Direct TV Internet. Who has it?

[472 R/T SE]

Just trying to tighten down finances & was wondering who might be using satellite internet providers'?  Now that's the INTERNET I'm asking about, not the TV service.

We've been with Direct TV since 1997 & they've treated us well.  We just upgraded the TVs' in the house to HD & received the Internet Cinema kit for free along with the HD DVRs'.

We've had Comcast Internet for almost a dozen years @ $70 @ month.  


I installed the 1st dish.  Remember back when NFL Sunday Ticket was first offered?  If you bought this RCA dish & receiver you got a smokin' ST offer.  Back then, rain would wash reception but here a while back they updated the dish & the only wash I get is if it snows, which doesn't happy often here in the valley.

TIA.  

[ODZKing]

I had Direct TV (TV not internet) and I checked into the internet service.  It was incredably expensive at the time.
All I remember was $99 mo not inclufing TV.
We have Fios (Fiber) now for TV and internet.  It is awesome.
Not because I disliked DTV but Fios was in a package, TV, Internet, 2 cell phones, home phone.

[TexasStroker]

Sadly I can't vouch for it, but I am curious. 

The NFL Sunday Ticket offer is really tempting.  Sadly, where I am at the only "good" ISP is suddenlink (I like to change their slogan to "disconnected").  Their cable is a joke, the phone doesn't work, and the internet is simply the best of what is available here.  Somehow you "bundle" and save money over just internet so I'm stuck with the phone that doesn't work and cable line up that looses a channel I actually like every year.

I've never known anyone locally DTV Internet, but I would not at all hesitate to switch if it had uptime and good speed.

[4cruzin]

I have been checking into options lately as I HATE comcast . . . . Not to many choices here in Mid Michigan.  Direct TV is one . . . Dish and comcast.  Uverse is not available in my area . . . .   

Problem with direct TV is the money up front for the boxes . . . True you don't have to rent the box but it was over 500 up front to cover everything as I have 7 HD TV's in the house. 

[2Gunz]

I would consider satellite Internet a last resort solution.

My parents had Wild Blue (satellite Internet service) because they live in BFE.
Vs dial up its amazing. Vs ANYTHING else it's bad. My 4G LTE card would dust that thing
easy.

The big problem is latency. The signal has to go to space and back.  On a good day that's 1/2
A second on a bad day that's 1 second plus. That doest sound like much........ But trust me... It sucks.

Online gaming?  Forget it.  Hard to play anything with a 500 to 1600 ping.

Most providers will have a low bandwidth cap.... Then charge overages.  Maybe you will get 5 gigs a month.

If you would like to use the Internet less..... This is a perfect solution. I'm an Internet junky, but when my parents had it and I would visit....  I rarely used it because it was PAINFUL.

Granted this was a few years back and I'm sure it's better to some extent. I'm sure the download speeds are better.
But no matter what you do your stuck with the bad latency. I have heard of a hybrid where you basically use dial up to ask for information  (much less latency). And then the satellite will actually send the data.



My evaluation of interent services with the first being the best.

Fios / fiber
Wireless point to point (must be 50 Mbps +)
High speed cable
U-verse
DSL
4G
satellite
Dial up

If your really looking to save money and not go crazy..... Share the internet with the neighbors.

[hatersaurusrex]

Let me chime in too, as one of my ex's parents got it, and hated it.  They got HughesNet (who was DirecTV's partner at the time), and the signal was pretty decent, but with very poor latency as someone else said.  Better than dialup for sure, but let me advise you to stay away from HughesNet if that's your only choice.

The horrible thing about HughesNet is that they only allow for a VERY VERY small amount of downloads at 'high speed' per month, after that you're stuck in 'worse than dialup' land. When I say very small, I mean it's a few dozen megabytes.   So for the first 2 days of the month you're good, then you spend 27 days in hell.    Setup fees are ridiculous, as is the monthly price.

I can't speak to the other providers, but do a Google search for 'HughesNet Scam' and you'll see forum post after forum post of people complaining that they pay through the nose to get decent internet for maybe a day per month.    

A better option if they are your only choice (and you're stuck in the boonies) would be to look into 4G mobile broadband from your cell phone company.   Most of them have a mobile wireless router option, and nearly all of them will send you a 'booster antenna' free of charge if you get poor signal.