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Every casual internet user would just like to browse netflix, youtube, OnDemand, and xbox live without being throttled, but apparently Viasat is only for people who check their emails and nothing else. So why are we charged broadband prices? One word: unfair.
Posted 4 years ago
david, Champion
Because Exede is what you bought. Nobody forced you to buy it and if you had a better option you should have bought it. You didn't get ripped off. A lot of us manage just fine.
If they were honest up front. I would have never singed up for this internet service provider that blocks links and content on line when you reach data cap....
Well I'm glad you can check your emails fine, david, but some of us like to watch netflix and youtube, so speak for yourself. The person in our household who signed up did not know the logistics of data as most casual users don't, and Viasat dishonestly takes advantage of that.
LorrieL, Champion
I have the exede basic (10 gb/mo) plan, yet I spend hours and hours per day online.
Using a program called "Playlater". I watch an average of 2-3 hrs per day of the netflix,or amazon prime instant video, and all the other roku etc offerings of my choice. definitely not as easy for me as for someone with unlimited usage, because I have to stay up till midnight to set up Playlater recording. (to have netflix stuff recorded to my hard drive during late night free zone while I sleep). But if staying up till midnight isn't a problem for you, you could do this as well. Like , everyone else, I would MUCH prefer to have no data usage limitations and be able to stream whenever/wherever I felt like it, but until then, Exede works well for me. I have no other choices, and live on a fixed income, so I LOVE Playlater. During daytime hours, I am constantly online (not just email checking but loads of other sites as well) but with careful attention to settings that limit data usage I don't need, I almost always use less than my 10 gb/mo. Usually the last day or 2 of the month, I have enough usage left that I can stream a few hours of netflix or whatever during prime time without having to go to my hard drive collection of streamed media recorded overnight via playlater. None of what I said is going to solve everyone's problems or make data usage limits not a big problem for most, but there are ways to get a lot of what you want. for example, I have already watched all seasons of House of Cards and Orange is the new black, and lots of other truly excellent Netflix fare and I just got exede and Playlater about 7 mos ago. It is a whole new world of entertainment for me. I think satisfaction with what we have sometimes has a lot to do with what we are used to. Some also has to do with one's attitude toward the world--I do believe that the technology required for satellite internet is more expensive than some other broadband technology not because I am being gouged, but because it costs more to shoot satellites up and maintain this kind of technology. But it does burn me that because of where I live, I have no access to broadband/cable bundling where I could get unlimited internet, phone and tv for a terrific price. But where I live isn't Exede's fault. Exede happens to be the best solution I have found for my problem of very limited access.
Using a program called "Playlater". I watch an average of 2-3 hrs per day of the netflix,or amazon prime instant video, and all the other roku etc offerings of my choice. definitely not as easy for me as for someone with unlimited usage, because I have to stay up till midnight to set up Playlater recording. (to have netflix stuff recorded to my hard drive during late night free zone while I sleep). But if staying up till midnight isn't a problem for you, you could do this as well. Like , everyone else, I would MUCH prefer to have no data usage limitations and be able to stream whenever/wherever I felt like it, but until then, Exede works well for me. I have no other choices, and live on a fixed income, so I LOVE Playlater. During daytime hours, I am constantly online (not just email checking but loads of other sites as well) but with careful attention to settings that limit data usage I don't need, I almost always use less than my 10 gb/mo. Usually the last day or 2 of the month, I have enough usage left that I can stream a few hours of netflix or whatever during prime time without having to go to my hard drive collection of streamed media recorded overnight via playlater. None of what I said is going to solve everyone's problems or make data usage limits not a big problem for most, but there are ways to get a lot of what you want. for example, I have already watched all seasons of House of Cards and Orange is the new black, and lots of other truly excellent Netflix fare and I just got exede and Playlater about 7 mos ago. It is a whole new world of entertainment for me. I think satisfaction with what we have sometimes has a lot to do with what we are used to. Some also has to do with one's attitude toward the world--I do believe that the technology required for satellite internet is more expensive than some other broadband technology not because I am being gouged, but because it costs more to shoot satellites up and maintain this kind of technology. But it does burn me that because of where I live, I have no access to broadband/cable bundling where I could get unlimited internet, phone and tv for a terrific price. But where I live isn't Exede's fault. Exede happens to be the best solution I have found for my problem of very limited access.
Thanks for the tips, Lorrie, I had forgotten about Playlater! Great software. You're talking about the one at http://www.playon.tv/playlater correct?
Is there a similar software for Mac? Playlater is PC only!
