Good Evening -
I asked this previously in another thread, but since it was not really the topic of the thread figured I would start a separate one here in the interest of trying to get an answer.
I have been following some posts of others using Liberty and it seems there is no real advantage of going with Liberty 30 over Liberty 10, 12, or 18 other than the amount of initial priority data that a user receives. If I can download 50 GB - 75 GB on Liberty Pass and still get reasonable speeds, then there just doesn't seem to be any incentive over the priority data allowance to subscribe to the higher plans.
This is contrast to the classic plans where speeds were at first usable then went to completely untenable once the data cap had been reached. I am looking for some feedback for future budgeting and planning. I don't want to be paying for the Liberty 30 plan if the Liberty 12 plan will still let me hit the 40-50 GB threshold with no slowdown beyond the 1-5 Mbps that others claim they are still getting on the Pass even at the high usage.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Are heavy users considered at different thresholds based on the plans they are on. For instance is a Liberty 12 subscriber considered at heavy user at 30 GB and a Liberty 30 subscriber also considered a heavy user at 30 GB? Or is the Liberty 30 user considered a heavy user at say 48 GB (18 GB on the Pass which is the same as the 12 going to 30)?
Please feel free to let me know if I need to submit this to the customer service address if you prefer not to post the answer here. I just don't see any incentive for users to choose a higher cap package if there is no other advantage other than the initial priority data allowance.
Looking forward for your responses.
BTW - I am on Beam 329 and I understand there are a LOT of people who would like to see the answer to this question as well.
I asked this previously in another thread, but since it was not really the topic of the thread figured I would start a separate one here in the interest of trying to get an answer.
I have been following some posts of others using Liberty and it seems there is no real advantage of going with Liberty 30 over Liberty 10, 12, or 18 other than the amount of initial priority data that a user receives. If I can download 50 GB - 75 GB on Liberty Pass and still get reasonable speeds, then there just doesn't seem to be any incentive over the priority data allowance to subscribe to the higher plans.
This is contrast to the classic plans where speeds were at first usable then went to completely untenable once the data cap had been reached. I am looking for some feedback for future budgeting and planning. I don't want to be paying for the Liberty 30 plan if the Liberty 12 plan will still let me hit the 40-50 GB threshold with no slowdown beyond the 1-5 Mbps that others claim they are still getting on the Pass even at the high usage.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Are heavy users considered at different thresholds based on the plans they are on. For instance is a Liberty 12 subscriber considered at heavy user at 30 GB and a Liberty 30 subscriber also considered a heavy user at 30 GB? Or is the Liberty 30 user considered a heavy user at say 48 GB (18 GB on the Pass which is the same as the 12 going to 30)?
Please feel free to let me know if I need to submit this to the customer service address if you prefer not to post the answer here. I just don't see any incentive for users to choose a higher cap package if there is no other advantage other than the initial priority data allowance.
Looking forward for your responses.
BTW - I am on Beam 329 and I understand there are a LOT of people who would like to see the answer to this question as well.
Posted 4 years ago
Brad, Viasat Employee
Brad, Viasat Employee
Not necessarily, Brian. Basically having a higher priority data plan gives you a higher level of assurance
that you’ll be at regular speed than when you’re on Liberty Pass. Once you are on the Liberty Pass portion of the plan it's really more of what is available. So you're not cut off like the classic plans but at the same time it's going to fluctuate depending on the time of day you're on, how much you're doing, ect. A lot of different factors go into it.
Our Data Allowance Policy with the Liberty Plans state heavier users of Liberty Pass may experience slower speeds than lighter users.
So if you're a heavy user you'll be better off with the higher plan. You're more than welcome to see if the 12 works for you or not and if need be you can upgrade.
Our Data Allowance Policy with the Liberty Plans state heavier users of Liberty Pass may experience slower speeds than lighter users.
So if you're a heavy user you'll be better off with the higher plan. You're more than welcome to see if the 12 works for you or not and if need be you can upgrade.
I'm also a bit curious if Exede could elaborate a bit more on the Data Allowance Policy in regards to heavier users experiencing slower speeds than lighter users. As Brian sated in his comment, is this at any given time, during a given time window, or your usage overall during that billing period.
Thanks,
Joshua
Thanks,
Joshua
I have been at around .5Mbps speeds for the last two weeks. I'm on the Liberty Pass and was told this is the speed I can expect until my data resets. What gives?
Diane -
Would you be willing to elaborate as to what Liberty Plan you are on and whether your speeds are before or after or both once you hit the Liberty Pass? Would you consider yourself a "heavy" user? Finally, do you see these speeds all the time or only in the congested 4:00 PM to 2:00 am timeslots each day?
