okay, despite a ticket created by viasat listens rep 2 days ago, no one from viasat has an answer they are willing to share as to why my speeds are throttled during eve hours. I get this double talk about how the data use had been reconfigured and this will result in my slow speeds. How can a company argue that this is okay when clients are moving over to the new satellite (viasat 2), leaving more vacancies on viasat 1. After three years of decent evening speed on Freedom plan, NOW as more people move over to new satellite, they refigure speed on viasat 1 and decide to throttle remaining clients, just to make their lives miserable. Congratulations viasat, you have succeeded in pushing my buttons and turning me from a supporter into a disgruntled client. Shame on you.
Posted 6 months ago
Spinninghorse, Champion
Spinninghorse, Champion
My mail just came today, and my evening speeds have been flatlined since late December. I don't know about other plans, but mine, Silver 25 prior to February 2018, was specifically singled out in the recent usage policy update. The mail points out that 25Mbps is now the median speed, meaning they can drop my bandwidth to the floor between 6:30 PM and 2:30 AM as long as they give me enough bandwidth between 2:30 AM and 7:30 AM to average my median speed to 25Mbps.
My options given in the mail are "Suck It" and "Change Plans," but why on earth would I trust them for a new plan when they've just crippled my current plan simply because (I assume) they've decided it's more profitable for them to do so.
I've always tried to keep my expectations reasonable and have championed Excede whenever I thought I could, but this is, by far, the most blatantly underhanded thing they've done in the 4+ years I've been a subscriber.
My options given in the mail are "Suck It" and "Change Plans," but why on earth would I trust them for a new plan when they've just crippled my current plan simply because (I assume) they've decided it's more profitable for them to do so.
I've always tried to keep my expectations reasonable and have championed Excede whenever I thought I could, but this is, by far, the most blatantly underhanded thing they've done in the 4+ years I've been a subscriber.
(Edited)
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Median speed is not average speed. To have an average speed of 25Mbps I cant even imagine.
Hi Chuck, Misery likes company, welcome to the group of targeted customers. There must be thousands of us that have had the rug pulled out from under us, we are subject to discrimination due to our plans we entered into years ago. There must be a way to negotiate,,, after all we’re not building a wall (joke!).
Thanks Old Labs, am reading this "new revised" data distribution. Then I read this:
"In addition, if needed to address congestion in a spot beam, Viasat may further reduce the speeds of the Network traffic of heavier users of Liberty Pass Users, Excess Freedom Users and other subscribers with a high-data threshold service plan (for example, Freedom subscribers and unlimited data plan subscribers who purchased their plan prior to February 13, 2018) through the end of their then-current billing period if de-prioritization is not sufficient to adequately manage congestion."
The key here: see underline above, they've already done this. They AUTOMATICALLY throttle me, as my plan falls into the above.
So they sell us a high data plan, then throttle us because they oversold users that they can't possibly handle the traffic in peak use, so they throttle the larger data users. If I knew this, I would have taken a different path in the beginning. They can side step all they want, their plan changes can throttle us at will. When I entered this plan, there was no threat of reduced speed forced on you simply because congestion was slowing bandwidth. This reminds me of the fight to keep the internet free of internet providers that change plans to fit their own desires. I'm at a disadvantage with chasing the right words for all this tech stuff!
"In addition, if needed to address congestion in a spot beam, Viasat may further reduce the speeds of the Network traffic of heavier users of Liberty Pass Users, Excess Freedom Users and other subscribers with a high-data threshold service plan (for example, Freedom subscribers and unlimited data plan subscribers who purchased their plan prior to February 13, 2018) through the end of their then-current billing period if de-prioritization is not sufficient to adequately manage congestion."
The key here: see underline above, they've already done this. They AUTOMATICALLY throttle me, as my plan falls into the above.
So they sell us a high data plan, then throttle us because they oversold users that they can't possibly handle the traffic in peak use, so they throttle the larger data users. If I knew this, I would have taken a different path in the beginning. They can side step all they want, their plan changes can throttle us at will. When I entered this plan, there was no threat of reduced speed forced on you simply because congestion was slowing bandwidth. This reminds me of the fight to keep the internet free of internet providers that change plans to fit their own desires. I'm at a disadvantage with chasing the right words for all this tech stuff!
I interpret it as:
You are subject to de-prioritization (i.e. prioritized behind subscribers who have not exceeded data allowance or usage threshold on your beam) at any time from the get go.
Upon reaching your data allowance and in addition to de-prioritization, you are subject to further slow down through throttling if you exceed some unspecified data usage limit above your plan's amount.
You are subject to de-prioritization (i.e. prioritized behind subscribers who have not exceeded data allowance or usage threshold on your beam) at any time from the get go.
Upon reaching your data allowance and in addition to de-prioritization, you are subject to further slow down through throttling if you exceed some unspecified data usage limit above your plan's amount.
Spinninghorse, Champion
That is how I am reading it. The next step is they would send someone out to take a sledgehammer to the dish.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Flamethrower. Not sledgehammer.
If they are determining prioritization by median speed, I may always be at the back end of the line as my daytime speeds are 30 to 50 mbps. What was the old prioritization formula in the plan prior to this last update? How convenient that they can rework existing plans to cover their inability to manage data when too many people are on line. If people are leaving viasat 1 for viasat 2, why all the changes in older plans on viasat 1? My gut says they want us off viasat 1 and will make us as miserable as possible to get us to move over. We paid them for a plan, and now they continue to want their payment, but give us less service......
