Deciding a service provider is not easy especially when you are moving to a new area and don’t know anything about the kind of speeds that are available or the connection types being offered. At times, there can be various options to choose from which complicate the decision-making process. Since the internet is a necessity during these times of technology dependence and pandemic, it is a major decision that can determine many things for you, including your job security. Because if you are not available in everyday meetings or not able to complete the daily tasks, you might not be able to retain that job for long.
In a scenario where there are kids in the house as well, their learning will be entirely dependent upon the type of internet connection that you have in your house due to online schooling. So, this decision is of the utmost importance and the wrong choice can create many problems for you. In this article, we will compare two of the best internet service providers in the US that are offering services nationwide and making sure everyone has access to a solid internet connection. These two service providers are HughesNet & Spectrum.
- HughesNet VS Spectrum
HughesNet and Spectrum are one of the most widely available internet providers. However, HughesNet targets rural areas as its base market while Spectrum is mostly available in big cities and well-populated towns. Let’s have a look at both of these service providers and what they have to offer.
- Connection Type
Hughesnet is an internet service provider in the US that offers services through a satellite internet connection. With that, a satellite dish is installed at the customer’s location which is connected to the modem inside. This dish transfers signals from here to there and connects people to the online world. Since it does not require any wired network nearby or a wire coming into your house from the outside, HughesNet satellite is a preferred internet connection in rural areas where there are no internet options available.
Contrarily, Spectrum is a cable internet service provider that uses a coax cable connection to deliver services to the customers. This is a much better and faster connection than satellite and comparatively costs less.
- Internet Speed
To compare both of these providers, the second aspect that we are going to look at is the download speed being offered by both of these service providers. Spectrum offers various internet speed options with download speeds starting from 30 Mbps, which go up to 940 Mbps through its Gig plan. That makes Spectrum, one of the fastest internet service providers in the US for residential internet services.
On the other hand, HughesNet uses its Gen5 technology and delivers a download speed of up to 25 Mbps. There are no other speed options available with HughesNet as it offers plans based on data, not the download speed.
- Pricing
For Spectrum, the internet service plan that offers a download speed of up to 100 or 200 Mbps starts at $49.99 per month. If you go for the upper tiers such as 400 Mbps or the 940 Mbps, this will cost you $69.99 and $109.99 per month respectively.
With HughesNet, pricing does not differ based on the download speed being offered but the data plan customer chooses for him/herself. HughesNet offers four data plans that offer 10 GB, 20 GB, 30 GB, and 50 GB data per month whereas the prices start from $49.99 per month and go up to $149.99. Once the customers consume all the data in the plan, their download speeds go down, but they do not pay anything extra.
From this point of view, Hughesnet not only costs more but offers lower data compared to Spectrum which offers unlimited data. If you would like to know more about these plans, myhughesnet customer serviceis the best option to do that.
- Coverage & Availability
Spectrum is the second-largest cable internet service provider that offers services in over 40 states and is available to millions of customers nationwide. However, the major coverage areas are mainly cities.
Meanwhile, Hughesnet is one of the best choices for satellite internet services in the US that offers services in all 50 states and covers over 33000 zip codes nationwide. Whether it is a city like New York or a small town in Alaska, HughesNet has coverage almost everywhere as long as you can see the southern sky clearly.
So from the coverage and availability aspect, HughesNet is available in more states than Spectrum.
Final Thoughts
If we look at the overall speeds being offered and the cost per month, Spectrum is an obvious and much better option than HughesNet. However, the one problem is that Spectrum services are not available in all the states and especially the rural areas. If you are living in a remote location or in an area where there is no possibility of getting internet services, HughesNet is going to be a lifesaver for you.