Nicole,
Aterlo NightShift - https://www.aterlo.com/
It's router based (currently a limited set of Asus routers supported) and from there some Mac support: https://www.aterlo.com/nightshift/supported-hardware/
Aterlo NightShift - https://www.aterlo.com/
It's router based (currently a limited set of Asus routers supported) and from there some Mac support: https://www.aterlo.com/nightshift/supported-hardware/
(Edited)
Brian, Champion
Uncertain how you were "ripped off" since you agreed to the terms of the contract?
Sounds like you might have made a mistake and want someone else to be responsible.
Sounds like you might have made a mistake and want someone else to be responsible.
No mistake here buddy.., I don't have a problem surfing the net at slow speeds..., the issue here is the blocked links and content online. That was never disclosed, I asked the agent over the phone.
Contract or not, 'Brian', most casual internet users are not aware of how much data they need, and Viasat dishonestly takes advantage of that. Not to mention we're being charged BROADBAND prices for SUB-PAR internet. But why am I explaining this to you? You're probably just a telecom puppet.
(Edited)
Rene -
I had the same problems for several months when I started regulalrly hitting my data caps for no real apparent reason. Prior to about Novemeber or December of last year I could still access every page I visited even though it was slow. Suddenly that no longer worked. I could use my 3G service at home which only fets about 100k dl speeds and worked fine so i really don't think it is the site rejecting connections due to speeds. In the TOS Exede alludes to the fact that once a person reaches the CAP for the month they can slow and even block access to certain traffic which I believe means they can and do block sites at times. Exede reps have said that is not the case, however it worked fine on 3G and worked fine if I added 5GB to my account but did not work with Exede when DAP'd. Meanwhile those that got on the Evolution plan in my area before they dropped it (2 days before I signed up unfortunately) dont see any slowdowns at all including downloads and streaming video. It is very frustrating.
Fortunately I have gone total dictator on our house internet use and it is keeping things under the cap l, but I would like to see equitable treatment of customers when it comes to usage. Tired of some Evo users I know bragging how they are watching movies every day and not seeing any slowdowns with streaming or downloads even after the cap has been reached. Interesting that evem after Evo users hit their cap they still can post full speed speedtest results...isnt that streaming. When I am DAP'd speedtest wouldn't even load for me.
I had the same problems for several months when I started regulalrly hitting my data caps for no real apparent reason. Prior to about Novemeber or December of last year I could still access every page I visited even though it was slow. Suddenly that no longer worked. I could use my 3G service at home which only fets about 100k dl speeds and worked fine so i really don't think it is the site rejecting connections due to speeds. In the TOS Exede alludes to the fact that once a person reaches the CAP for the month they can slow and even block access to certain traffic which I believe means they can and do block sites at times. Exede reps have said that is not the case, however it worked fine on 3G and worked fine if I added 5GB to my account but did not work with Exede when DAP'd. Meanwhile those that got on the Evolution plan in my area before they dropped it (2 days before I signed up unfortunately) dont see any slowdowns at all including downloads and streaming video. It is very frustrating.
Fortunately I have gone total dictator on our house internet use and it is keeping things under the cap l, but I would like to see equitable treatment of customers when it comes to usage. Tired of some Evo users I know bragging how they are watching movies every day and not seeing any slowdowns with streaming or downloads even after the cap has been reached. Interesting that evem after Evo users hit their cap they still can post full speed speedtest results...isnt that streaming. When I am DAP'd speedtest wouldn't even load for me.
Yes, the minute my adult children hit my front yard I call them and tell them to turn off all wifi enabling on their phone.. lord forbid they suck up a gig.. I already go over my cap every month for the past 10 months now, with no increases on my end it has to be bleeding somewhere. Talk about the data police ? I am a seasoned veteran.
If you want to use a lot of Netflix, OnDemand, xbox live and other high bandwidth services you need to be on something other than satellite Internet. It's just the way it is. A little homework would have told you that before you signed up. Sorry your anticipations are unfulfilled.
Unfortunately, not all of us have any other option than satellite. If I had a choice over satellite and cable, it would be cable definitely for a few reasons.
What Annalisa said. There aren't many options in our area and Viasat has us cornered with their demented cancellation fees.
I had no idea of data useage. I could hardly understand the sales rep, he spoke way too fast for my old ears. I was aked if we used streaming and I told him Netflix and when my grandson was here the x-box. He told me I would be getting the best plan. The Direct TV installer was sitting beside me and he too was somewhat confused. Well, my bad ! I'm afraid to ask what it cost to break out of this contract!