I don't believe speed plays any role in prioritization. I also don't believe anybody was actually paying for a higher speed despite how plans are sold and marketed. You do pay for the possibility of higher speeds "up to" that specified by your plan, but not for being prioritized above somebody else on a "slower" plan.
The mention of median in the email that some received, was an attempt to clarify what "up to" really meant. Specifically when measured over the course of a 24 hour period (e.g. once every hour or more), half of your speed test results would be above the median and half below (not an average).
For example, consider the following speed test results where the subscriber was performing automated speed tests ever 15 minutes until recently (apparently he discovered where all his data was going - to speed tests apparently) and he's stopped - but I went back several months where this was occurring on a regular basis every day:
https://testmy.net/quickstats/mawhelchel99
Take all of his/her results, place them in a row ranked by result top to bottom and the one dead center would be his/her median. Obviously to achieve a median of up to 25 Mbps, 12 Mbps or whatever you've got to have some above that. Medians can be deceiving but they're in keeping with how the FCC is measure speed now also and FWIW median and average can be the same but only with a normalized distribution but I'm long distanced from my statistics days.
I simply don't think as many folks moved from Viasat-1 to Viasat-2 as anticipated due to the perceived value (or lack as the case may be). This may change that value equation.
All I know is I'm glad I'm not the one responsible for maintaining the coding algorithms for all this, it will undoubtedly take a long time to work the kinks out - I'd love to see the design specs for this puppy ;)
The mention of median in the email that some received, was an attempt to clarify what "up to" really meant. Specifically when measured over the course of a 24 hour period (e.g. once every hour or more), half of your speed test results would be above the median and half below (not an average).
For example, consider the following speed test results where the subscriber was performing automated speed tests ever 15 minutes until recently (apparently he discovered where all his data was going - to speed tests apparently) and he's stopped - but I went back several months where this was occurring on a regular basis every day:
https://testmy.net/quickstats/mawhelchel99
Take all of his/her results, place them in a row ranked by result top to bottom and the one dead center would be his/her median. Obviously to achieve a median of up to 25 Mbps, 12 Mbps or whatever you've got to have some above that. Medians can be deceiving but they're in keeping with how the FCC is measure speed now also and FWIW median and average can be the same but only with a normalized distribution but I'm long distanced from my statistics days.
I simply don't think as many folks moved from Viasat-1 to Viasat-2 as anticipated due to the perceived value (or lack as the case may be). This may change that value equation.
All I know is I'm glad I'm not the one responsible for maintaining the coding algorithms for all this, it will undoubtedly take a long time to work the kinks out - I'd love to see the design specs for this puppy ;)
(Edited)
After some sleuthing and hacking I was able to locate the design for this and it should clarify:
Any questions?
Any questions?
(Edited)
Spinninghorse, Champion
They would have had to offer V2 plans for existing customers for them to move to V2. There hasn't been an opportunity for me. The only plans for me have been 3 different Liberty plans, 12 mbps, and up to 50GB for $100. I am guessing the 12mbps is on V1?
They did, just none in our immediate area in VA. Some to the south in what is 329 footprint but probably not many takers among existing users.
(Edited)
Spinninghorse, Champion
I know they did for new customers, but I didn't see plans for existing.
I am on the Freedom 12Mbps plan and have yet to receive a letter or email about changes to my service.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
You are on the 12Mbps version. I wonder if there is a difference?
Vetsat, have you gotten the notice? For those on Freedom it seems that customers with the boost 25Mbps plan are the ones getting the letter. I was offered Freedom with boost 25 at one time and went to upgrade the next day and it was gone.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
No. But I am not a Viasat direct customer so it might take awhile.
I can say this past week speeds during primetime have been terrible. So terrible if it continues I would be forced to switch to Hughesnet. I would not give one more cent to a company if I find it is purposely slowing me down to force me off a plan. Just like I will never but a GM or Chrysler vehicle again.
I can say this past week speeds during primetime have been terrible. So terrible if it continues I would be forced to switch to Hughesnet. I would not give one more cent to a company if I find it is purposely slowing me down to force me off a plan. Just like I will never but a GM or Chrysler vehicle again.
Spinninghorse is 12 Mbps, I believe.
It's never to early to panic ;)
It's never to early to panic ;)
(Edited)
Spinninghorse, Champion
I also did not get notified and am on the 12mbps plan, not on boost.
Steve Frederick-VS1/Beam314, Champion
I am also on the 12 mbps plan, original SB2 modem. I have not been notified so far.
I know they did for new customers, but I didn't see plans for existing.
I believe there were some existing customers 329 were able to upgrade to Viasat-2, the Viasat-2 beam just didn't cover my neck of the woods - different footprint(s) than 329 south of Richmond I believe.
(Edited)
I think I'm on a plan that's not affected because I haven't noticed any changes. I'm on the Liberty 12 with 25 Boost and 3 to 6 Freezone, plan, and satellite 1.
At 5:20 I did a speed test.
