HughesNet G4

[LarryD]

As mentioned above, Verizon now has a Fusion system, tailored for those who live out in the sticks. We signed up for it a month ago and I am very pleased. First, the antenna (Cantenna, they call it) is in a can about the size of a small pail and is powered (amplified). It was mounted in a place that has wife approval (very important) behind some bushes growing up the house wall. The inside router has by far, the best range of any router I've had (including a $200 Cradlepoint). It goes through walls, sits behind my monitors and gives me three bars anywhere in the house (multiple Kindles here). It also has Ethernet connectivity (hard wire) for my two desktops. Monthly data rate$ is much better than the MiFi at $60/10gigs and $10/gig thereafter.

This is 4G only, BTW.

I started looking at phone and wireless card upgrades a few weeks ago for my Verizon account. I've been using an amplified 3G card for home internet several years now and could get 1.5Mbps on good days. The only problem with upgrading the card to 4G meant a new amplifier for the new bandwidth at $200. It appeared I was in an "extended" area for 4G and that was going to be a big gamble, although the card is backward compatable for 3G.
So the girl at the store told me about HomeFusion (not advertised as an option at MyVerizon) that included a tech to verify the siganl before install. I like tests!
Today the tech arrived and BINGO, a 4G signal. The install was free and the equipment was free, just a two year agreement. I did get reduced to 10gigs a month (from unlimited) but my usage meter hasn't been over 3gigs for the past six months. So my new smart phone with the HomeFusion internet access cost me $19.95. Couldn't beat that deal even on T.V.!

 

[rekees4300]

The install was free and the equipment was free, just a two year agreement.

Did you get a special deal? Their website says "A one-time equipment charge of $99.99 applies on all HomeFusion Broadband orders"

Set Your Location

 

[LarryD]

I was eligible for an upgrade on my 3G card. The girl at the Verizon store did all the paperwork. They're not promoting this package on-line, gotta visit a store. I still have to mail in my $50 rebate form for the phone so it really wasn't $19.95 yet, but I'll use a stamp for $50!

 

[Oaktree]

I have actually had both Wildblue and Verizon. In my location Verizon is far and away better both in speed and uptime. Note: I am NOT refering to smart phone data, I am refering to USB connection device data.

That's what my neighbor has...the USB stick. Cell coverage is a little iffy here, maybe that has something to do with the speed.
Curiously, how do you make that work on a home network, do you need a separate stick for each computer?

 

[1fastbob]

That's what my neighbor has...the USB stick. Cell coverage is a little iffy here, maybe that has something to do with the speed.
Curiously, how do you make that work on a home network, do you need a separate stick for each computer?

A couple of ways to do it. Only 1 usb device (stick) required. You can use the USB stick in computer #1 and share it's internet connection and feed it through a router. I had trouble doing internet connection sharing so I run proxy server (software) on the computer with the usb stick and I then connect that computer to a wireless / wired router. I can access either by main computer, wireless router or wired Ethernet through the same router. I can get good signal in my detached garage 100 feet away also. The most important thing is a good cellular signal is needed for the usb device and you could get one with an external antenna plugin to help with poor signal. 2 signal bars or better does the trick for me. Works very well.

 

[TripleR]

We just upgraded to Hughenet Gen4 yesterday and our system is working well with good speeds downloading and uploading. I know other people have had problems, but ours is fine. We had to do an upgrade to get more FAP download as my son takes some college courses online and we were running into problems.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

RRR,

How much more Fair Use do you get? How much faster is it? And most importantly, how much more does it cost? Gotta buy all new reciever etc, right?

I hate my HughesNet... contract is up end of March...

Be well,
David

 

[wcampbell47]

I dropped HughesNet a couple of years back because of 3rd world tech support. My modem died and they wanted me to buy another one with 6 months left on my contract. No thanks. I switched to using Virgin Mobile MiFi for a couple of years. This past August I had Exede 12 installed. The download speeds are great, the tech support is based in the US if you get direct from Exede or ViaSat. They have a Recovery Act pricing schedule that is good for lifetime (double check me on that). They offered internet and tv as a bundle with reduced cost .. so I took that. TV is great. Satellite is fair. What I mean by that is you can have connection issues. Strongly suggest you log onto Wild Blue World Forums and read before jumping in.

All that said what I would really recommend is to check with friends/neighbors with smart phones and see if the nearest verizon tower is putting out 4G signal. You said nearest cell signal is 7 miles. I have saved several marriages here on the coast by installing a cell phone signal booster. That will do two things .. well three. Improve voice quality, improve MiFi speed and save your marriage. I'm thinking you will have higher speed and no connection issues if you can get 4g even if you have to boost it.

Seriously .. go to CellReception.com and enter the city nearest you that has coverage. If there is a tower within 20 miles there is a good possibility you can boost the signal. If you have 4g even better. I would trade my Exede for 4g in a heart beat.

Cradlepoint is the best router I have used to establish WiFi in a home using a USB stick modem to connect to the internet. PM me if you want a reference for equipment.

 

[LarryD]

All that said what I would really recommend is to check with friends/neighbors with smart phones and see if the nearest verizon tower is putting out 4G signal. You said nearest cell signal is 7 miles. I have saved several marriages here on the coast by installing a cell phone signal booster. That will do two things .. well three. Improve voice quality, improve MiFi speed and save your marriage. I'm thinking you will have higher speed and no connection issues if you can get 4g even if you have to boost it.

Seriously .. go to CellReception.com and enter the city nearest you that has coverage. If there is a tower within 20 miles there is a good possibility you can boost the signal. If you have 4g even better. I would trade my Exede for 4g in a heart beat.

Cradlepoint is the best router I have used to establish WiFi in a home using a USB stick modem to connect to the internet. PM me if you want a reference for equipment.

I couldn't agree more with this statement. I used an amplified 3G signal for many years with pretty good results. 4G is an even better solution with HomeFusion from Verizon.

The CradlePoint router was how I used WiFi in the house. PM me if a used CradlePoint MBR95 is something you might like. Also have a 3G amplifier with antenna for those outside the 4G radius.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I switched from the old generation Hughesnet to the new Excede. Day and night difference, so much better. The installer was a joke, but that is another story. I also have verizon MIFI cell service, 4G. Excede is faster. I end up using all of both data plans in a month, and usually over. My new 4G mifi does not work on my cradlepoint router like the old one did.