Viasat vs. HughesNet – The Ultimate Showdown of Satellite Internet Providers

When it comes to choosing a satellite internet provider, people in the U.S have two options (i.e., if you exclude DIRECTV):

·         Viasat

·         HughesNet

Wait, why exclude DIRECTV?

Those of you who don’t know, DIRECTV does not provide their own satellite internet services. Instead, it works with Viasat and HughesNet to offer bundle packages to customers.

So which one of Viasat and HughesNet is better?

Let’s compare them.

Speed

There is only one winner here, and that winner is Viasat.

Viasat recently updated its technology that allows it to offer speeds of up to 100 Mbps. In comparison, HughesNet offers a speed of 25 Mbps on all its packages.

Cost

In terms of pricing, HughesNet fairs better overall.

The company offers four packages. Its cheapest plan costs $59.99, while its most expensive plan costs $129.99.

On the other hand, the internet plans for Viasat start with $50 and go all the way up to $200.

Data

Here, once again, Viasat beats HughesNet by a clear margin.

All Viasat internet plans come with unlimited data. In contrast, the data limits for HughesNet vary from 10 GB up to 40 GB.

It’s worth mentioning here that although Viasat offers unlimited data, each Viasat internet plan comes with a defined data threshold.

How does this data threshold affect your internet use?

If you go over your data threshold, Viasat deprioritizes your internet activity. In other words, the company puts other users in front of the queue who haven’t exceeded their data threshold yet.

What this means is you can still use the internet; however, your data will have to wait a little bit longer before it can be transferred by the server.

Coverage

Since the launch of Viasat-2, Viasat has been able to expand its services to almost all areas of the U.S. More importantly, it has been able to provide fast (and consistent) internet to the rural population of the country.

In comparison, HughesNet also offers wide coverage, but the quality of its service varies from area to area.

To summarize…

Aside from pricing, Viasat beats HughesNet in every department and service area. The company offers faster internet speed, unlimited data and a more extensive coverage.

KonectEaze is your one-stop solution for all your internet service shopping needs. The website provides a complete list of ISPs operating in the U.S, along with the plans that they offer. This way, you can compare different internet service providersin your area and conveniently shop for the best internet deal for your home or office internet needs.