At 5:20 I did a speed test.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Sounds like the 25Mbps "unlimited" plans with 150GB have been targeted. Freedom too but is that all Freedom or just 25Mbps Freedom?
And if I was one of those impacted customers I would NOT be happy.
I remember Hughesnet eliminated their free zone about the time of Exede. THAT went over like a lead balloon and they lost customers. I know. I was one that withdrew my order.
And if I was one of those impacted customers I would NOT be happy.
I remember Hughesnet eliminated their free zone about the time of Exede. THAT went over like a lead balloon and they lost customers. I know. I was one that withdrew my order.
In 10 days I'll be paying my 24th installment and unbound from my contract, and as luck would have it, AT&T is now finally offering DSL in my area, with great sign up perks and a fair 1TB limit monthly rate, and wait, there's more... Verizon is offering a prepaid hotspot with unlimited data, and I get a great signal here with Verizon, but only 1 bar with AT&T, Sprint and others, if I stand by the right window on my tiptoes.
I now have options I'll be considering, so Viasat really doesn't want to mess with me!
I now have options I'll be considering, so Viasat really doesn't want to mess with me!
Again, thanks Old Labs for a definition in layman's terms, I'm more knowledgeable than I was this AM and I appreciate all of your comments and explanations. If I ever get info on the design specs, I'll send them your way. You and I know that won't happen, but I can wish. Now that I see the above, it happened and we're all more stressed than ever.
(Edited)
There will be a pop quiz on Monday. The algorithms have been hermetically sealed in a mayonnaise jar and secured on Funk and Wagnall's front porch.
(Edited)
LOL - +1 to everybody that knows where that came from!
Matt B, Viasat Employee
All,
We understand this policy change has caused some frustration. Viasat has updated our Network Management Policy to ensure the best experience for all of our customers on the network.Not all plans are affected and we are notifying customers via email or direct mail. If you have questions, email us at ViasatListens@viasat.com or call 844-715-4412 and our team of specialists will be happy to help.
We understand this policy change has caused some frustration. Viasat has updated our Network Management Policy to ensure the best experience for all of our customers on the network.Not all plans are affected and we are notifying customers via email or direct mail. If you have questions, email us at ViasatListens@viasat.com or call 844-715-4412 and our team of specialists will be happy to help.
(Edited)
You wrote:
"Viasat has updated our Network Management Policy to ensure the best experience for all of our customers on the network"
No you haven't , there are a lot of us that are not having the "best experience", myself included. You have manipulated existing customers so our experience is MUCH WORSE. I no longer have questions for you, the other customers on this forum have given me more honest information than anyone I have talked to from Viasat tech and customer service since this fiasco began for me 01-22-19. I've talked to viasatlistens already, and you give us the same line of precomposed answers that are not even related to our complaints. The double talk is rampant.
"Viasat has updated our Network Management Policy to ensure the best experience for all of our customers on the network"
No you haven't , there are a lot of us that are not having the "best experience", myself included. You have manipulated existing customers so our experience is MUCH WORSE. I no longer have questions for you, the other customers on this forum have given me more honest information than anyone I have talked to from Viasat tech and customer service since this fiasco began for me 01-22-19. I've talked to viasatlistens already, and you give us the same line of precomposed answers that are not even related to our complaints. The double talk is rampant.
Not that it's going to assuage anyone's anger/angst (especially if in the minority) but this was the more nuanced, official response:
Pitch forks and torches are still on sale in the lobby...
From time to time, Viasat makes updates to policies that impact our customers’ service. We recently updated our Network Management Policy to ensure the best experience for the majority of customers on our network. We have also notified any customers who are impacted by this change by letter and email.https://community.viasat.com/viasat/topics/automatic-throttling?topic-reply-list%5Bsettings%5D%5Bfil...
Pitch forks and torches are still on sale in the lobby...
(Edited)
Frustrated? Are you kidding me? I pay 130 a month for internet that I cannot use now!! No problem until a few weeks ago.
@jeff , My speeds are crap atm soon as my hotspot gets here next week im done with this shady excuse for a business , My speeds have been horrible the last 2-3 weeks
I wonder how many are negatively impacted by the plan change. I also wonder if this change has been positive for the “majority”. We’ll never know, kept in the dark on purpose. Come on majority, let us know how positive this plan change has been for you.. I’d be willing to bet there are no improvements for them, and even less improvements for the minority.
I'm on Sat 1 and my speeds, even as we speak, are great, regardless of what time of day I'm online, so maybe the Liberty plan people are the ones that are experiencing positive changes. Honestly, even when I run out of data and I'm in restricted mode, my speeds are still really good.
Do you know what your speeds are at night after 6:00 PM? Do you see a difference in speeds during day vs night? Just trying to figure out how this works. Thanks.
I just checked my speeds again before replying to your comment, and it's after 6 here now because I'm in central Mississippi, and my speed now is 41.7 mbps, slightly higher than it was 45 minutes ago.
Limited plans (with the exception of the virtually unlimited Freedom and of course Unlimited) are the beneficiaries of the policy change.
My speed right now: ~ 14 mbps on a 12 Mbps plan
I'm guessing Spinninghorse's are worse on Freedom despite being on the same beam as I.
The bad news is I must now manage and monitor my limited data much more closely, but those of us on limited plans are well versed at that by necessity. I could easily use 10x the data I do now except for some extreme data conservation measures to eliminate web site bloat and leveraging the free zone.
