Viasat Business Internet (Formerly Exede) Review

Thu, Jan 26, 2023 6:50 AM

Viasat Business Internet uses satellites to transmit the internet to remote locations where typical earthbound links don't quite reach, rather than fiber-optic cables, coaxial cables, or telephone wires (yet). As a result, Viasat is available in all 50 states of the United States.

The link speed, though, can vary depending on the intensity of the connection in each location. The average advertised download speed is currently 15 Mbps. This is significantly slower than the national average of 18.7 Mbps in the United States.

Pros:

Plans with a meter are available all over the world.

In some places, speeds of up to 100 Mbps are possible.

Satellite relation that is dependable

After hitting a data cap, unlimited plans allow (slow) internet access.

Cons:

There are data limits on certain plans.

In certain cases, unlimited plans are not affordable.

Prices aren't mentioned on the website.

Contracts of 24 months

Best for small towns and rural locations

Although Viasat internet is not as fast as some other internet service providers (ISPs), in many rural areas, their satellite internet will easily outperform any existing network, if one exists.
(Get Rural Satellite Internet with Viasat Internet Services)

Satellite-based networks like Viasat have broad coverage, which is a huge plus for companies outside of major cities, while many ISPs ignore vast swaths of the region.

Rural companies are often hampered by sluggish legacy internet, with some paying upwards of $30 a month for download speeds of less than 5 megabits per second and upload speeds of less than 1 megabit per second.

For basic tasks, such as accounting, most small businesses need faster internet than that.

Email sending and receiving
Document uploading and saving
Video conferencing via streaming video
Using cloud-based software
Creating a backup of relevant documents

Since Viasat business internet makes most of these tasks feasible, it's a realistic solution for small businesses in places where conventional ISPs aren't accessible.

Even now in areas where DSL (direct subscriber line) connections via telephone lines are open, businesses should consider Viasat because satellite internet is up to ten times faster.

Satellite connections, on the other hand, cannot equal the speed of fiber-optic internet. Businesses that need higher speeds (150+ Mbps) should consider switching to another provider's fiber network.

Is it expensive?

Viasat offers a variety of plans, from low-cost to high-cost.

This illustrates the fact that Viasat's lower-cost plans offer slow internet connectivity, while their higher-cost plans are often the only way to get high-speed internet in many regions.

Viasat offers two forms of business internet plans: metered and unrestricted.

Metered internet plans give you access to a pre-determined amount of data per billing cycle.

Customers have the option to buy more after the amount has been reached.

Metered plans are also slower than unlimited plans from Viasat.

 You can see below the unlimited plans of Viasat.

Metered Broadband 1GB – $50/mo – 35 Mbps downloads/4 Mbps uploads, 1GB usage limit, $10 for each additional GB of data. 
Metered Broadband 10GB – $80/mo – 35 mbps/4 mbps, 10GB usage limit, $10/additional GB 
Metered Broadband 20GB – $100/mo – 35 mbps/4 mbps, 20GB usage limit, $6/additional GB 
Metered Broadband 50GB – $150/mo – 35 mbps/4 mbps, 50GB usage limit, $3/additional GB 
Metered Broadband 200GB – $400/mo – 35 mbps/4 mbps, 200GB usage limit, $2/additional GB 

Although metered plans can suffice for small companies with relatively low internet needs (such as small stores, salons, and local diners), those with more complex demands should seek an unlimited plan.

Unlimited Business Internet Plans

Although their name is Unlimited, Viasat unlimited plans have data use limitations.

A'soft cap' is used by Viasat on its unrestricted plans. This means that once the data limit is reached, the link slows down (to 5 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads with Viasat).

Customers would not need to buy additional data in order to continue using the internet.

However, they will need to pay for additional data if they want to use it for more difficult tasks like downloading large files or streaming video.

Unlimited 35 – $175 – download speed 35 Mbps/upload speed 4 Mbps, soft cap 75GB 
Unlimited 60 – $300 – 60 mbps/4 Mbps, soft cap 150GB 
Unlimited 100 – $500 – 100 Mbps/4mbps, soft cap 200GB

Plans with unlimited data aren't available always. Businesses can go on Viasat's page to see what plans are open in their market.

The two-year terms are a disadvantage of Viasat's plans.

However, since most companies outside of major cities don't have many options for service providers, this might not be a deal-breaker.

Customer Support

Viasat makes support available via: 

FAQ pages
Online chat 
Telephone support (in English and Spanish) 
Email 

While some ISPs make it simple to contact a representative, Viasat prefers to direct customer inquiries via their FAQ sites, and getting a hold of anyone can be difficult.

Customer service representatives, on the other hand, are usually courteous and supportive.

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