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New Satellite = New Plans

How much difference does a new satellite make? Hughes Network Systems evidently believes it makes a huge difference. With its latest bird, Jupiter 3, becoming operational, it has dramatically increased capacity.

What difference does the new satellite make?

HughesNet, therefore, is offering three new consumer service plans.

Last July. HughesNet launched the third of its geosynchronous satellites, Jupiter 3. The firm expected it to bring massive improvement in consumer internet services. It has. HughesNet has begun offering faster residential service tiers, with a maximum download speed of 100 megabits per second (MB/S. This is twice the previous maximum of 50 MB/S.

The 50 MB/S plan, called Select, is now the entry-level plan. It sells for $7499 per month. In addition, HughesNet offers an Elite plan, with a maximum download speed of 100 MB/S and a monthly price of $8999. Finally, a Fusion plan, selling for $10999 per month, combines terrestrial wireless signals with satellite connectivity. This presumably will reduce latency. Fusion provides a maximum download speed of 100 MB/S.

For its Fusion service, HughesNet has formed partnerships with several wireless networks in North America. However, the firm has not named its partners publicly.

Hughes calls Jupiter 3 the largest commercial communications satellite in existence.

What changes can you expect?

Mark Wymer, a senior vice president for Hughes, says the firm will continue to offer services through its older Jupiter 1 and Jupiter 2 satellites. “They can host our 25 MB/S plans, which the bulk of our base is on today,” Wymer said. “But the faster speeds are coming off our Jupiter 3, and all of our new customers will go on that.”

When asked about the practical difference the new satellite makes, Wymer said the “…raw scale of the satellite” and “its overall design with more powerful beams” will provide higher speed and capacity.

“The new throughput with Jupiter 3 and speeds we’re going to be able offer will be very competitive with the LEO offering out there today.”

LEO means Low Earth Orbit. LEO systems usually feature low latency because cause the signals don’t have to travel thousands of miles both ways.

In addition, the new bird can transmit 300 spot beams, relieving congestion and increasing data speed.

With HughesNet’s new bird, new customers can expect higher speed, higher capacity, and lower latency.

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Hybrid Satellite-Cellular Network Debuts

HughesNet made its name with its satellite internet system. Some people think this is all it does. Now, though, the firm wants to unite the stratosphere with terra firma. For selected areas, Hughes Network Systems has begun operating a hybrid internet service combining satellite and terrestrial cellular signals.

Hughes calls the new system HughesNet Fusion.

Why would anyone bother with such a combination, you might ask? It’s because each component enhances the other, and the combined system functions better than the separate components do.

Hybrid Broadband: The Best of Both Worlds

The satellite system can work almost everywhere. Its signals come from satellites 22,500 miles in altitude, so it covers almost the entire planet. It doesn’t require cable or telecom lines, nor wireless cellular towers, so it’s not limited to urban or suburban neighborhoods. Because of this, HughesNet serves areas other high -speed providers can’t reach.

The 5G wireless cellular component provides fast, low-latency signals, making it suitable for gaming and video streaming.

Areas with the hybrid system get the best of both technologies. The network can switch from the satellite system to the local cellular system, depending on the needs of the moment and the traffic the network is carrying. Gamers get sufficient speed and capacity, and rural areas get broadband service.

For the consumer, the hybrid network is low in cost. It offers true broadband speed. It’s available almost everywhere. It is highly reliable and it’s dense in capacity.

HughesNet previewed the hybrid system for the press at the SATELLITE Conference last March.

Hughes calls the new network a “multipath system”, and says it’s the wave of the future. To our knowledge, nobody else offers anything similar.

HughesNet offers 25 megabits er second (MB/S) download speeds with no hard data limits. Fusion plans, though, are available only in select regions of the U.S. To find out what’s available where you live, call Satellite Country.

Hughes will offer Fusion in many other areas early next year. So if you can’t get it where you live yet, you may be able to get it later. We will provide updates.

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Rural Mexico Gets HughesNet Service

For years, many internet systems have worked with the U.S. government to help poor families obtain broadband. HughesNet is now going further. It has begun work on a broadband system for rural Mexico.

