Hughesnet Satellite Internet Review: Plans, Pricing, Speed and Availability

Hughesnet Internet review

In 2017, Hughes Network Systems became the first satellite internet service to offer broadband speeds of 25 megabits per second. Since then, a lot has changed, and I'm not just talking about Elon Musk's disruption of the satellite internet industry by introducing Starlink.

In 2023, Hughesnet measured up to the competition after launching Jupiter 3, a GEO satellite roughly the size of a bus. That helped bump Hughesnet's internet plan speeds up to 100Mbps. For satellite internet, that's pretty fast.

The upgrade comes at a time when many rural Americans still lack adequate access to a decent internet provider. According to the latest data from the Pew Research Center, while 73% of rural Americans are subscribed to a high-speed internet connection at home, they are less likely to have access than 86% of suburban residents and 77% of those who live in urban cities.

More than anything, the pandemic led us to confront the consequences of not having access to the internet and the federal government has been aiming to help with that, albeit slowly.. In the meantime, while some rural cities are taking matters into their own hands, satellite internet service might be the only option for getting online where internet infrastructure falls short.

If you live in a rural area, your town probably doesn't have ground-laid cable and fiber internet networks. Most rural Americans are limited to either satelliteor DSL internet connections, and while satellite internet is faster than phone-line-based DSL, it can't compete with the speeds you get with cable or fiber.

But even with speeds that fall well short of cable or fiber, established satellite providers such as Hughesnet, which can genuinely claim to offer service everywhere, are more relevant than ever.

Hughesnet Internet plans and pricing

Source: CNET analysis of provider data.

Hughesnet offers three main internet plans, all featuring unlimited data and a $25 discount on your monthly bill in the first year. Customers can expect a two-year contract when signing up for service and if you decide to lease equipment with Hughesnet, it will cost you either $15 to $20 monthly to rent or a hefty upfront charge between $400 to $550. Still, Hughesnet provides more affordable options than its rivals, Viasat and Starlink, which offer starting plans ranging from $100 to $120, respectively.

Hughesnet's Fusion plan is especially remarkable for combining satellite internet with low-latency fixed wireless internet. It costs the most monthly ($95) and has the highest equipment fees ($20 monthly to rent or $550 to buy outright) but it offers the most reliable speeds and lowest latency of any Hughesnet plan.

Hughesnet's starting plan, the Select Plan, features download speeds of 50 megabits per second and 5Mbps in upload for $50 a month; that price jumps to $75 after a year.

CNET's top pick for Hughesnet's best plan is the Elite Plan because it offers a similar speed to the top-end plan but with a cheaper starting monthly price.

Where can you get Hughesnet satellite internet?

With wide availability across all 50 states, Hughesnet is an excellent connection option for rural residents. Compared with its competitor, Viasat, Hughesnet isn't that far behind with its max download speed of 100Mbps and 200GB of priority data. Viasat also recently ditched its term agreements and has a better track record with outages on Downdetector.com. If you need speed, Hughesnet's new plans fit the bill if you're in an area where you can't get cable or fiber. Let's dig in and take a look at the details.

Hughesnet fees and service details

While all plans offer unlimited standard data, your monthly priority data allowance varies from plan to plan. The Select and the Elite plans offer 100GB of priority data while the Fusion plan offers 200GB.

Before these upgrades, Hughesnet's Gen5 plans boasted simple services that offered customers the same maximum download speeds. It was known for the simplicity and consistency of its plans. The 2023 Ookla report on Starlink LEO satellite performance in the US showed that Hughesnet and Viasat were behind most of the market. Hughesnet recorded median download speeds of 15.87Mbps in the third quarter of 2023. It will be awhile until we see how Hughesnet's upgraded plans affect the nationwide report.

Data caps

While Hughesnet touts its "unlimited data," that's a bit of a misnomer. Yes, there are no hard data limits, so you won't be cut off or charged more if you go over your monthly data allowance, which is a huge relief.

Once you hit that monthly priority data cap, you can expect slowdowns. Hughesnet will deprioritize your data plan for the remainder of the month. What does that mean? You won't see the same speeds as before. As Hughesnet states, your standard data "may be slower than other traffic during high-traffic periods." Keep that in mind as you consider which data plan to select.