Would you be willing to elaborate as to what Liberty Plan you are on and whether your speeds are before or after or both once you hit the Liberty Pass? Would you consider yourself a "heavy" user? Finally, do you see these speeds all the time or only in the congested 4:00 PM to 2:00 am timeslots each day?
Yeah, it can be very hard to predict congestion on a particular beam. I've noticed that, when I'm on the Liberty Pass, there is a large fluctuation in what speed I get that doesn't really adhere to a pattern. Some evenings I get the full 5 Mbps and others it slows to a crawl (typically only 11pm to 1am). I think it really depends on what everyone else is up to. Which can make it frustrating, especially if you are on a beam that is heavily saturated.
Steve Frederick-VS1/Beam314, Champion
Once you go into the Liberty Pass mode, your on the lower part of the priority structure, so as there are more people using the network in your area, your speeds may be slower. There is no way to predict when the network will be burdened with many users, it is really a crap shoot. But the good news is that even on the Pass, you have a higher priority rating than those on the Classic plans that are DAPed.
Bev, Champion
Steve Frederick-VS1/Beam314, Champion
Here is the response from Viasat...
Hello Pete,Is this only stating the obvious? Video streaming will not work very well when sharing 1-5 Mbps with many others, but page requests are not a problem? Perhaps we are just saavy about corporate behavior, expecting the worst, but this is actually innocuous. I still wonder if there is semantic trickery here, though.
With the liberty pass speeds
During morning/daytime hours (usually from about 2 a.m. to 5pm), Liberty Pass speeds should allow you to do most of the things you want to do online. For example, you should still be able to stream video, but not on multiple devices and you may not be able to stream high definition video.
During evening hours (usually from about 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.) when we typically have heavy traffic on the network, or you are engaging in activities that use a lot of data (such as video streaming), your speeds will be slower. Even so, Liberty Pass lets you avoid the restrictions automatically imposed when you use up your data allowance under our other internet plans.
This is only for the month that you are in, your account will not be flagged as a heavy user for months.
That seems to be the stock reply and probably the best we'll get - in my case at least it's not referring to weight. My take is that "heavier use" is that incurred by multiple devices (or in some cases even a single device) having concurrent heavy data needs.
(Edited)
In my opinion it should be percentage based .. They should throttle users based off their overage percentage. If they did that a user with a 30gb wouldn't be as punished for using an extra gb or 2.. Say 120% over 30gb where someone on the 12GB would reach 120% sooner .. It would make so much more sense and give a reasonable expectation for the addition cost instead of just a small amount of priority data ..
I was on the 30 and switched to the 12.. Saved 100 bucks a month and use well over 100GB without noticing a difference ..
I was on the 30 and switched to the 12.. Saved 100 bucks a month and use well over 100GB without noticing a difference ..
Hopefully it stays that way I just switched and there's no going back to what I had b4
I had the 12 to 5 am free and did all my downloading then so I'm sure we use a lot of gigs a month so really hope it stays they way u r saying it works for u.
Additional note. Chris you are using nearly the same amount as the Freedom Plan users with no impact to your experience on a Liberty 12 plan. I think if too many people try to do that in our Beam, it will literally destroy the ability of Exede to maintain the level of service in my area.
(Edited)
There are 7 plans available in my area .. Classic is still one of them that I can go back to , I'm not sure what you guys mean by can't go back ... Are you talking about my data usage Brian ? I don't see a Chris commenting ... my beam is regularly congested in esvt and there are a ton of customers on evolution, I don't think you'll see a distruction of a beam ..
Sorry Chad, yes my phone auto correct was trying to be helpful and changed it to Chris. I wish I had access to evst. Different beams have different loads on them. Our beam now only offers Liberty 12, 18, and 30. Existing subscribers used to also be able to select Classic 10 but that is no longer available.
So it sounds like your beam or gateway has more capacity that can be allocated and Exede is looking to fill it with the different plans they have to offier.
So it sounds like your beam or gateway has more capacity that can be allocated and Exede is looking to fill it with the different plans they have to offier.
We have two beams here .. Mine shows an awful lot of congestion in ESVT , the Seattle area has a ton of competiton for Internet though .. For my immediate area it's an opinion between 1.5 mbit dsl and exede .. We for sure still have essential 10 available for new and existing SPEEDBOOST available on all plans and the recent loss of evolution .
