I live in a small rural village (population about 150 people) and the only Internet service available here is dial-up or satellite. If I lived 3 miles north, I could get cable, but the cable companies are not interested.

My ONLY option available is Hughesnet. I pay nearly $80/month for their premium home service which is supposed to be 1.6Mbps downlink and 250Kbps uplink. Oh, and don't forget that I have a 250Mb limit on downloads. If I go over, my speed is throttled to less than dial-up speeds for a 24 hour period, beginning from the time I went over the limit. If I want to get up at 200AM, I can download however much I like.

Currently I am getting only 67Kbps downlink and 29Kbps uplink. I have been tracking my speed for weeks and have never gone over 350Kbps during the day. However, during the wee hours of the morning, I can get as much as 1.2Mbps, so the trouble is NOT the weather; is not my modem; is not my satellite dish.

I called Hughesnet support this evening (located in India!!). After 30 minutes of trouble shooting, the fellow tells me that he cannot find a problem and that he will upgrade me to the "Highest Level 4 Supoort" and to expect a call back from them within 48 hours. 48 hours!!! I'm supposed to sit around for 2 days for someone to call me back?

I told the fellow that a 2 day wait was not acceptable. He talked to his manager and was told that I MIGHT get a call back within 24 hours. Whoop Dee Doo. OH! And I am getting 2 days credit ($5.28) for the inconvenience.

I don't think that I will ever get the speeds I am paying for because I suspect they are over-subscribed and can't deliver what they advertise. If I do not get satisfaction, I will report them to the FCC. We shall see what happens.