The policy is aimed at improving things for those on more severely data limited plans (not chewing through bandwidth like its's water).
My speed right now: ~ 14 mbps on a 12 Mbps plan
I'm guessing Spinninghorse's are worse on Freedom despite being on the same beam as I.
The bad news is I must now manage and monitor my limited data much more closely, but those of us on limited plans are well versed at that by necessity. I could easily use 10x the data I do now except for some extreme data conservation measures to eliminate web site bloat and leveraging the free zone.
The policy is aimed at improving things for those on more severely data limited plans (not chewing through bandwidth like its's water).
(Edited)
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Diana, Viasat Employee
VeteranSatUser, If our customers' speeds are slow we would like to do troubleshooting to verify if there is an issue. We suggest they call 855.463.9333 to do so.
There has something changed. I cannot even stream Netflix anymore without buffering. This is ridiculous. This happened just a few weeks ago. How do all theses people have the same problem and you want to troubleshoot? I can troubleshoot for you! We are getting ripped off!!! I have been a loyal costumer and this is how I’m rewarded?
Diana, I’m very close to 1 mbps in the evening and I’ve talked to tech, viasat listens and 844-715-4412. The response is the same. You’ve changed the plan, thanks to you, we have slow speeds.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Yea. I don't buy that. There is a bug somewhere in the traffic management.
(Edited)
I buy it, it's exactly what the policy states - it's all an attempt to squeeze as much blood out of the bird as we limp toward Viasat-3.
(Edited)
The slow speeds that most of us are experiencing seems to be on the older plans on viasat 1. You have discriminated against these plans by automatically throttling our speed. From what I’ve read this has affected us at different times but we can see a pattern of slow speed at night that wasn’t happening prior to your “updated plan” email announcement. You want us to move to viasat 2 and pay more for less data. I’m not going without a fight, thank you. After 10 yrs, there should be some respect for your long term clients, but You’re attacking us by making our plan into something that is not what we signed up for. Again, shame on you.
Spinninghorse, Champion
And don't forget, also forced to a 480p for streaming. I could have considered Liberty 12 mbps 50g for $100 but I am forced to watch pixel streaming at 480p.
I've only been a customer for 23 months, I am on Sat 1 and I've seen no noticable changes in my speeds, so I'm glad you've said "most" of us, because this forum only reflects a very small percentage of customers and mostly the ones with problems, which means there are hundreds of thousands that seem to be happy.
I do know that from what I've been reading for a while, I will not be changing plans or satellites!
I do know that from what I've been reading for a while, I will not be changing plans or satellites!
(Edited)
Liberty and Freedom both allow you to turn off the Video Data Extender as do other plans with the exception of those deemed "unlimited", Spinninghorse.
Spinninghorse, Champion
Well, that is a little better news. As long as it can be turned off. Thx.
Unfortunately, still doesn't do anything about the prioritization at any time on Freedom during busy periods.
For my specific needs (and everyone's needs differ), Liberty is the better option now.
For my specific needs (and everyone's needs differ), Liberty is the better option now.
When I discovered they were doing away with the 25 boost Liberty 12 plan with 3 - 6 free zone I figured many plan configurations would come and go, but since my speeds are good even when I've used up all of my priority data, so I was never without internet, there was no way I was ever going to chance making any changes.
Why fix what isn't broken?
Why fix what isn't broken?
I'm grateful to this forum for advice on many things that have helped me manage my data and being a much happier camper with my streaming experience, by recommending PlayOn and PlayOn Cloud, which allows me to upload tons of things to the cloud using no data, so I can then download them to my computer during my free zone time, and those are all full HD, with some being over 2 Gigs in size, however they download in 5 to 8 minutes at 3:15 AM.
Don't give up your Liberty - we're all endowed by our creator with it.
Freedom and Unlimited, not so much.
Freedom and Unlimited, not so much.
here's a typical day for me with Viasat:
It's a good thing I go to bed early, this goes down even further in the evening. This did not happen last week. This all started the day of my email notice on the 22nd of this month.
It's a good thing I go to bed early, this goes down even further in the evening. This did not happen last week. This all started the day of my email notice on the 22nd of this month.
My typical days (and weekends) look like this now... my D/L speeds will stay around 0.4 Mbps until 3 AM. I still have 150GB of monthly data,
for all the good it does me. I wonder how long it'd take me to download 150GB at 400 Kbps...
for all the good it does me. I wonder how long it'd take me to download 150GB at 400 Kbps...VeteranSatUser, Champion
You might have 150GB. Doesn't mean you get to use 150GB. Sort of like "Unlimited" plans.
Verizon has 3 plans with "unlimited" in the title. Why would you need more than one? All the asterisks associated with each plan.
The devil is in the details.
Verizon has 3 plans with "unlimited" in the title. Why would you need more than one? All the asterisks associated with each plan.
The devil is in the details.
