Hughes Network Systems, an EchoStar company, launched its third geosynchronous satellite — Jupiter 3 — in July this year. And today the company announced new satellite internet plans for the lower 48 U.S. states, leveraging the higher capacity of Jupiter 3.
Hughes claims Jupiter 3 is the world’s largest commercial communications satellite, and it enables Hughes to deliver download speeds up to 100 Mbps.
The company is now offering Select, Elite and Fusion home broadband plans. The Select, entry-level plan offers up to 50 Mbps download speeds and 5 Mbps upload speeds with unlimited data for $74.99 per month. The Elite plan boosts download speeds to up to 100 Mbps with 5 Mbps upload speeds and unlimited data for $89.99 per month.
And the company also offers its Hughesnet Fusion plan that is based on a hybrid of GEO satellite connectivity combined with terrestrial wireless, which improves latency compared to the satellite-only plans. Hughesnet Fusion provides 100/5 Mbps speeds and costs $109.99 per month.
All of the plans require the purchase or rental of some equipment that must be installed at the customer’s home or business.
Mark Wymer, senior vice president with Hughes, said the company will continue to offer satellite services with its Jupiter 1 and Jupiter 2 GEO satellites. “They can host our 25 Mbps plans, which the bulk of our base is on today. But the faster speeds are coming off our Jupiter 3, and all of our new customers will go on that.”
He said, “The new throughput with Jupiter 3 and speeds we’re going to be able to offer will be very competitive with the LEO offerings out there today."
Asked how Jupiter 3 is able to provide higher speeds and throughput, Wymer said it was the “raw scale of the satellite” and "its overall design with more powerful beams." The ultra-high-density satellite features more than 300 spot beams that alleviate congestion and deliver a faster experience.
And Hughes has also improved the terrestrial fiber network between gateways to support faster transitions. The ground system for Jupiter 3 has a new dedicated fiber backbone to reduce latency, and it uses artificial intelligence to automatically reroute traffic around congestion. "Overall, the network itself has been crafted to get the best performance out of GEO,” said Wymer.
Hughesnet Fusion
Hughes began offering its hybrid Hughesnet Fusion product earlier this year.
Hughesnet Fusion has partnered with some unnamed wireless carriers in North America, but Hughes has not named those carriers. Wymer said, “We continue to try and work with as many carriers as we can because we want the maximum amount of coverage. Right now, that product is probably available to 60-70% of the U.S.”