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Hi guys, I am looking into getting Exede Internet. I live in a rural area of northern Wisconsin and currently get my internet from Cellcom. I cannot get broadband at my house.
About a week ago I entered my zip code (54442) to see what plans were available in my area. I was thrilled to see that the Freedom (150GB) plan was offered in my area - Freedom would be perfect for me. I am a heavy user of and often go over the 20GB that I currently have on my plan with Cellcom - I know I would use a lot more data with a faster connection and if I didn't have to worry about going over my data allowance. However, I decided to shop around a little bit and see what my other options were before settling on Exede - I spent about a week looking into other internet options. Of course, I decided on Exede and returned to the Exede website yesterday and put in my ZIP code to look at the rest of the details for the Freedom plan - and the Freedom plan didn't come up.
So a week ago, the Freedom plan was offered in my area. Now it isn't. If I would've called a week ago, I could be on the Freedom plan right now. Now it seems like I won't be able to get it? I'm frustrated because the Freedom plan was the only real option for me - no other provider in my area offered anything even close to the amount of data the Freedom plan offered.
So here are my questions: Was the Freedom plan recently discontinued? Did they decide to give up on offering it to a rural area in Northern WI? Will I be able to get the Freedom plan (if it was offered to me a week ago, can't I still get it?)?
About a week ago I entered my zip code (54442) to see what plans were available in my area. I was thrilled to see that the Freedom (150GB) plan was offered in my area - Freedom would be perfect for me. I am a heavy user of and often go over the 20GB that I currently have on my plan with Cellcom - I know I would use a lot more data with a faster connection and if I didn't have to worry about going over my data allowance. However, I decided to shop around a little bit and see what my other options were before settling on Exede - I spent about a week looking into other internet options. Of course, I decided on Exede and returned to the Exede website yesterday and put in my ZIP code to look at the rest of the details for the Freedom plan - and the Freedom plan didn't come up.
So a week ago, the Freedom plan was offered in my area. Now it isn't. If I would've called a week ago, I could be on the Freedom plan right now. Now it seems like I won't be able to get it? I'm frustrated because the Freedom plan was the only real option for me - no other provider in my area offered anything even close to the amount of data the Freedom plan offered.
So here are my questions: Was the Freedom plan recently discontinued? Did they decide to give up on offering it to a rural area in Northern WI? Will I be able to get the Freedom plan (if it was offered to me a week ago, can't I still get it?)?
Posted 3 years ago
Brad, Viasat Employee
Hi Alex
Unfortunately Freedom plan has become a bit of a white whale in the last year or so. Only a very small and select amount of areas can get it. Unfortunately once it disappears it's hard to say when and if it should return. We do anticipate releasing plans similar to Freedom shortly after ViaSat 2 launches at the end of the year since that doubles our bandwidth. You can try calling in on our sales number to see if you might luck out but chances are it may not be available there anymore
Unfortunately Freedom plan has become a bit of a white whale in the last year or so. Only a very small and select amount of areas can get it. Unfortunately once it disappears it's hard to say when and if it should return. We do anticipate releasing plans similar to Freedom shortly after ViaSat 2 launches at the end of the year since that doubles our bandwidth. You can try calling in on our sales number to see if you might luck out but chances are it may not be available there anymore
Any possible chance of the Freedom plan popping up in the 77630 zipcode? I know my kids would be ecstatic to have that kindof capability since we r so limited and they love to play games..
Christine Conrad, Champion
Not in the near future. Some possibility of some extra bandwidth after ViaSat2 gets in its orbit and commissioned, but that isn't expected until early in 2017.
Well. I have spotted the white whale!!! Just got online today and their it was.. I was in utter shock.. I am now on the Freedom plan!! :) I will have some very excited kids when I tell them tonight..
We have the freedom plan but have been experiencing no connection for a week. I'm wondering what's going on .
I have the freedom plan and it Is no longer offered in my area also. However, you can take advantage of a plan that has late night unmetered data. And the liberty plans offer a limited bandwidth after using your priority data. With the limited bandwidth you probably won't notice much of a difference from a 3G wireless network. Good Luck with your search!
Does the Liberty plan allow you to play online games like World of Warcraft and stream videos?
Matt F, Viasat Official Rep
Zanne, I'd recommend you Google around for people playing WOW on our service in your area. Some customers do tell us they have a decent experience with some MMOs (with a bit of lag), while others have a very tough time. It depends on your location, time of day, how the game is set up and managed, etc.
You should be able to stream video, but the quality can vary based on time, location, whether you've used up your Priority Data, etc.
In any case, you will probably have a better experience during the day or early in the morning than in the evening when everyone is online. And we do caution our customers that video and games can use a lot of data, so keep a close eye on it until you know how much data your personal habits are going to use.
Here are some more tips about data usage on Exede.
Hope this is helpful, and thanks for your interest!