There are 7 plans available in my area .. Classic is still one of them that I can go back to , I'm not sure what you guys mean by can't go back ...We're referring to existing customers who have the Exede Classic 12-10, 12-15 and 12-15 plans. When Liberty Plans were expanded to the remaining beams, those classic plans we're no longer available to new customers. In most, it also appeared that they were also pulled as available options to existing customers and therefore existing customers can no longer switch between them nor switch back to them. ViaSat made it more difficult to anonymously determine what plans are offered to existing customers since you now have to login to your account to determine what's available - so it comes down to, if you like your plan you can keep your plan. But once you switch, kiss the old grandfathered plan goodbye unless available to existing customers in your beam. On Beam 329 and others they were yanked once Liberty was introduced.
Essential 10 was introduced at the same time as an alternative to Liberty on some beams (not all) and is also offered on some of the Freedom beams (5 by my count) - those who've been around don't generally consider it a classic plan. The conundrum for those of us still on classic plans is whether to switch to Liberty. Most except those having a need for very large gaming downloads (during the LNFZ) consider it a good option (even then with continually decreasing LNFZ speeds it may be a moot point at this time.
With all of the new plans introduced since August 2014, it's tough to keep track of who's on first and what's on second and I don't know who's on third...
As best I can determine, ViaSat is simply trying to squeeze as much revenue out of the existing bird as possible - no other alternative until the next launch and the cycle begins again. 10 plus years ago we all marveled at Wildblue until reality checked in.
Me personally, I'll probably wait for the new bird to launch - but only because I need to drop NRTC and subscribe directly as a "new" customer (none of these imaginative plans have been available to NRTC subscribers) - if history holds, there will likely be incentives for new customers which might make it worth while to become a "new" customer.
(Edited)
What is EVST, and NRTC?
(Edited)
eSVT is a tool used by installers and ViaSat agents for diagnostics and at least a subset of it would be useful for us mere mortals.
NRTC - National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, which offers Exede through a wholesale relationship with ViaSat. NRTC was one of the original investors in WildBlue.
NRTC - National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, which offers Exede through a wholesale relationship with ViaSat. NRTC was one of the original investors in WildBlue.
How can I tell which beam I'm on? And how loaded my beam is?
Steve Frederick-VS1/Beam314, Champion
Trish, Here is a link to the Beam map.
http://www.northlc.com/_images/beam_priority_map.png
Contacting a dealer might get you info on how much your beam might be loaded, but that info is not normally available.
http://www.northlc.com/_images/beam_priority_map.png
Contacting a dealer might get you info on how much your beam might be loaded, but that info is not normally available.
Whoa, Good stuff Pete.
What do you mean no going back ?
You can only switch to plans currently being offered in your area - it appears Classic plans are no longer available on any Exede 12 beams, only the Exede 5 beams.
I think what I have determined by their meaning of "heavier users" isn't really meant to measure the quantity of data used but really is meant more as those who do data intensive tasks such as streaming and large downloads. Those items are not possible during the very congested times on the loaded beams. The downloads do go, however a 50 MB download last night took around 20 to 25 minutes while on Liberty Pass at around 1:55 AM. My speeds were around 500 Kbps to 700 Kbps. LNFZ users and EBFZ users were definitely getting better speeds at that time - which again is expected based on the way it is presented.
So far I am undecided if I am glad I switched from the classic plan. It will really depend on the consistency of the experience from this point forward during the 6:30 PM to 2:00 AM time slots over the next week or two.
What I am imagining though is a bunch of people switching to Liberty 12 and using it as the Freedom Plan.....
So far I am undecided if I am glad I switched from the classic plan. It will really depend on the consistency of the experience from this point forward during the 6:30 PM to 2:00 AM time slots over the next week or two.
What I am imagining though is a bunch of people switching to Liberty 12 and using it as the Freedom Plan.....
(Edited)
I have classic available still ... On 365
Many of us to do not.
Is that only to existing customers, or is it the Essential 10 offered to new customers on 365 at $39 per month? By classic I mean the original plans offering LNFZ.
The only thing I can say is that it appears all of the plan changes since August 2014 appear aimed at increasing subscriber rates and revenue - not that there's anything wrong with that. Viasat's between a rock and a hard place until they launch the new satellite. I can't see where offering the SpeedBoost option on Essential 10 is practical except for a quicker DAP (hey it was great while it lasted and one of Nostradamus' quatrains surely predicted all this).
The only thing I can say is that it appears all of the plan changes since August 2014 appear aimed at increasing subscriber rates and revenue - not that there's anything wrong with that. Viasat's between a rock and a hard place until they launch the new satellite. I can't see where offering the SpeedBoost option on Essential 10 is practical except for a quicker DAP (hey it was great while it lasted and one of Nostradamus' quatrains surely predicted all this).
(Edited)