I was told upfront Netflix and gaming wasn't really a option with satellite. So it was my choice I made and I'll half to live with it. Complaining will just frustrate you. I learned to put the speed test away to, That also saved a lot of frustration.
I was told to be careful how much Netflix I watch a month and with No Other Option than satellite in my area, I did not have a choice other than which company to go with. Hopefully, with the FCC's ruling, more and better options will come along in the near future.
We weren't told to be careful with netflix. Infact we were referred by DirecTV so we made the NATURAL assumption that we would be able to use their OnDemand service. We were cheated.
Same here !
LorrieL, Champion
A lot of people report being referred by DirectTv with no caution about data usage limits and I agree that should never happen. But at the same time, before I began to use a satellite internet provider (I started with Hughes a number of yrs ago and then switched to Exede because of better/package for less money)--I would never sign on for a 2 year contract for anything based on any verbal info/over the phone or in person promises about anything. I thoroughly researched satellite internet usage as well as Hughes and Exede in specific before signing on. So I already knew a lot about limited data usage and I never have had a problem with exceeding my data limit. And as I said, I use my laptop all day to surf all over, not just to do email. But I reserve my streaming to recordings made after midnight (while I sleep) using Playlater. http://www.playon.tv/playlater/user-guide/introduction
Hope you can find some ways to get exede to work better for you until you get access to unlimited plans...which hopefully we all will sooner or later. I hope sooner.
Hope you can find some ways to get exede to work better for you until you get access to unlimited plans...which hopefully we all will sooner or later. I hope sooner.
yak, I'd like to discuss your options with you. You should have been informed. Please send me an email at exedelistens@viasat.com with your contact and account information.
@Laurie I hadn't come across that program before. Thanks.
Yes, we know what we are signing up for, but the need for data caps is about as real as the gas shortage of '73. It will stay this way until something forces the industry to change. Just one provider breaking ranks and offering unlimited internet would collapse the entire house of cards. Come on, Exede, YOU could be that rogue!
It's really true, the oppressive data caps are anything but necessary. We don't need unlimited internet, just reasonable data caps. Most internet providers allow enough data for entertainment streaming, but not Viasat.
Exede does have a 25GB plan you can get which will allow for such streaming and gaming and in select areas where there is low usage on that beam they actually have a freedom plan which is unlimited up to 150GB a month before they call and ask you to cut back on usage or switch you to a different plan. Sadly the beam I'm on is at 98% usage nightly and my internet is at dial-up speeds unless I loose connection completely.
Freedom plan is over $100 a month for what is promoted as "virtually unlimited" data (i.e. it has a data cap). There is an artificially inflated value being given to streaming data by all Internet Service Providers. Over the last decade, as the technology improved, you would expect prices to go down and performance to go up. What once cost us $19 we can not even get for $100 and not because of higher overhead at the ISPs but because the public WANTS internet access enough now that they can be lured into paying more and more for this so called scarce commodity. I don't find Exede/Viasat especially culpable, they're just part of an industry wide problem (scam). Otherwise, I've found Exede to be reliable and to offer good customer service.
(Edited)
david, Champion
"It's really true, the oppressive data caps are anything but necessary."
Actually the data cabs a totally necessary. Exede is already oversold an a lot (the majority?) of beams. Anyone that doesn't think so needs to do some research before commenting on a topic they are uninformed on. I want my Exede to remain usable, even I don't have as many bytes to use as ideally I would like.
Actually the data cabs a totally necessary. Exede is already oversold an a lot (the majority?) of beams. Anyone that doesn't think so needs to do some research before commenting on a topic they are uninformed on. I want my Exede to remain usable, even I don't have as many bytes to use as ideally I would like.
If you lived in my area you would absolutely see the need for caps. Our beam is so congested mostly be Evo users that recently signed up thaty evening speeds make me think O am DAP'd sometimes.
LorrieL, Champion
The huge drop in exede speeds after midnight in congested areas shows exactly why data caps ARE necessary with this technology (satellite internet) at this point. A new exede satellite is, I believe, going up next year, at which time I have heard there may be more options available, like more people eligible for the Freedom Plan. I would love to have that plan. after midnight my down/up speeds go from a high during the day of as much as 21/4 down to more like 3-5 up and 1 down. and I get a medium drop during prime time hrs...So just saying that data caps aren't really needed doesn't seem to make sense...just sounds like what we wish were true rather than what is.