Wow, Chuck, that is terrible. Anyone got a plan for revenge? This is much worse than my situation. My outrage over this is going into a category of dealing with the five stages of grief. I've reached out to locals here and solutions for me if I leave at this time in only Hughes. I'm a senior senior and lifespan is a consideration for changing providers. Viasat's "options" only pour salt on the wounds. So, revenge is looking better and better. Any legal ideas here? Never thought this company that has given me good service the last 10 years, would turn around and attack me. And it's not just me but hundreds, thousands? My age is a plus as I no longer punch the clock,, am retired last 14 years. I still enjoy decent speeds during the day. I'm suspicious that they will attack that also with some frivolous tweaking of their "data allowance." They need to feel some financial pain over this.
I had been on the Freedom 150 with the 25 mbps boost - ever since it was offered in my area. I told many people how good it was. I had been on the Liberty 50 with 25 boost prior to that. At the beginning it was great. I would have good speeds - many times over 25 mbps. But in the past several months, my Viasat was so horrible - even during the day - that I could not use it for work. Speeds less than 1 mbps and many disconnections. I work from home. I had resorted to rotating between using two different VZ aircard plans that I added to my postpaid account (throttled at 15 gb data) and an "unlimited" ipad ATT plan, also prioritized at 22 gb data. I was only using the Viasat for my other family members and what Directv managed to pirate. I have cleared out the internet connections many times on my Directv server and somehow it manages to set itself up again. My Directv server is in a separate building from my house and I cannot set it up from my TV's. But that is another story. As a result, I started searching with avengence for another internet solution. There is nothing here in Oconee County, SC, but satellite - no cable, no dsl. I found an ATT MVNO that promises true unlimited and the new VZ prepaid unlimited jetpack plan. I purchased both. I have since given up the Freedom 150 and since this area has been so oversold, the only plans here are the liberty - only 12 mbps plans - not even the boost 25. Although I have the correct hardware for the boost 25. I have dropped back to the lowest cost plan available and plan to cancel that and send back my equipment. Yes, I actually gave up the Freedom 150 plan - which is no longer available here.
If Viasat had treated me right, I would not have been desperate to find something else. I have held on way too long expecting better service. It seems ever since the satellite was launched my service has gone down the tubes. And no viasat_2 is not available here.
85% of all people in my town have no broadband solution other than satellite. As much as I think VZ & ATT are a rip off, I really feel like they are a better choice for me than dealing with the outages and bad service we have had lately with Viasat.
If Viasat had treated me right, I would not have been desperate to find something else. I have held on way too long expecting better service. It seems ever since the satellite was launched my service has gone down the tubes. And no viasat_2 is not available here.
85% of all people in my town have no broadband solution other than satellite. As much as I think VZ & ATT are a rip off, I really feel like they are a better choice for me than dealing with the outages and bad service we have had lately with Viasat.
Hi Kay, I thought I had it rough but you’ve been through a whole lot of chaos. When did your Freedom plan turn ugly? You mentioned several months ago. Did you get the email notifying you of plan change? I’m trying to figure out why many of us are happy with our plan, then a sudden change for the worse. I don’t think it’s anything on our end. After all it was okay before. They must have severely oversold and had so many clients leave that they are refiguring things to look like they’re “improving the situation for all”. I feel for you, this is not pleasant. Lost sleep over this last night. I hate to be taken advantage of, and this is what is happening to possibly thousands of viasat clients on the older plans. I will be looking at alternatives, might have to sell this house and move as there is no broadband here, only Hughes. No cell signal either. Thank you for sharing.
(Edited)
It seemed like it started degrading about the time the new satellite was launched. I had believed all the hype about the new satellite and how much better it would be. Also, when the heavy marketing started, I started noticing I couldn't even browse the internet in the evening - no matter how much below my 150 gb I was. When I first got Exede (now Viasat) no one around here even knew what it was. But then I started noticing signs on every corner and tons of TV commercials. I'm sure because there was nothing in this area but old DSL (no ports available at 1.5 mb service and ATT does not have any interest in this area - I couldn't even get a land line for 4 months) and Hughesnet. I also had a lot of friends at the nearby RV park (we are in a lake community on Lake Hartwell in SC) that I told about Exede. I even got the RV park management to put up a flier, because I felt sorry for my friends with no internet service. I started with the Liberty 12 and phone service, upgraded to the boost 25 and got the new modem, upgraded to the Liberty 50 as soon as it was available and then a couple months later I saw online the Freedom 150 was available - I jumped on it. The phone was pretty bad so I cancelled that as soon as I was out of contract. But the internet was great for a while. Even with the 600+ms latency I could deal with it for work as long as I could remote into a terminal server or a sql server. But probably mid 2018, I could not even use the satellite for work so I got an ATT ipad "unlimited" plan about 6 months ago. I moved the sim card in a Netgear LB1120 and I have used that for work almost exclusively since then. I only have 2 bars on ATT & VZ but it is usable.
I did just call today and cancel completely, even though they tried to convince me to look at other plans. I told them I already had the best plan with the Freedom 150. Because we are so internet challenged here in this area, I really struggled with giving up that Freedom 150 plan. But when I was able to get the new prepaid unlimited jetpack plan from Verizon for $65 a month, that made up my mind. My Viasat bill has been right at $135-$140 per month. But it has not been about money for me - I need to be able to work 8-10 hr per day on remote servers and be able to attend meetings without being disconnected.
I did not get the notification of the plan change. Probably because I had just switch to the Liberty 12 from the Freedom 150 about two weeks ago - in anticipation of cancelling completely.
