Hughes Satellite vs. Verizon MiFi

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Not sure where the 2 posters above MrWizard are getting their info but the new Hughes Gen4 service is very dependable and has many, many happy customers.

I got my info from personal experience.
I called them to check on service for a lot I was looking to purchase that had no DSL or cable. The first slick talking, ready to get my billing info salesman hung up on me when I started to ask questions about speed and download limits. The 2nd one was another slick talker telling me anything I wanted to hear.

Both people I asked that had it said they wished they could get anything else.

I would bet it is more like they have many,many customers that have no other options.

My experience traveling around the country with a Verizon Jetpack is that if you have a signal of some sort, usually you can improve it to an acceptable level with a good exterior antenna and an amplifier.

A directional antenna works well when being used in one spot; here is one directional antenna Antenna. An amplifier would probably help, maybe: Wilson Sleek. Of course you'd also need the cable and connectors.

So back to the Op.. If you say that service degrades with the leaves coming out that means you have a chance. Move the antenna, upgrade the antenna, lower loss coax,shorten the coax or build a weatherproof cause for the MiFi to really minimize losses. At least you have something to work with and enough signal to see what your progress is or isn't.

margemak wrote:
I have Hughes Gen 4 and am in a rural area only reason I have it is I have no other options. I am around a lot of trees so my signal is not as good as it could be , when I am here by myself it works marginal, however when my family is all home using it gets verry slow, and frustrating.

This is not true, there is Exced which used to be Wild Blue before they went bankrupt and Exced bought them (not sure of spelling there)

If you got the bandwith I can show you what Exced can do

https://twit.tv/shows/ham-nation

Any episode where Bob Heil is at home (last weeks' for example) he is using Excede The show is produced LIVE from several studios most of the hosts can see most of the hosts all the time, SKYPE to a central facility in California and the hosts see a multi-segment screen

THe screen shows what the others are doing, The outgoing show and likely a script or "Director's message" screen All streaming on Exceed to/from Bob's house from the main control point in CA.

That is a lot of video feeds.

NOTE that Excede is NOT compatable with RVs... I do not think Hughes gen-4 is either.. Hughes old style is.

Not sure where the 2 posters above MrWizard are getting their info but the new Hughes Gen4 service is very dependable and has many, many happy customers. Yes, GOOD cellular service is going to be better but satellite internet is much better than flaky or minimal cellular connections. The company is also well respected for their installations but some sub-contractors do like to add on some additional hardware. Just ask the installer what you are getting, what it will cost and how it will all be connected to the computers and other devices you want to use.

bgum wrote:
Google the net for how to make a WIFI antenna out of an old Direct TV antenna. Per the documented test results several miles is possible. It would be a good weekend project that may be your answer. If you don't feel capable ask a radio/TV shop to build for you.

works great IF you are doing WiFi at the campground

Unfortunately 4G cellular data is NOT Wifi.. wrong Frequency
and it would have to be pinpoint aimed at the CELL TOWER miles away

Proceed with extreme caution with Hughes. They will tell you anything to get your CC# to sell you equipment and service.

I have not found to many happy Hughes clients.

One of the biggest differences between a cellular based connection and a satellite based connection is the latency. That's the distance the signal must travel from the source to the internet and back again. With cellular that time is under 50ms while satellite is going to be at least 500-700ms and often close to 1 second. That's the time each request takes and opening a web page requires multiple requests. If cellular and satellite both had the exact same data rate, the pages on a cellular connection would open 3-5 times faster.
As to the Hughes salesman claim, he is likely NOT lying. I have not looked into satellite internet in a few years but Hughes used to allow unlimited downloads that did not effect your allowance late at night and I suspect they still do. Additionally, Hughes only counts your downloads against your 10GB limit where as cellular deducts from your plan all data whether uploaded or downloaded.

greenrvgreen wrote:
Naio is confusing Mbps and Kbps.

Maybe I am! Too lazy to check right now.