Gargoyle, as others have stated, they are unfortunately necessary when it comes to satellite internet. Terrestrial, wired internet is a different animal entirely and doesn't have true limits the way we do. Our bandwidth limit was set the moment the satellite launched and there's no way to add more without launching another satellite, which we're also working on.
I understand your frustration with the caps, and would be happy to look at your account and see what options are available to you. Please send me an email at exedelistens@viasat.com with your account and contact information and reference this post.
I understand your frustration with the caps, and would be happy to look at your account and see what options are available to you. Please send me an email at exedelistens@viasat.com with your account and contact information and reference this post.
@Exede Beau, yes, I'll concede that non-satellite based services may be different and that I'm painting with a broad brush when I comment on the "industry" in general, for which there are plenty of reputable sources questioning whether caps are being used to ease congestion or to maximize profits. From what you say, I guess Exede won't ever be the rogue ISP that breaks ranks, but hopefully its expansion plans will put the company in a better position to remain competitive if and when the inflated pricing bubble pops. Again, I'm not unhappy with Exede, my frustration is with the industry in general. (Okay, I WOULD like to see Exede identify some additional non peak times and turn them into free zones, but other than that....)
Thanks for the response GargoyleLane. Stay tuned, new announcements soon!
I don't mind the slow speeds after data cap is used.
I hate the fact that they block entire websites and links after data cap is consumed.
that's unheard of, we don't live in a 3rd world country where internet is blocked.
can't wait for a better internet service provider to come around here....
Thats the only thing that is heard off with satellite. If you can get a better deal go for it. If not just get used to it like the happy campers here, I love it.
Bev, Champion
It's simple, if you want to do XboxLive, Netflix, YouTube, etc... you do it during the LNFZ ONLY.
I beta test software, and yes I have to download what I am going to test. Most of the time that's under 500 MB but, occasionally it's far more. Then I have two choices, use the LNFZ, pause the download during the day and, go again the next night or, get all of it I can during the LNFZ, let it run and buy more bandwidth that month.
That's what I agreed to when I signed up for Exede.
I beta test software, and yes I have to download what I am going to test. Most of the time that's under 500 MB but, occasionally it's far more. Then I have two choices, use the LNFZ, pause the download during the day and, go again the next night or, get all of it I can during the LNFZ, let it run and buy more bandwidth that month.
That's what I agreed to when I signed up for Exede.
Oh that's right, because all my friends want to play Xbox Live between 12 and 5AM.. are you serious? SMH
Some of us have to go to work in the morning so 12-5am is pretty much out of the question. It's a placebo benefit that makes people think they're getting an awesome perk.
LorrieL, Champion
for some who can be up late, it IS a major perk.
Alex, Viasat Corporate Communications
When our new satellite launches next year, we'll have new plans with more robust data packages.
Brian, Champion
Huzzah!
Can I get my own satellite?
Can I get my own satellite?
Alex, Viasat Corporate Communications
Sure! They're like half a billon dollars or so. :)
Lol Alex is that all they are I'll take 2 plz :) who do I make the check out to :p
Find out where the quantity discount kicks in, Knight Rider. Maybe I'll go in with you.
Well considering viasat-1 has a capacity of over a 150 giga bits a second I think I can share if you want to go halfs with me :)
What happens if an accident happens and they launch and it blows up. If I owned ViaSat I'd be upset having 500 million dollars blow up.
david, Champion
I'm sure they have insurance, but the company is gong to be out the new revenue, Viasat stocks would probably be devastated and considering how much the majority of the customer's service is slowing down now during prime time and the LNFZ, they're not going to be happy, either.
(Edited)
Alex that is all well and good but our problem is the speeds current customers who have been customers are getting right now. Exede oversold its service and now many people in congeted areas arenseeing speeds at one third or less than what they were just 6 months ago. A new satellite in 12 to 18 months osnt going to help anyone right now. Exede made a decision to oversubscribe its current service areas BEFORE the launch and now its customers are suffering.. I cam deal with it most of the time but on the few occasions I have needed to DL a large file I was sorely dossapointed in the speeds.
You are correct Brian the did over sell the service and the capacity of there network. I'm a prime example just switched to exede this past weekend and so far all week speeds at night when I'm actually home (5-11) are 1-2 megs down at best. To me if exede knew this beam was overloaded the should say it not available at this time check back at a later date
LorrieL, Champion
I also live in a congested beam area, with drastic drop in speeds during late night free zone when everyone jumps on to use a ton of data for free. fortunately for me, my speeds are still enough to allow me to use Playlater to record netflix movies and tv shows to my hard drive, and then watch them during a later prime time of my choice. I have been surprised at how low my speeds can go and still allow streaming (in standard def, not HD) But I am not happy about this problem in general (congested beam areas) and hope Exede is working on this problem. I could say I wish they did better with turning away new customers when the beam area is getting too congested, but then they would have turned ME away last August when I first signed up for Exede...I have to be careful what I wish for.