Exede Matt
You should be able to stream video, but the quality can vary based on time, location, whether you've used up your Priority Data, etc.
In any case, you will probably have a better experience during the day or early in the morning than in the evening when everyone is online. And we do caution our customers that video and games can use a lot of data, so keep a close eye on it until you know how much data your personal habits are going to use.
Here are some more tips about data usage on Exede.
Hope this is helpful, and thanks for your interest!
Exede Matt
Some games will work, but once your priority data is gone and you slip into the Pass mode, it will likely not work very well, if at all.
Thanks. My main reason for getting a Liberty plan would be so that my speeds would still be high enough for playing WoW even when capped, so I guess that is a no-go.
I wonder how much they were charging for that Freedom plan when it was around.
I'd love if it became available here someday.
I wonder if more plans like that will be available since the UN is trying to enforce that internet is now an essential utility.
I wonder how much they were charging for that Freedom plan when it was around.
I'd love if it became available here someday.
I wonder if more plans like that will be available since the UN is trying to enforce that internet is now an essential utility.
Steve Frederick-VS1/Beam314, Champion
If you are in a lightly loaded beam, then you would still get speeds of 1 to 5 Mbps, but in the congested beams, speeds would be well below 1 Mbps on the Pass. The Freedom plan was only offered in a very few places, mostly big cites which already have lots of choices for high speed internet without data caps.
How do I know if my beam is lightly loaded? I can't remember which beam I'm on. The esvt page told me my service area is 347 though.
Ah, the benefits of cities with options-- but the problem is there are people. LOL.
Ah, the benefits of cities with options-- but the problem is there are people. LOL.
Steve Frederick-VS1/Beam314, Champion
You are on beam 347, as the eSVT tool showed you. There is no easy way to know if your beam is heavily loaded except by asking people on the forum if they are having slow speed issues during the evening hours. ViaSat just doesn't release that kind of information.
As for the city living, I choose to live in the country and enjoy the benefits of the low population density, wild animals and beautiful scenery. Thanks to Exede, I finally have a decent internet connection. Started with Wildblue in 2008, and switched to Exede in early 2012.
As for the city living, I choose to live in the country and enjoy the benefits of the low population density, wild animals and beautiful scenery. Thanks to Exede, I finally have a decent internet connection. Started with Wildblue in 2008, and switched to Exede in early 2012.
Alex, Viasat Corporate Communications
347 isn't bad
Thanks, Steve.
I originally had dialup but my connection was only 9.2kbps because of crappy lines and then it dropped to 2.6kbps and then it couldn't even connect to the ISP's servers at all so I had to get satellite-- got Direcway in 2002 and then a few years later it got bought out by Hughesnet and then the nightmare really began. I had a very long rant about it on dslreports so I'll spare the details. It wasn't until 2012 that I found out about Exede.
I still have some frustration with bandwidth miscalculation, webpage bloat, etc, but it isn't nearly as bad as Hughesnet. My capped speeds are generally faster than Hughesnet's uncapped speeds were.
I do wish Exede would update the modem features the way Hughesnet had done. Not being able to check usage when the internet isn't working is frustrating.
I do like being in a rural area away from other people. Having to drive my trash out to be picked up is a bit of a nuisance and losing water when the power goes out is a pain, but I don't have to worry about being overcharged for city water and sewage. No mail delivery for the most part. Oh, and no Poke-stops or Poke-encounters or whatever they are called so nobody comes out here looking for them. LOL.
On a side note, is there any way I could get notified IF the freedom plan ever became available in my area?
Thanks, Alex. I think a lot of people in my area don't even know about Exede so that is a bonus.
I originally had dialup but my connection was only 9.2kbps because of crappy lines and then it dropped to 2.6kbps and then it couldn't even connect to the ISP's servers at all so I had to get satellite-- got Direcway in 2002 and then a few years later it got bought out by Hughesnet and then the nightmare really began. I had a very long rant about it on dslreports so I'll spare the details. It wasn't until 2012 that I found out about Exede.
I still have some frustration with bandwidth miscalculation, webpage bloat, etc, but it isn't nearly as bad as Hughesnet. My capped speeds are generally faster than Hughesnet's uncapped speeds were.
I do wish Exede would update the modem features the way Hughesnet had done. Not being able to check usage when the internet isn't working is frustrating.
I do like being in a rural area away from other people. Having to drive my trash out to be picked up is a bit of a nuisance and losing water when the power goes out is a pain, but I don't have to worry about being overcharged for city water and sewage. No mail delivery for the most part. Oh, and no Poke-stops or Poke-encounters or whatever they are called so nobody comes out here looking for them. LOL.
On a side note, is there any way I could get notified IF the freedom plan ever became available in my area?
Thanks, Alex. I think a lot of people in my area don't even know about Exede so that is a bonus.