I did just call today and cancel completely, even though they tried to convince me to look at other plans. I told them I already had the best plan with the Freedom 150. Because we are so internet challenged here in this area, I really struggled with giving up that Freedom 150 plan. But when I was able to get the new prepaid unlimited jetpack plan from Verizon for $65 a month, that made up my mind. My Viasat bill has been right at $135-$140 per month. But it has not been about money for me - I need to be able to work 8-10 hr per day on remote servers and be able to attend meetings without being disconnected.
I did not get the notification of the plan change. Probably because I had just switch to the Liberty 12 from the Freedom 150 about two weeks ago - in anticipation of cancelling completely.
(Edited)
VeteranSatUser, Champion
It seems like a number of posters on here are opting to move to the Verizon unlimited plan.
Good job Viasat of driving customers away by making unilateral changes that hurt them. Your subscriber base is already stagnant or shrinking. This isn't going to help matters.
Keep delivering sub par speeds to me and you will lose another one, but most likely to Hughesnet. Out of spite of course!
Good job Viasat of driving customers away by making unilateral changes that hurt them. Your subscriber base is already stagnant or shrinking. This isn't going to help matters.
Keep delivering sub par speeds to me and you will lose another one, but most likely to Hughesnet. Out of spite of course!
(Edited)
GabeU, Champion
I have no doubt that they are going to lose some subscribers over this. Maybe not a lot, but any loss hurts them, of course.
And with speeds that have already been pretty low for some, is making them even lower really the answer? SMH. I really do feel for you guys.
And with speeds that have already been pretty low for some, is making them even lower really the answer? SMH. I really do feel for you guys.
@gabe , Well they lost me soon as i get my new stuff in next week and im trying to get everyone i talked into signing up for viasat off it also , they said theyre just waiting to see my speeds i get on the hotspot then switching with me if i like it
(Edited)
Some tips about the Verizon Jetpack Unlimited Plan.
http://www.theboondork.com/mainphp/what-the-verizon-ordeal-has-taught-me
I'm considering this but will probably wait to see how it plays out on here before I jump in.
http://www.theboondork.com/mainphp/what-the-verizon-ordeal-has-taught-me
I'm considering this but will probably wait to see how it plays out on here before I jump in.
(Edited)
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Is there tips for dealing with Viasat's traffic management changes?
When you already start with a primetime speed below 500kbps and degrade that speed even more...
I never stream live. Makes we wonder if others that use to stream live cant now because of the changes?
When you already start with a primetime speed below 500kbps and degrade that speed even more...
I never stream live. Makes we wonder if others that use to stream live cant now because of the changes?
@vet , Is your speeds good in early morning to mid afternoon when the Brats Kids get home from school ? mines useable till then mon-fri , week ends tho no good lol
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Yes. But I am never on during weekday mornings nor before 6pm. Last Sunday at 4am I was rockin at 4.5Mbps (that is rockin for me).
(Edited)
Just remember to get the VZ unlimited plan that is supposedly managed and not throttled - it needs to be the prepaid jetpack plan. I have two postpaid "unlimited" aircard plans on my regular postpaid phone plan and they definitely throttle after 15 gb to 600kbs - which sucks. My prepaid plan with the mifi 8800L I bought on ebay for $99 has had speeds as high as 80+mbps down over 20+mbps up with only 3 bars. Here at my house with only 2 bars I usually get 50+ mpbs over 15+mbps. I'm loving it so far.
You will need to use a different contact email for your postpaid and prepaid plans, VZ doesn't seem to be able to understand that a customer can have both.
You will need to use a different contact email for your postpaid and prepaid plans, VZ doesn't seem to be able to understand that a customer can have both.
I have the home VZ phone that's only 25 bucks a month and it has a great signal, so I was thinking about going for the Prepaid Unlimited plan Jetpack for $65 instead of AT&T which is now available here, finally. In a week and a half I'll be making my 24th payment to Exede/Viasat so I am considering the VZ jetpack because with no contract I could just give that a try before saying goodbye.
(Edited)
By the way, I signed up for the prepaid jetpack plan online using an old MIFI 6620l IMEI that I used to have on my postpaid plan several years ago. Then once I got the sim card and activated it, I used it for streaming on Roku for about a week. Then I bought a new 8800l and switched the device on the plan. Worked great.
(Edited)
If you have a good charge on your laptop and a backup APC, coupled with the jetpack, you would always have internet, even in a power outage.
I do also have a generator for power outages. We get ice storms here and in the south they don't deal with ice very well.
@privatejordy that's basically what I did. Then I bumped my Freedom 150 down to Liberty 12 to save $80.
I do have a generator as well, but I only hassle with that when we're going to be out for long periods of time.
What I really love about a prepaid hotspot is how much cheaper it is for me in the long run, since I don't have a bill on the landside based hotspot when I spend months at my house in Puerto Rico. Vacation mode here was never an option because your plan would be long gone when you return.
What I really love about a prepaid hotspot is how much cheaper it is for me in the long run, since I don't have a bill on the landside based hotspot when I spend months at my house in Puerto Rico. Vacation mode here was never an option because your plan would be long gone when you return.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
That is a heck of a deal!
Not finding anything like that myself. The 8800L would be a must to have with an unlimited plan. Some of the other mifi devices are buggy and limited.