4 Words - "Late Night Free Zone" or "Early Bird Free Zone"
Brian, Champion
They say (and They must be pretty smart because we seem to quote Them a lot) that the early bird gets the bandwidth!
I will admit that I did not know much about Satellite Internet when i signed my contract with exede. But I was told that my netflix would not be a problem or facebook gaming would not be a problem which turned out to be a lie. And if their calls are recorded as they claim then they could check that out. I had a lot better satellite provider that was faster and cheaper than exede. The only I changed was because they said they could bunndle my satellite with direct tv and it would be cheaper. I was only paying 80.00 monthly for my old satellite provider for 50 gb. I am paying 140.00 a month for 25 gb from exede. I had to give my favorite facebook games such as farmville and farmtown. The only games that I can play is some that do not take very much to load. Also I am an online college student which means I have 2 live seminars weekly and I am required to watch videos on some of my subjects and it just barley gets the through that. And the other household members can not even use the internet because of this. So when my contract is up, I will be going back to my old satellite internet provider which offers more gb for less money plus the internet was alot faster than exede.
Pamela Howard
Pamela Howard
Pam - Not sure why you had to give up your Facebook games. My wife plays both Farmtown and Farmville as well as Candy Crush, Farm Heroes Saga, Juice Cubes and a couple others. She does say that she can't "work the fields" as quickly on satellite as she can when we are traveling and using the motel WiFi. They don't seem to use that much data, but I guess if you are already at your limit, every little bit counts.
Pam, as JEP mentioned, your games should absolutely still work. Please send me an email at exedelistens@viasat.com with your account and contact information. Please reference this comment and I will get this sorted out for you.
Brian, Champion
LorrieL, Champion
For those complaining about data usage policys they are there for a reason. It not for the company to limit your internet usage because they want to it's there to allow them to provide fair access to in this case over 650,000 households at a max capacity of about 150Gbit/s for the Satalite its self. I'm sorry you have data issues I'm sure any of use here would be happy to try and help or you can talk to exede Beau, Lindsey or Diana and I know they will see what they can do to help.
Now I have been on Satalite Internet for over 9yrs now on a 10Gb plan and haven't had issues with going over. Now I don't watch a lot of movies or anything because I know I don't have the data for it. Occasionally I might watch a TV show or two if I missed it. Now the Facebook games and stuff should work just fine I used to play farmville and countyville and currently I play wartune which is 100 times more demanding then eather of those. Yes it can get quite laggy especially when my speeds get down to 1-2meg down load which I'm working with Beau now trying to get that up. I guess point being is yes the data plans do suck big time but they are there because of the fact that the satalite only has a limited capacity of it's own. So in order to keep the speeds up for everyone they create data plans so you don't go crazy and start being a bandwidth hog.
Now I have been on Satalite Internet for over 9yrs now on a 10Gb plan and haven't had issues with going over. Now I don't watch a lot of movies or anything because I know I don't have the data for it. Occasionally I might watch a TV show or two if I missed it. Now the Facebook games and stuff should work just fine I used to play farmville and countyville and currently I play wartune which is 100 times more demanding then eather of those. Yes it can get quite laggy especially when my speeds get down to 1-2meg down load which I'm working with Beau now trying to get that up. I guess point being is yes the data plans do suck big time but they are there because of the fact that the satalite only has a limited capacity of it's own. So in order to keep the speeds up for everyone they create data plans so you don't go crazy and start being a bandwidth hog.
When a person signs up for a service by all means do your research. In the case of exede We did and completely understood the contract. What we didn't realise was the factor of oversell. This is when the company sells more than they have. In this case when we signed up the speeds were more than expressed at the beginning of our contract but a year down the road do to new sales and maybe more lnfz the speeds have really dropped. Hopefully they will pick up soon. But I'm not going to feel guilty for my complaints if it comes to that. I'm fairly happy I just hope things pick up and they find away to rollover our unused data.
david, Champion
Newer people don't know just how good the LNFZ was. Over a year ago I could DL over 30 gigs in one night and have time left over.
Thats a true story, It was great at the time. You know the old saying, nothing last's forever. hum except the price :)
Ebal Nolom
Exede Beau
yak wiseau