HughesNet Satellite Internet , Hughes Network Systems Hughesnet Work Systems Also affiliated with Earthlink per the Earthlink Website for thier satalite service Beware of the words "FAIR ACCESS POLICY", CONTRACT, or FIRST 30 DAYS FREE, or MAGICJACK MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS. Mountain Ranch, California

We wanted faster internet service so...we did some online research and came across Hughesnet.  The sales rep we called sounded like he had gotten his communication degree from Harvard.  He was an American with an american accent.  He said Hughesnet would allow us UNLIMITED internet access and the first thirty days were free.  We were going to purchase a magicjack phone and he assured us that Hughesnet had the minimum requirements for Magicjack.  We couldnt wait to receive our satalite and stop using dialup.  The last thing he told us was that he needed our debit card number to put a hold on the deposit for the installation of $99.00 which we would get back in a visa giftcard...

The nightmare began with the tech.  He came at 9:30 in the morning and was so inept he didnt even have his drill charged to install the dish on the roof.  We had to scrounge around in our garage and let  him borrow ours so he could do the installation.  Even with our help it took him from 9:30 in the morning until 5:30 to install the dish and configure the computer for our satalite service.

The next day Hughesnet did indeed take their $99.00 our of our checking account AND also an extra $76.00.  When we called to complain we were not allowed to talk to the man who spoke like he graduated from Harvard, but instead, someone from India with an american name who kept apologizing for our inconvience but it was Hughesnet policy to bill a month in advance.  I told them we had not authorized for them to take payments out of our checking account, only a deposit. and the first thirty days were supposed to be free.  He just kept apologizing...

When we did use the internet it was horribly slow so we once again called tech support in India and got another indian with an american name...we were told these dark words.  FAIR ACCESS POLICY.  This means we had used all of megabits of download time for the next 24 hours.  If we waited for a day, we would have our fast internet back.  They said if we upgrade the service it will give us more FAIR ACCESS usage with Hughesnet, so we did. 

The next day it happened again, slow internet service...again we talked to Joe in india in tech support and was told the same thing.  We got a supervisor on the phone named Mark and he informed us that at our rate of pay for Hughesnet we are allowed 300 Megabits of downloads a day.  The problem was is that we didnt download anything.  Well his reply shocked us.  Mark, india tech support said...well...any time you spend on the  net can be concidered download time. 

We wanted some very specific details about our usage.  We were told to go to Hughesnet Customer Care webpage, (dont log in) go to tools and then to usage.  There we could view our usage.  Basically what we saw was that every time we were on the net it was being counted as a download...What Hughesnet should advertise is not unlimted satalite internet but "$$ for megabits of download".  At no time did our sales rep ever mention FAIR ACCESS POLICY.  We also found out that we get free download time between the hours of 2 a.m to 7 a.m  WOW, that means I can watch my National Geographic news clips in the middle of the night... 

When we did check our usage it said we had not used our 300 megabits in the last 24 hours...so then why did Hughesnet say we did???  Again, for called tech support in india and got someone named Jason who again apologized to us.  He couldnt give us a valid explanation in his limited use of the english language.  It always amazes me how a company can spend millions of dollers on their products and skimp on the most important aspect of their business and that is customer relations.

Hughesnet is flawed.  Their customer service rep was dishonest.  Hughesnet took  money our of our account without our permission, told  us wrong information about our usage, and even sanctioned us for usage we didnt use.  It is NOT compatible with MagicJack.  If you are a student I wouldnt recommend using Hughesnet simply because if you are in the middle of a test and you use all of your FAIR ACCESS usage, you wont be able to get any kind of connection that will allow you to finish your test.  After our experience with Hughesnet.  I wouldnt recommend this company to anyone.

If this is happening to you try these few things.  First cancel your debit card and get a new one.  It will change the routing numbers to your bank and Hughesnet cant access your account anymore.  You then have to pay a $5.00 monthly service fee for them to generate you a paper bill but at least  you have the satisfaction of knowing  a dishonest company doesnt have access to your checking account.   Secondly, continue calling customer service and complain about the usage, and keep track of what is they are concidering FAIR ACCESS usage. 

I am going to followup by finding the agency that oversees or regulates Hughesnet.