Not finding anything like that myself. The 8800L would be a must to have with an unlimited plan. Some of the other mifi devices are buggy and limited.
My Puerto Rico smart phone has lots of free hotspot data and a great signal there, and you can buy more data reasonably. With everything down from the hurricane after I returned the last time, and because it usually takes forever for an installer to show up, that's what I used the whole time, and it worked great.
It's 7:45 central time and I am going to check my speed
Don't hate on me, just hit 40.54 mbps on a Saturday evening, 10 till 8. V 1 Liberty 12 25 boost with FZ
All of this frustration is very warranted. After getting 0.72 Mbps this evening, I contacted them. The woman told me that they oversold the service (yes, she admitted it), that there are too many people on the satellite, and that my options are to upgrade my plan or terminate my service. I said that's basically a big middle finger to me. She said I was notified by email (nope) about this change, and if I don't like it, I should upgrade or terminate service. I've never had a company try so hard to get me to cancel my service with them. Not only that, but she was rude and completely unhelpful. I see a class action coming here...
Spinninghorse, Champion
I did not receive any notification either.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Take anything said by support with a grain a salt.
That being said, there is a common theme that is being said here. Upgrade or terminate service.
A way to push people to higher priced plans?
Also a good way to alienate customers.
That being said, there is a common theme that is being said here. Upgrade or terminate service.
A way to push people to higher priced plans?
Also a good way to alienate customers.
Ok all of you guys that signed up for the jetpack I got mine and oh my its awesome and only one one sometimes two bars. So far so good bet it will do even better with an antenna. BUT question is what app are you suppose to load so that you can pay your bill etc online. I gave all my info during sign up but they never had me pick a password for an account so I am a bit lost right now LOL
Never mind I figured it out had to go directly to my.jetpack website like when you go into a router
@SonyaA I ended up having to call because I have a postpaid plan and every time i went online I could not get into the account with the prepaid phone number. Like a dummy, I had used the same email and contact number as my postpaid plan. So I ended up having to call prepaid support and they changed it to my husbands number and email for me, so I could get into it set up a password.
What you do is go to the prepaid site and sign up for a new account online. And then there it will ask you for the number. It was a little time consuming since I had messed myself up, but the prepaid people were really nice.
What you do is go to the prepaid site and sign up for a new account online. And then there it will ask you for the number. It was a little time consuming since I had messed myself up, but the prepaid people were really nice.
Yea I heard the two are completely separate and thanks will try to set it up this evening
yeah going to have to call its not taking the jetpack phone number at all and I dont have postpaid account
called and got set up really quick the tech support was awesome the worse part was trying to get to an actual person through the phone automation
Spinninghorse, Champion
On the jetpak topic, but first, still no notice from Viasat that the terms have changed on my Freedom plan - for the users of a jetpack, are any using a jetpak with a VPN connection for work?
VeteranSatUser, Champion
VPN works fine.
Which Freedom you got? 25Mbps or 12Mbps?
Which Freedom you got? 25Mbps or 12Mbps?
Just tested jet pack with my VPN and seems to work fine got it one while posting this
Spinninghorse, Champion
VeteranSat - if you were asking me, my Freedom is 12 mbps.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Okay. Thanks. But FMJ got an email and he is 12Mbps.
Spinninghorse, Champion
An hour after I posted my question about the jetpak working with VPN, I got my email notice about the service change.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Yea. VPN does work fine with the Jetpack.
This is what is in the manual on my 7730L
The Jetpack firewall determines which Internet traffic is allowed. The Firewall menu contains the following sections:
-
VPN Passthrough — Turns ON/OFF the VPN feature and allows or disallows connected devices to establish a VPN tunnel.
-
If ON, this feature allows VPN clients to connect through the Jetpack to remote VPN Servers. Normally, this option should be turned on.
-
If OFF, VPN clients are not allowed to connect.
-
(Edited)
I do every day. Also run 4 VMs (Oracle Virtualbox) to connect to clients with different VPN clients. Also use citrix. It all works out of the box.
(Edited)
Spinninghorse, Champion
Thank you. So you bought a jetpak, 2 bars of LTE, and no antenna, and it works great? I actually have an antenna in a box, just need someone to roof-mount it. I see Verizon offers it for $99/2 yr contract. Anyone know if that is for prepaid or only postpaid?
VeteranSatUser, Champion
That wouldn't be for the unlimited plan you want (or need). You need to buy the device outright.
you want to look at the jetpack prepaid its $65 if you do autopay I didnt and it was $70 plus my state has taxes that was about $6 for unlimited contracted plans are NO were near as good as this
OK when I first signed up without the autopay it charged taxes I switched over to autopay and it says I will be charged $65 for next month so no taxes on the autopay
VeteranSatUser, Champion
All inclusive :).
So you get to buy and not lease:)
So you get to buy and not lease:)
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FWIW: Effective February 13, 2018
"Network Management Policy (“Policy”).....In addition, if needed to address congestion in a spot beam, Viasat may further reduce the speeds of the Network traffic of heavier users of Liberty Pass and of Excess Freedom Users through the end of their then-current billing period if de-prioritization is not sufficient to adequately manage congestion."
