Satellite Internet

We have had both. Hughes Net was more expensive, slower, and the modem was always dying. We were never happy with them. Wild Blue is still slower and more expensive than I'd like, but it's been far more reliable. Whatever you decide, make sure you get the replacement warranty for the modem. It's like $5 month more, but replacing it on your own can cost hundreds of dollars and it takes a while for them to ship one to you. I vote for Wild Blue hands down.

Updated

I have HughesNet.
THe kids are always complaining. In the evenings it is really slow and there is sometimes no use even getting on the web.
We cannot take any online classes as the downloads are too much and they keep buffering.
Same with youtube videos, some will load OK. If we pass our limit in the daytime, then at night we get nothing. We are on this thing a lot, we homeschool.
We've had it for two years, it's all we can get, unless I go with dial up.

We have Hughesnet for 5 years and it's alright.
We haven't had any hardware/software problems, and it's been reliable.
We haven't tried Wild Blue so I can't tell you anything about them.

Additional:
You have to realize the limits of the providers you are limited to.
With a satellite provider, you can not watch tv/net flix/watch movies/ lot of video on your computer.
It's just not designed to handle that kind of load.
Email works well.
You can surf the net, read the news, and you can play many games (you can forget multi user dungeons).
Once you know what the limitations are, it's quite easy to live within them.
If that's not good enough, then you live like we did before the internet and you do without it (there was life before the internet, people just don't like to think about it).
The only other choice is to move where you can get other internet service providers.

i don't know wildblue, but i know our years with hughesnet were some of the most awful ever (strictly from an internet POV<G>.) it is horrendously slow, goes out ALL the time, and if you download more than a constantly-shifting almost-impossible-to-maintain amount they lock you down for 24 hours. sometimes watching a couple of you tubes was enough to have them put me in time-out.
calling customer service is a nightmare. you get routed to india where everyone is incredibly polite and no one can ever EVER solve your issue. i cannot tell you the days.....and i do mean days.........of frustration i've spent on the phone with them, often to the point of furious outbursts and tears. and i'm not a crier. but when you spend 2 days on the phone with a tech getting your satellite re-adjusted, it goes out again and you call back and they tell you they're going to charge you $200 for messing up the satellite, you go a little wonky.
i'd go back to using the library's public access before i'd get hughesnet again.
khairete
S.

I had similar experiences with HughesNet about 5 years ago. Is he able to get decent cell service? If so, you could look into a broadband card or personal wifi.

My FIL has Wild Blue and it's about the same as all the rest. He has had all the regular ones we hear of, Dish, Direct, and some more. They are all the same.

They offer different packages and make sure to put at least 1-3 of the popular channels on different options so if one likes to watch Sci-Fi AND local news then they have to go to a higher priced package. We would have had to pay over $100 per month to get all the channels we get on standard cable that is about $50.

If there is bad weather he has no internet, phone, or TV. If there is a cloud in the sky, he has no access, if the wind has blown they have to come out and readjust the antennae. It is such a hassle.

I will never do anything but cable ever again. If I live out in the country I don't know what I will do, maybe sell out and move back to an area where cable is offered.