In order to compete with Elon Musk's satellite Internet Starlink, its competitor HughesNet began to provide customers with satellite Internet speeds of 100Mbps. HughesNet is able to achieve such network speeds because it is helped by the super-large communications satellite "Jupiter 3". In July this year, the company launched the satellite in high geostationary orbit. After conducting several tests, HughesNet says Jupiter 3 is ready for service.
The upgraded speeds will be part of existing HughesNetFusion packages, which offer customers a top download speed of 25Mbps starting at $74.99 per month, or 50Mbps for $149.99 per month. A price list from HughesNet shows that ughesNetFusion can now support download speeds up to 100Mbps for $109.99 per month. However, the upload speed can only reach 5Mbps.
Additionally, HughesNet offers 100Mbps download speeds with the new HughesNet Elite plan, which costs $89.99 per month. In other words, both the Elite plan and the Fusion plan can set a high-speed data cap of 100GB or 200GB per month. Once the cap is exceeded, users can continue to use data at lower speeds.
During the launch of these services, HughesNet is also offering some discounts on Fusion and Elite packages.
To support improved broadband, the Jupiter 3 satellite is designed to deliver over 500Gbps of broadband capacity, bringing the total capacity of the HughesNet satellite network to over 1Tbps.
The company said: "This ultra-high-density satellite features more than 300 spotbeams to alleviate congestion and provide a faster experience. Jupiter 3's state-of-the-art ground system has a new dedicated fiber optic backbone to reduce latency, and artificial intelligence (AI) can automatically change traffic around congestion."
The new speeds could put HughesNet into greater competition with Starlink, SpaceX's satellite internet system, which already serves 2.2 million customers around the world. Data from Speedtest.net, a global broadband network speed test website, shows that although Starlink can provide download speeds of more than 220Mbps, many users in the United States actually have download speeds close to 70Mbps. Residential Starlink service costs $120 per month, depending on location.
Like Starlink, HughesNet customers must purchase the required satellite dish hardware. At HughesNet, consumers can rent or purchase hardware at different prices based on different packages.
However, it's unclear what kind of latency improvements users can expect from Jupiter 3. Previously, HughesNet's Fusion plans improved latency and increased speeds by leveraging satellite and terrestrial cellular networks. Meanwhile, the Elite package only offers satellite connectivity and forgoes terrestrial support. (little)