For example, you might be tempted to go with the cheapest plan, which Hughesnet recommends as perfect for smaller households. That plan comes with 100GB of data, which falls under the monthly data usage that the average US household consumes. According to OpenVault's latest report, the average American household uses over 606GB of data per month. That said, you'll need to consider how much data your household consumes to know if that'll be satisfactory. For example, Netflix estimates it takes approximately 3GB to stream an hour-long show in high definition and 7GB to stream an hour in 4K. If you watch an hour of 4K programming daily, you'll hit your maximum in less than 15 days, which is not a far-fetched scenario. Although Hughesnet's Fusion plan offers a soft data cap of 200GB, that also falls under the average US household data consumption benchmark. So before you secure a plan with Hughesnet, make sure you're clear with your other household members about how much data you'll need and how to budget your usage.

Additional fees

Hughesnet's satellite internet service is relatively straightforward, but you'll want to understand everything that'll show up on your bill before signing up. Here's a quick rundown.

Installation

Hughesnet charges a one-time fee of $200 for standard installation, though this fee is waived if you decide to lease your modem instead of buying it for $400 or $550. There is no self-installation option like you might find with other internet connection types. A standard installation includes a technician visit, Hughesnet satellite dish and Wi-Fi modem setup.

Equipment

With Hughesnet's new plans, you will not be able to use your own modem. To lease the Hughesnet Wi-Fi Modem, which doubles as a Wi-Fi router, you will need to add $15 or $20 a month to your bill, depending on your chosen plan. You can avoid this monthly charge altogether by buying the equipment for a one-time fee of $400 or $550. However, the $200 installation fee still applies if you decide to purchase your equipment.

That's a very hefty price. If you decide to choose the Fusion plan, it will cost you upward of $750 just to buy out the equipment and to pay for the installation alone. In that case, you might be better off leasing your modem for the long term. If you don't plan on keeping your Hughesnet connection much longer than two years, leasing your equipment may be the less expensive proposition.

That two-year break-even rate on the modem purchase probably isn't an accident, as all Hughesnet plans require a two-year contract. Cancel before the contract is up and you'll incur an early termination fee as high as $400 if you're still within the first 90 days of service. The amount decreases by $15 a month after that, which means you'd still need to pay a fee of $100 if you cancel during the last month of your contract.

Hughesnet vs. competitors: Customer satisfaction can improve

The latest data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index didn't include separate scores for satellite providers like Hughesnet and Viasat in 2024. Still, those rankings factored into the ACSI's overall aggregate score for internet providers -- and that score showed a slight increase, a 4% change, compared with the previous year. It's a slight change, but it's hard to read too much into that for Hughesnet specifically. 

Elsewhere, the 2023 J.D. Power US Residential Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study was much more telling, with Hughesnet earning 577 on a 1,000-point scale in the South region. That's below average for the area, down by 1 point from its score in 2021 and made for a last-place finish compared with 10 other ISPs in the study. The final dagger? It was the lowest score of any ISP listed in the J.D. Power satisfaction study.

"We've been working diligently to support the needs of our customers," Hughes Network Systems Senior Vice President Mark Wymer said when we asked about that ranking. "We're constantly trying to improve, but I also think we're providing a strong service and score very well with the FCC in terms of the service levels we're providing.

"What we really focus on is the underserved areas of the US and bringing those customers a high-speed experience," Wymer said. "So for those who choose to live in those less densely populated areas, we want to be their primary choice."

As for value, Hughesnet is slightly cheaper than its main rival, Viasat. With Viasat, customers only have the option to select one plan. With Viasat's newest all-in-one plan, you'll need to pay $100 monthly for download speeds up to 150Mbps. Whereas with Hughesnet, you'd pay $50 monthly for the first year for speeds of 100Mbps. Both Viasat and Hughesnet have unlimited data.

What's the bottom line on Hughesnet?

If you live in a highly populated urban or suburban area, you'll likely have other, faster internet connection choices, and Hughesnet isn't for you. If you reside in a rural or less densely populated area without many options for getting online, Hughesnet might be the best and most reliable connection available. This is even more evident now that it offers faster speeds at different rates. Hughesnet shows commitment to supporting broadband speeds to all serviceable areas, making it a compelling pick under those circumstances.

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