Hughesnet has an implemented Fair Access Policy (FAP) that when triggered will slow your speeds that YOU PAY FOR down to close to around 56k uplink speed. That means on their Home plan, you're paying $60/month for a certain speed but you're getting less that what you paid for. The worst thing about it is that in their FAQ (frequently asked questions) board, they suggest "upgrading" your service, which is about $15-20 for the next level of service, for only a minor increase in the download bandwidth. You only seem to get a decent download limit once you reach around $120 / month.

Hughenet is seemingly only satisfactory for the wealthier group (those who can afford their highest package) or for the less internet savvy group who only goes online for e-mail and informational searches. For those of us who like to download (whether it be illegal or not, that's up to you) such files as anti-virus programs, updates for our favorite programs, webcasts and the what not, it is totally unacceptable. Their justification for such downgrades in speed is an unrestricted download time between 3AM and 6AM.

To show the severity of their plans compared to the Fair access policy
I have added links to their FAQ site and pricing plan as well as their "Fair Access Policy" download limit page. I encourage all of you to read this thoroughly before deciding on Hughesnet,

Fair Access Policy - http://www.22hughesnet.com/fapolicy.cfm?hf=0

Pricing Plans - http://www.22hughesnet.com/plans.cfm

Fair Access Policy FAQ - http://customercare.myhughesnet.com/fap_faqs.htm

FAQ (regarding typical speeds) - http://www.22hughesnet.com/faq/internet-connection-speeds.cfm