"Network Management Policy (“Policy”).....In addition, if needed to address congestion in a spot beam, Viasat may further reduce the speeds of the Network traffic of heavier users of Liberty Pass and of Excess Freedom Users through the end of their then-current billing period if de-prioritization is not sufficient to adequately manage congestion."
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Excess Freedom users. Like Gwen!!!
If they wouldn't have oversold these beams, they could honor existing plans as they were first intended for customers. But, being greedy and manipulative, they decided, keep getting new clients, throttle speeds of older clients to make the experience better for newer clients. Wait till these newer clients have a few years under their belt, they too will feel the betrayal and ridiculously slow speeds.
@Susan
Like any company, hindsight is 20/20, and foresight tends to be myopic (lacking intellectual insight).
By May 25, 2018, there were "about 43,000 subs were on those test plans (and only on ViaSat-1) at the end of Viasat’s fiscal Q3."
All that can be said, is unlimited plans were "test plans," ViaSat-2’s antenna issue may be related to throttling issue, previous Network Management Policy hinted about potential severe throttling...and "the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
So, is ViaSat-2’s antenna issue the causative reason for this change...I don't know.
Like any company, hindsight is 20/20, and foresight tends to be myopic (lacking intellectual insight).
By May 25, 2018, there were "about 43,000 subs were on those test plans (and only on ViaSat-1) at the end of Viasat’s fiscal Q3."
All that can be said, is unlimited plans were "test plans," ViaSat-2’s antenna issue may be related to throttling issue, previous Network Management Policy hinted about potential severe throttling...and "the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
So, is ViaSat-2’s antenna issue the causative reason for this change...I don't know.
Old Labs (VS1-329-L12FZ)
FWIW, Liberty Plan on 329 is actually rocking due to the change (at least while staying within priority data) - as I interpret the changes, that was one of the desired outcomes.
Summarizing the key change that those categories are now seeing:
During periods of network congestion, you may be prioritized behind other customers who have not exceeded their data allowance or usage threshold regardless of the amount of data you have actually used.
Plenty of discussion in other conversations here.
Susan Jenulis
"During periods of network congestion, you may be prioritized behind other customers who have not exceeded their data allowance or usage threshold regardless of the amount of data you have actually used."
That statement seems contradictory. One's data allowance(as declared in your agreement based on monthly use) is the threshold whereby you are throttled once you surpass that. How can it be that it is "regardless of the amount of data actually used" when they use your total monthly allotment to decide when the throttling is initiated?
I'm stlll being throttled nightly to 1 to 3 mbps for the last 5 nights. I currently have used 12GB out of my 150 GB and they are still throttling me. Before this "plan change" I would have normal speeds in the evening, close to 25 mbps. That was for 3 years, consistent speeds. I've never, in 10 years, gone over my monthly allotment. Viasat is coming up with changes for us viasat 1 clients that will be very negative for us if we remain on that satellite. This is the first plan change, probably more to come for viasat 1. They are going to make us as uncomfortable as possible. They have a good start.
Spinninghorse, Champion
Susan Jenulis
Old Labs (VS1-329-L12FZ)
Prioritization should impact only during periods of congestion.
As noted it does appear to be beneficial to some plans, specifically limted plans as opposed to Unlimited and what was once touted as "virtually unlimited" Freedom.
There was an official nuanced response buried somewhere here that said something to the effect that...
From time to time we make changes to benefit the majority of our customers - my interpretation of that was there are more limited plan subscribers than unlimited or "virtually unlimited" subscribers on Viasat-1.
Not defending it, just trying to explain it ;)
Bev, Champion
I'm praying it's a stop gap measure to keep things going until Viasat 3 is operational. I can deal with that but, it would be nice to know that's the case and, in a couple of years, or less, we'll be back to normal.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
2.5GB of use for the month and my speed was 197kbps.
Hughesnet did something similar several years ago. If you like you plan, you could keep your plan, BUT they made speeds so slow on the grandfathered plan you had no choice other than upgrade or change providers. I changed providers.
Maybe Vetsatuser will need to take his posting talents to Hughesnet.
Old Labs (VS1-329-L12FZ)
Not much I can;t do with those ... in fact thinking about throttling my own speeds with the router to prevent web sites from wasting even more data when they detect my higher speeds. I manage my data very closely and leverage the free zone for heavy lifting.
Dog person, although I've been know to play the ponies.
You're not on Liberty VeteranSatUser nor are you on 329.
Spinninghorse, Champion
Susan Jenulis
Old Labs (VS1-329-L12FZ)
https://www.exede.com/legal/
The applicable documents all have a date of last update as 1/15/2019 - there are 3.
Susan Jenulis
Spinninghorse, Champion
Old Labs (VS1-329-L12FZ)
Essentially, others not subject to de-prioritization go first, while you go to the end of the line. You maintain you position relative to other being deprioritized. However If the others arrive while you're still in line they get top go first.
During busy periods, you're spending all of your time at the back of the line spinning your wheels and waiting. If the lines empty when you arrive - go right on through.
Old Labs (VS1-329-L12FZ)
Now that 329 has been re-opened to Liberty for new customers, I'll enjoy it while it lasts - things will likely get worse for both of us as they load 'er up.
Old Labs (VS1-329-L12FZ)
Old Labs (VS1-329-L12FZ)
Jeff Story
SonyaA
SonyaA
satuser03