With satellite internet providers we look into a few factors they have in common with traditional internet providers, but also aspects that are unique to satellite-based services. While traditional ISPs market their services with super fast speeds and competitive pricing, satellite internet’s main draw is the ability to connect to the web from nearly anywhere while staying reliable.
Due to this distinction, the reality with satellite internet plans is that they typically cost more and offer limited speeds with priority data caps. So it’s important that a satellite internet provider demonstrates its value with dependable service and top-notch customer support.
Depending on your location, Viasat offers plans with speeds that rival basic plans from cable or DSL providers, from as low as 12Mbps up to a comfortable 150Mbps.
While Viasat and other providers advertise download speeds up to 150Mbps, these are not guaranteed. So while you’re not going to get the lightning download speeds of fiber, it’s more than enough for streaming, surfing the web, email, and voice chat. However, if you need to be conservative with your allotted data then streaming movies and music needs to be limited to low quality.
So while bandwidth is pretty middle-of-the-road in the best-case scenario, the metric that’s also important to consider is average latency. Unfortunately, this is a common weakness among satellite providers.
Similar to Hughesnet, Viasat utilizes geostationary satellites that remain in a high orbit above the Earth, contributing to the higher latency. In contrast, SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s upcoming Project Kuiper use low-earth orbit satellites that are much closer to the planet, allowing for lower latency.
So how bad is Viasat's latency?
Latency is the amount of time it takes for your device to communicate with the rest of the web and satellite internet latency is notoriously high. While download speeds are decent, it will still appear like your internet is slow basically because the signal has so far to travel.
“(Viasat) was ok,” said Jason Astel, a former Viasat customer in rural Missouri. “Speeds were good, but the latency was bad—800ms plus. It was not an ISP to stream anything.”
You can tell you have high latency when for example you click a link on the web and you’re met with a blank page or it seems like your computer isn’t reacting at all.
Average latency from providers like Viasat has been measured in the high hundred milliseconds like Astel’s experience (for comparison, average cable latency is 15–35 ms). This makes multitasking on the internet difficult and especially frustrating with multiple people in the household using the internet.
Astel said even when using the VoIP service to talk on the phone, there was a noticeable delay in conversations.
David who uses the service for work said most times it’s not so bad, but when there’s a lot of volume on the network, the congestion can cause errors and especially slow response times.
Is Viasat good for gaming?
Viasat’s higher-tier plans with 100–150Mbps and at least 300GB and up are best suited for gaming. That said, satellite internet generally shouldn’t be your first choice for online gaming, particularly anything multiplayer or competitive, because of its high latency. In fact, even Viasat itself doesn’t recommend satellite internet for fast-paced, multiplayer gaming. Your latency and ping can be the difference between winning and losing like in first-person shooters and other games where fast reactions matter. Games that are turn-based would work better, granted you and your opponents don’t mind a little lag.
When using satellite internet in a rural location, it could be one of your only lines to the rest of the world. This should begin with the initial installation of your equipment. Their installation process is thoroughly explained on their website, setting you up for the best installation, so you get the best possible signal for your home.
“The actual service has been reliable enough to not have to contact customer service,” said Michael David, a network engineer who uses Viasat at his job.
Customers we’ve spoken with say that while speed can be an issue, it’s extremely rare that it outright stops working, even when you run out of your priority data or the network seems congested. Weather will significantly affect the speed of your Viasat service, but that’s also true with any satellite provider.
During the best conditions and it’s still not working as expected, then it’s imperative your service provider resolve the issue as fast and efficiently as possible. Be aware of fees for service calls that cost up to $95 and a hefty fee of $200 if you need your dish relocated to a different spot. Viasat offers an EasyCare add-on service that waives most of these service fees and gives you priority support but costs an additional $9.99 per month.
Do we think it would be better if these things were just included in Viasat's normal service? Sure. But since that's not likely to happen, you might consider Viasat EasyCare, particularly if you've been burned by bad customer care or expensive service calls before.
Viasat Shield Premium—$8.99/mo.
Viasat Shield is the security and diagnostics application that comes with your service. It allows you to monitor your priority data and see what devices are using the most.
Viasat Shield Premium is a premium add-on that gives you an extra bit of protection when browsing the web and includes BitDefender cybersecurity.
The equivalent software from BitDefender costs only $3 a month ($39.99 a year, with a one-year agreement). You're paying more for ease of integration with Viasat Shield Premium since it's connected directly to your satellite internet services, devices, and Viasat account.
All satellite internet operates on limited bandwidth. With only so many satellites to provide internet coverage to customers, Viasat deals with congestion of its network on a daily basis. With its updated Unleashed plan, Viasat offers its customers unlimited high-speed data. While Viasat’s new plan is virtually unlimited, it does let customers know that if they go over the monthly, normal usage of data, which they claim as 850GB, then they will likely slow speeds down to save bandwidth.
Hughesnet manages the traffic of its network with a 200GB cap on priority data, so once you go over, your speeds will slow to around 1 to 3Mbps. Starlink’s Priority plans give customers the full speed of up to 220Mbps, depending on your location, but the Standard Starlink plan gives customers speeds around 100Mbps. Plus with Starlink’s superior latency, those speeds are decent for most users. Starlink also has priority plans that are measured in terabytes (TB) which equals 1000GB. Viasat Unleashed is going to be better for heavy-data households but it's tough to say how consistent speeds will be with every customer given free rein with unlimited high-speed data.
With the new unlimited data plan, Viasat no longer offers Data Boosts or the Office Hours add-on that provided unlimited data when using approved business applications, which was ideal for customers who work from home. However, now with the unlimited data plan, there’s no longer an option to buy more data if you happen to run into the 850GB cap. While you’d have to be a pretty heavy data user to run into it, it’s not clear how slow Viasat will limit you if you do.
Is Viasat good for streaming?
Viasat offers up to 150Mbps, which is easily fast enough to run Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and most streaming services.
Viasat’s Unleashed plan is ideal for customers who stream a lot because of its unlimited data. Streaming can be a huge drain on allotted high-speed data, but since Viasat virtually got rid of its cap you shouldn’t have to worry about running out even when you watch HD or 4K TV. Use our How Much Internet Data Do I Need? guide to help you pick a plan.
So, is Viasat worth it? With plans ranging from about $99.99 to $119.99 and varying bandwidth, it really depends on what’s available to you at your location and what your primary use is for it. Also, be aware that you’ll need to pay a monthly lease of $15 for your equipment and an upfront installation fee of up to $300, pending a soft-credit check.
The Unleashed plan is perfectly suitable for keeping you online at an affordable price when you use the internet for your typical web browsing, sending emails, hopping on social media, and the occasional movie or TV show stream. Also, if you’re a heavy user (i.e. streaming every day, working from home through the web, frequently video conferencing, and sharing large data files) then the promise of unlimited high-speed data should be appealing, especially when compared to Hughesnet which caps customers off at 200GB per month.
Viasat also joins Starlink in ditching a mandatory contract, allowing you to pay month-to-month and end the service whenever you want, with them just requiring you return the equipment in their provided packaging. Hughesnet is the only major satellite internet provider in the U.S. that requires a two-year commitment and will charge an early termination fee.
With passable bandwidth for most internet uses and unlimited data, but high latency, you’ll find using Viasat very limiting especially if you’re accustomed to hardwired ISPs like fiber, cable, or DSL. However, Viasat has proven for more than a decade that it does work and can keep people connected no matter how remote they are.