hold for over an hour, was I ever able to talk to an American about a concern.
I would only recommend this service to someone who absolutely has no hope of getting any other broadband service. Unfortunately, its what Im evidently stuck with for years to come or longer.
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