Well, I am glad to see some happy Exede customers because I have seen numerous unhappy folks. I too, started with Direcway, now Hughes.net and was checking out Exede to see if it might be better than Hughes but the fact is, all satellite sucks with streaming and heavy usage. But, I do not see the need of such horrible customer service and such as Hughes sometimes. Are you much happier now with Exede?
I know you weren't talking with me but when we moved out here Direcway was the only real game in the area. And to be honest it was slow and wouldn't run some of the apps I wanted and of course was expensive. Then Alltel (now Verizon) came around with no data cap for $69/mo. It was faster then hughesnet at the time, and ran everything I needed to run. To make a long story short after Verizon quit offering 3G modems and mine died, I could not keep the plan I was on since 2007. So The Biggest data plan they offered was 100G for $700/Mo.! I was using my cell phone as a hotspot for about a month then switched to the exede freedom plan for less Than 1/6th the cost and more data than Verizon offered. I have a technical background and have mostly positive encounters with Customer Service. Do I like all of their policies? No. But what company is perfect? None that I have found. So I am happier with exede. They offer fast service, (more times than not over the advertised speed SB2 Boost "router"/modem spec), the best price, and more data (freedom plan) than anything that was available to me at the time.
(Edited)
Brad, Viasat Employee
I have been hearing about this mythical Satellite since I became a customer. It was first quarter 2016. That's come and gone and no satellite. Just makes me wonder.
Delays, delays, delays...
Latest delay all explained over at the end of this thread:
https://community.exede.com/exede/topics/wasnt-able-to-upgrade
Latest delay all explained over at the end of this thread:
https://community.exede.com/exede/topics/wasnt-able-to-upgrade
Thanks! But what I don't understand is if you say by xx/xxxx then if it is is delayed, and you don't say anything, it sounds like it was El Toro Kaka in the first place. This Company does alot of good things (Like this site), but they do have that creditably deficiency to overcome. To be quite frank, the business expanded quicker than they anticipated. They are not the first company to have this problem, nor will they be the last.
Deku (The #1 Hero Data Saver), Champion
Currently live in 47383 zip code area... any news on when freedom will come to this area? when we moved here i had no idea that satellite internet would be our only option... coming from Comcast to this was a HUGE change...my kids constantly complain about living out here because of the internet. I call around ever so often to other places with the hopes that they are coming my way...alas no such luck..but i am hopeful that exede will make good on its promise and bring freedom our way ..
Brad, Viasat Employee
Hi Ami,
We're getting really close to the launch of ViaSat 2 (looking at March/April). Once launched and communication is built with the satellite we'll be effectively doubling our entire bandwidth. As a result we'll offer plans like Freedom with more robust data allowances to cater to online activities like streaming. In some areas we've released the Freedom plan to sort of build up to the launch. You can routinely check on my.exede.net to see if and when it becomes available.
We're getting really close to the launch of ViaSat 2 (looking at March/April). Once launched and communication is built with the satellite we'll be effectively doubling our entire bandwidth. As a result we'll offer plans like Freedom with more robust data allowances to cater to online activities like streaming. In some areas we've released the Freedom plan to sort of build up to the launch. You can routinely check on my.exede.net to see if and when it becomes available.
Hey Brad
What area will this new ViaSat 2 cover? Wondering if it will be in my area zip 34433 here in Florida. I am on the Freedom Plan with 25 Boost. But here lately the service has been slacking to say the least. Speeds down to less that 5 Mbs.
What area will this new ViaSat 2 cover? Wondering if it will be in my area zip 34433 here in Florida. I am on the Freedom Plan with 25 Boost. But here lately the service has been slacking to say the least. Speeds down to less that 5 Mbs.
The footprint will cover the entire CONUS so no matter where you are you'll be able to get it as long as you don't have trees or some other structure blocking you.
/snip
ViaSat-2 will cover all of North America, Central America and the Caribbean, with coverage including the U.S. East Coast seaboard commercial air routes and the main air and maritime routes between North America and Europe. The coverage area is seven times the size of ViaSat-1’s coverage. - See more at: http://spacenews.com/35369viasat-2s-first-of-its-kind-design-will-enable-broad-geographic-reach/#sth...
/snip
ViaSat-2 will cover all of North America, Central America and the Caribbean, with coverage including the U.S. East Coast seaboard commercial air routes and the main air and maritime routes between North America and Europe. The coverage area is seven times the size of ViaSat-1’s coverage. - See more at: http://spacenews.com/35369viasat-2s-first-of-its-kind-design-will-enable-broad-geographic-reach/#sth...
(Edited)
You have got to be kidding... My internet is going to stay like this until September... OMG... this is horrible.
Pretty bad that we live in this new world of technology and this all we can get for our money! I'm paying $ 149.00 a month and run out every month! I agreed with you ! OMG THIS IS HORRIBLE!
James E Besser