Any suggestions for dealing with Hughesnet?

[girod]

I had to smile when I saw a post complaining about 128k download speeds. I wish mine were that high. From 9:00 am until 11 pm weekdays, I can't do better than 70 down, 30 up, and most of the time my download speeds are under 35. I have talked to "level 3" tech support three times now, and all they tell me is that "your speeds are not guaranteed". Nights and weekends I have adequate speed, but it is worse than dialup the rest of the time.

I had two years of excellent performance (fall 2005 to fall 2007) and then last October my signal strength deteriorated dramatically. Rather than telling me to get my dish repointed, they switched my transponder. This resulted in adequate strength, but evidently that transponder is overloaded. I have had absolutely no luck talking to them. Neighbors who are on my old frequency 1190 (and have the 59.95 home plan) are doing fine.

I feel really helpless. I need something better than dialup speed, and I am certainly paying for better service, but I just can't do anything with these people.

Some additional data: I am south of Buffalo, zip 14766, and have a DW7000; my frequency is 1410 (previoiusly 1390). I generally have a signal strength 55-65, mostly 60's, and my last cross polarization revalidation was this month, with isolation 65, sqf 58 (whatever those are). I don't have any failed transmissions.

Help!

 

[HCI]

which satellite are you on? right above the frequency.

You say you have a DW not an HN right? I am not sure if I would upgrade but if that might be an option you would consider I do believe they are offering free upgrades if you up your package. What I would suggest you do is run a speed test everyday for a week on the Hughes site. These values are recorded and stored so that when you call Hughes you have a recored of your speeds.

 

[girod]

Thanks for the reply. My satellite is 89 degrees longitude. I don't have the 7000S, just the DW7000. The most recent round with level 3 tech support has me recording times for three days. I have a lot of speed tests showing the clear pattern of speed degrading starting at about 7:30am and ending up at dialup speeds by 9:30. This reverses starting at about 10:00 pm, and by midnight I have what passes for "broadband" again, i.e. 500+ down. I went through this whole process with them back in November as well, and just gave up--they said they were "working on it", but nothing has changed. They seem to have discarded all the speed test data from 2007 as of the first of the year, but I have a lot for this month.

In another post you sort of indicated that you could get them to take care of you if you simply had your system reinstalled as a "new customer" and then canceled the old account. This seems kind of a last resort, and I would have another long commitment. Upgrading to the "pro plan" is less drastic but it still seems like I am being made to pay extra for something they should be providing in the first place. Supposedly they are selling broadband service, and to me that doesn't mean 16 hours of dialup and 8 hours of higher speed when I am sleeping. I can understand some degradation in so-called peak periods, but when you get 5%-10% of normal bandwidth for most of the day, it is simply absurd.

 

[Stargazer]

I would be extremely upset if I were you. Surely everyone would not be getting that bad of speed or they would have people dropping their service like flies.

 

[girod]

After a few more hours on the phone, I was told once more "too bad, nothing we can do". They said if I upgraded, I would get better service. Another alternative would be to sign on as a new customer. I have to find out whether my local installer is up for doing that, and how much it would cost.

Bottom line: 59.95/month + $400 up front will get you less than dialup from Hughes, if you are unlucky enough to be an established customer.

 

[HCI]

1410 on 89 west? Theres your problem.

1410 on 89 west is used by alot of big businesses. BP and E&E contracting to name a few. I would hate to say how many BP sites are on 1410 but just to give you an idea we worked on a rollout for them for over a year and a half. Thats whey your speeds suck during the day. I suggest you contact a local installer and get them to come and do an AOT.