Satellite Broadband Cost


Satellite broadband is Internet connectivity provided via geostationary or Low Earth Orbit satellites orbiting the Earth. They provide good speeds for the average broadband user, matching cable or DSL speeds in some cases. There are many excellent benefits and advantages to satellite broadband.

It is not limited by distance like digital subscriber line, the subscriber must be within 18,000 feet of the central office. With satellite broadband, an Internet connection can be made from anywhere in the world, extremely useful for someone living out of town, or in a rural or country area. Satellite speeds can be as fast as 20 Mbps/2 Mbps in some cases, faster than some DSL and cable connections.

There are a couple providers of satellite internet in the United States. They all offer different types of plans at varying prices for customers. HughesNet, WildBlue, and SkyWay are the three major providers in the satellite broadband market, offering high-quality services. HughesNet has a wide variety of satellite broadband plans for you to choose from.

They range in speed from 1 Mbps to 5 Mbps, relatively fast for most of your internet needs. Their Home plan, with 1 Mbps download and 128 Kbps upload speed costs around $60 every month. The next plan up, the Pro plan, offers speeds of up to 1.2 Mbps/128 Kbps, costing you around $70. The mid-range ProPlus plan has download speeds of up to 1.6 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 250 Kbps, for a price of $80 per month.

HughesNet also offers the Elite plan, for heavy users, providing speeds of up to 2 Mbps/300 Kbps at a price of $120 each month. There is another plan offered for even heavier users costing you $190 a month for download speeds of 3 Mbps and upload speeds of 300 Kbps. Finally, the highest-end plan that HughesNet offers is the ElitePremium plan, coming in at a price of $350 a month, for speeds of 5 Mbps/300 Kbps.

WildBlue is another provider of satellite broadband internet in the United States. WildBlue has three different satellite broadband plans for you to choose from. The Value plan offers speeds of up to 512 Kbps downstream and 128 Kbps upstream traffic for a price of $40 a month. The next plan up is the Select plan giving you speeds of up to 1 Mbps/200 Kbps, costing approximately $55 per month. The highest-end plan that WildBlue offers is the Pro plan, with speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps downstream and 256 Kbps upstream for $80 a month.