Viasat Business Satellite Internet Review

While not the cheapest, Viasat’s Business internet provides reliable service for rural businesses. Whether you own a canoe rental company, a car repair shop, or the only restaurant in town, you will need reliable internet. Viasat Business Internet service will keep your company humming no matter where you are.

“It’s reliable in the sense that it gets internet, but at the cost of significant performance issues,” said Michael David, a network engineer who has worked with Viasat on the job.

Satellite internet is often the only option in rural areas. Viasat offers internet with unlimited high-speed data, unlike other business options like Hughesnet business internet plans.

For a full breakdown of Viasat, read our review.

In this review

• Prices and packages
• Pros and cons
• Other rural business internet options
• Viasat vs. Hughesnet
• Final verdict
• FAQ

With Viasat, you can choose from unlimited data plans or metered plans. Unlimited data plans start at $159.99 per month and a backup plan for $49.99 per month.

Unlimited plans do have a soft data threshold limit, but that’s not the same thing as having a data cap. Once you reach Viasat Business’s threshold of 1000 GB within a month, you may experience slowed internet speeds. While you’ll be slowed down, you won’t be cut off.

Just know that slower internet speeds will work for sending and receiving emails with customers and suppliers, but video conferencing, transferring large files, or streaming video will be more difficult.

Viasat's backup is meant for just that—a backup for businesses that absolutely need to stay connected. They have a priority data cap and will be slowed down as soon as you run through the allotted data. This type of plan is typically meant to supplement a different internet service like cable or fixed-wireless.

The logistics company David works for has several rural locations, that absolutely need to stay connected to the internet, and that's when Viasat Backup Internet comes in handy.

“Office locations are hardwired in but can be prone to primary circuit failures, equipment failures, outages, etc.,” he said. “We’ve had to kick over to the Viasat backup many times.”

Viasat offers faster speeds than other satellite internet providers. Businesses located in most of the US can get download speeds between 25 Mbps to 150 Mbps. When you compare this to small-town businesses with dial-up internet speeds of 0.5 to 1.5 Mbps, it’s easy to see that faster internet from Viasat can give you an edge.

Viasat’s Primary Internet plan includes the Unlimited Office Hours perk. During typical office hours (8 a.m.–5 p.m. local time) traffic being used by qualified business-related websites or applications won’t count against your normal usage.

“Latency is the biggest issue, with an average rate of 600ms,” David said. “During typical times it’s not so bad, but when there’s a lot of volume on the network, the congestion can cause packet loss and errors with multiple devices.”

Satellite internet suffers from high latency, which makes your internet seem slower than it should. Satellite internet might not be your only internet choice though. Depending on your location, you may have a few other options.

Viasat business satellite internet is recommended only for businesses that are located in areas where cable or fiber internet networks are unavailable. Let’s take a look at other types of internet that might be available in your area.

Satellite internet might not be your only option. There are different internet connection types available in small towns and rural areas. Not all of them will be available to everyone. A few small towns have cable or fiber internet, but most do not. Most businesses in rural areas get their internet service from one of the following types of internet providers.

Viasat and Hughesnet are two of the main satellite internet providers used in rural areas, and both offer business plans. They may seem similar at first glance since they’re both satellite internet providers, but there are some key differences in their plan structures.

Viasat Business internet service offers faster speeds and unlimited data, unlike Hughesnet plans. Although more expensive, Viasat plans deliver more data for your dollar than Hughesnet, which caps priority data at 200GB per month.

Hughesnet for Business package prices are lower, but packages come with less data and lower speeds. Hughesnet caters to business customers with minimal internet needs, such as a few office employees at a manufacturing facility who use email to communicate with customers, suppliers, and business partners.

You can get a deeper dive into business satellite internet providers with our article on Viasat vs. Hughesnet.

Satellite internet speeds are slower than many other connection types, but if satellite is the best option in your area, we recommend you go with the most flexible option: Viasat.

Viasat offers the fastest satellite service and is a better choice for businesses that rely heavily on the internet for day-to-day operations. If most of your business activities are conducted offline—such as running a bowling alley or a bed and breakfast—and you just need the internet for providing customer service and ordering equipment from your suppliers, then Hughesnet will be okay. Business owners who will especially benefit from Viasat’s faster connection speeds are companies that have a customer service chat, online ordering, or video conferencing.

Viasat’s backup plan is a great solution for your business if you have a primary internet connection, but want peace of mind that you'll stay connected in case of an outage.

Viasat download speeds are around 35 Mbps in parts of the U.S. and up to 150 Mbps in select areas. Compared with other types of internet providers, cable internet download speeds can reach 1,000 Mbps, while dial-up speeds are less than 1 Mbps.

Yes, Viasat Business Internet is a good choice for many small businesses that can’t get internet with traditional internet providers. Viasat Internet is delivered via satellite, which means that it’ll be a lot slower than internet plans you can get in a big city. You probably wouldn’t want to get Viasat internet in Dallas, for example. Companies in big cities have many faster options than satellite internet. But, if you’re comparing satellite providers, Viasat is our top recommendation. Viasat has faster speeds than Hughesnet.

Viasat Business Internet is available to 98% of the population of the US in all 50 states. It’s available everywhere, although the speeds and plan availability vary by location. Some areas offer faster speeds than others. In order to get Viasat, you will need to have a clear view of the southern sky. If you live in a deep canyon or near other geographical features that interfere with a signal, you may not be able to get Viasat or any other type of satellite internet. To find out if Viasat is available in your area, type your zip code into our search tool.

You can access your Viasat Internet account by navigating to my.viasat.com. You can also access your Viasat account with the Viasat app—called My Viasat—which is available for Android and iPhone.

No, Viasat and Hughesnet are not the only satellite providers for rural businesses. Starlink is another viable satellite internet provider.

While Starlink doesn't technically have plans exclusive to businesses, the company markets and recommends its Starlink Priority plan for business owners. The biggest concern with Starlink is the near lack of any dedicated customer support, which can be a turn-off for businesses that need a reliable service.