Working with several other parties, Hughes is bringing satellite connections to thousands of rural locations. Other participants include GlobalSat, EutelSat, StarGroup, and Apconet/Aitelecom. All are working with HughesNet’s Jupiter system.

The Benefit for Rural Mexico

More than 9000 sites, including schools, community centers, and medical clinics, will get the broadband service. HughesNet will participate in 7200 of the projects.

The program is meant to reach ‘underserved’ communities. The U N defines ‘underserved’.

StarGroup, long a HughesNet partner in the region, will transmit Ka band signals from the Hughes Jupiter fleet. Its purpose will be to provide free or discounted access to homes and some small businesses.

Each cell will support download speeds of up to 12 megabits per second (MB/S), and upload speeds of up to 3 MB/S. By comparison, the regular Hughes service in Mexico delivers 25 MB/S for downloads and 3 MB/S for uploads.

To prepare for full operation, Hughes plans to launch a next-generation Jupiter-3 satellite early in 2023. The new bird will provide more than 500 gigabits per second (GB/S) of capacity. This will make a huge difference. Some areas it’s meant to serve have never had any broadband service.

Benefits of HughesNet Broadband

Here in the U S of A, HughesNet has been a premier provider of broadband service for decades. All of its U S service tiers provide download speeds of up to 25 MB/S.

HughesNet works well where many other internet services don’t work at all. It may be ideal for suburban and rural areas, where cable and fiber networks don’t exist. HughesNet is available everywhere in the continental U.S. All you need is a clear line of site to the southern sky.

And with several plans available, you can find one that meets your needs and budget. Don’t delay.

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Affordable Connectivity

Some Americans lack money. This has always been true, but especially in the last two years. And with all of the financial pressure we face, broadband internet service could be out of reach for some of us. With this in mind, HughesNet has joined the FCC Affordable Connectivity Program.

What IS affordable internet access anyway? – World Wide Web Foundation

Under its terms, each household can get up to a $30.00 monthly credit against broadband bills. For residents of tribal lands, the monthly credit could be up to $75.00.

In addition, the program does not require credit checks or annual contracts.

Qualifying is simple, and you can apply online or by mail. Getting in is a three-step process:

The first step is to visit the FCC website to see if you qualify. The second is to submit your application. The final step is to call Satellite Country with the verification code the FCC gives you.

Where is the affordable broadband available?

HughesNet service is available everywhere in the continental U.S. You can even get it in rural areas where telecom and cable networks don’t exist. All you need is a clear line of site to the southern sky for the satellite dish.

If you live in an apartment, though, you may need landlord permission to mount the dish on the building.

What do you get with HughesNet?

HughesNet satellite internet service is true broadband, with download speeds of 25 megabits per second and upload speeds of 3 MB/S.

Through Satellite Country, you can get any of four affordable HughesNet data plans, from 15 gigabytes per month to 75 G gigabytes per month. All plans come with built-in WiFi.

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Texas Hires HughesNet

For many state governments, HughesNet provides the perfect solutions for certain broadband services. Several states have hired Hughes for this; Texas is the latest.

texas-flag-park-conroe-4 - 365 Things to Do in Houston

Last week, the Texas Department of Information Resources awarded a multi-year contract to HughesNet. This was for managed network services.

Tony Bardo, an Assistant Vice President for Government Services at Hughes, called the new contract an important milestone. Usually, state governments award separate contracts for each service. And almost all go to incumbent vendors. Lately, though, several states have begun to hire multiple vendors for each service. This, Bardo says, creates opportunities for late arrivals such as HughesNet.

It may help you to know the meanings of these terms. With that in mind, we’re here to help: SD-WAN means ‘software defined wide area network’. SD networks rely on automated software programs for tasks that once required physical controls. A WAN is a large information network that does not depend on signals from a single location.

The New Kid in Town

Bardo said, “These state contracts are just now beginning to emerge and add vendors, and add choice and options. The SD-WAN and the managed broadband network market in the state governments is about to explode, I think.”

