Oct 07 2008
Terrible Experience with WildBlue Satellite Internet Service
For a year I had been searching for DSL or a Wireless Internet that would be available in my area. I live out in the boonies, and unfortunately, Verizon, A T & T and Comcast are not available in my area. (Along with a hundred other places that I have searched for.)
I debated a while on getting Satellite Internet. One of the things that helped me to choose the WildBlue Satellite Internet Service, was because I am a DishNetwork Subscriber, and it was available through DishNetwork.
To start off you have to wait a week before someone will come out to your home to install the Satellite Dish.
Two men who were supposed to install my satellite dish came out for the first time about a week after I had ordered the service, unprepared. They did not bring the items needed and therefore I did not the dish set up. They had to ‘re-schedule.’
Days later, on their second visit, it took them half a day to install it, and the equipment in the corner of my room looked like a rats nest. They were very unprofessional to say the least.
Now here’s the kicker, things they will not tell you. Being I had been on dial up for long, I was accustomed to downloading and uploading what I wanted, when I wanted, with no idea of how many kb, mb, etc. that I was using.
After being on WildBlue Satellite Internet Service for an estimated two months, my connection was funky. It would not load pages, it would time out and give me error messages.
I called the Support Number trying to get it straightened out. The lady rudely let me know that I had reached my ‘limit’ for the month. When I told her that I was unaware of a ‘limit’ she informed me the information was available on their website as how much I could download and upload per month.
For $50+ (with taxes) a month, I have a limit? Although dial up may be half the speed, it’s only $10 a month and you have NO LIMIT.
I was angry, and told her to cancel my account being I could not get online anyway due to their ‘rules.’ (I cannot afford $79+ a month for internet service, which would be their ‘upgrade’ to lift the low limit)
She informed me that I was under a contract and should I cancel, that I would still have to pay $25 a month for 18 months cancellation fee. Now is this not the most ridiculous cancellation fee you have ever heard of? I could understand a one time fee of $25, but for 18 months?
But I can understand why they do that. They are out for the money. They know their service sucks, and that people will not keep it long, so they want to bleed money out of people any way that they can.
I just want everyone to know all about WildBlue Satellite Internet Service before making a decision to use them.
3 Responses to “Terrible Experience with WildBlue Satellite Internet Service”
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We moved out to the boonies two years ago, and didn’t know until we got here that internet options were limited. We went with Wild Blue because it was the only “affordable” option at the time - they were running a special where we didn’t have to pay down a huge deposit. It took about a week for them to come set up the dish. Direct TV came and installed their own dish before Wild Blue could get out here.
We paid $80 a month - which we could not afford, but since I’m a telecommuter, I had no choice. The service with Wild Blue wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible. When my 2-year contract ended a few months ago, I began looking for cheaper options. AT&T’s wireless card is available in our area, for only $50 a month. It only allows one of us to be on the computer at a time, which isn’t a problem because my hubby isn’t a computer junkie like I am. But it is a problem if I need to have 2 computers running at the same time or networking. So this isn’t my final option.
When I signed up for the AT&T card, they didn’t mention anything about there being a limit, but when all the paperwork arrived, I noticed it, and called them. The limit was 5 GB of transfer per month. I knew that I would probably go over that, because I transfer manuscripts and photographs daily in my work. I called, complained, and they told me there was NO WAY ANYONE would ever go over 5 GB of transfer in a month’s time. “It’s not possible.” They told me the first billing cycle would end in 2 weeks’ time and we could gauge how much I was using, and if I was over halfway to the 5 GB at that point, I could still cancel my contract or decide on another option. The day my usage was posted, I got an email from them that said the problem had been resolved. They bumped me to an unlimited account. My 2 week usage was 2.67 GB.
When/if DSL or cable arrives in my area, I’ll be the first in line.
Sorry for such a long post. You got me started!
Great blog. I’ll be back.
I’ll keep looking.