HughesNet won its first contract for state managed network services four yeas ago. It was one of three vendors qualifying in Pennsylvania. Since then, Bardo says, HughesNet has won similar contracts from Colorado, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Virginia, and Washington. “I would like to get fifty sets of contracts, and we’re working on it”, Bardo said. “The list is growing as we speak. New Jersey just issued an RFP ( request for procurement) and we’re responding to that… We’re also doing a North Dakota procurement right now.”

What is Texas getting?

You may think of HughesNet as a provider of satellite web connections for sparsely populated rural areas. You might not know the firm also offers managed services over cable, fiber, wireless, and fixed wireless networks, though. And with more than four hundred partners, Hughes can coordinate and manage many other services.

If you need specialized internet services, contact us. You might be surprised at what we can do for you.

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Metaverse Hype: Communist Propaganda?

Does the recent noise and fuss about the Metaverse resemble Communist propaganda? Phil Libin, A CEO who grew up in the Soviet Union. says so. He calls the hype “empty promises of an idealized future.’

Soviet propaganda poster" Art Board Print by Khokhloma | Redbubble

Libin founded Evernote, a note-taking app. He now heads Mmhmm, a videoconferencing firm.

Speaking in a recent podcast hosted by Eric Newcomer, Libin blasted Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of alternate reality. Mr. Z’s promises, he says, will never materialize. It is “…a gloss that uncreative people and companies put over fundamentally a lack of good ideas.” Ouch! That had to leave a mark.

What makes Metaverse hype like Communist propaganda?

So then, where does the comparison with Communist propaganda come in? “I went to first grade in the Soviet Union”, Libin said. “I was subjected to a lot of Soviet propaganda, and I was told… repeatedly, “Communism doesn’t exist yet. We haven’t built Communism yet. We’re building towards Communism.” Libin believes Zuckerberg and company are playing the same game. “You know, you can smell a bad idea before it’s fully built”, he says. “So I don’t want to hear, ‘Oh yeah, the Metaverse doesn’t exist yet. No, no, no, all this stupid, useless, crappy stuff that exists right now, that’s not the Metaverse. The Metaverse is coming. It’s coming.'”

Zuckerberg’s pet project has drawn fierce criticism. Some analysts say it will prove even more addictive than current social media. And so far, a distressingly high percentage of users seem to be children. They would be especially prone to suggestion through immersive digital environments. And people who grow accustomed to such experience would lose ability to function in reality.

Libin sneers at such concerns. He calls the Metaverse idea “so spectacularly stupid, there’s actually not that much to fear.”

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Across the Metaverse

Is your future in the ’embedded internet’?

Can you travel across the Metaverse? Should you?

If you ever saw The Matrix, a 1999 movie starring Keanu Reeves and Lawrence Fishburn, you might guess roughly what this is about. In the movie, self-aware machines have trapped the human race in a virtual reality simulation.

Laurence Fishburne Doesn't Know Why 'Matrix 4' Left Morpheus Out | IndieWire

Well, now a real life version of The Matrix could be coming our way. Facebook and Microsoft have made much noise lately about their versions: an “embedded internet” meant to render the current internet obsolete.

Facebook’s Version of the Metaverse

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, calls his version the “Metaverse”. A “people-first internet”, it would rely less on current forms of social media and browser search. Instead, it would rely far more on VR and AR connections that seem almost to be alternate worlds. Zuckerberg has committed himself so fiercely to this vision, he renamed Facebook as ‘Meta’.

At a recent Oculus Connect event, Zuckerberg’s troops demonstrated seamless connectivity between some of its apps, such as Messenger, and Oculus VR and AR devices. Zuckerberg emphasizes social media and personal use.

Microsoft’s Version

Microsoft, by contrast, gears its version to business and professional use. The company claims to have built a collection of tools for enabling businesses to create “immersive spaces”. Via AR and VR, these tools will facilitate more advanced online meetings. Some apps enable ‘moving’ and interacting in virtual factories and retail outlets. These apps go by the name of Dynamics 365 Connected Spaces.

Microsoft calls the software for this project “Mesh”.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, dismisses Meta’s version as unrealistic. “The public perception of The Metaverse, as a futuristic world where plugged-in people recreate their whole lives online, is still a ways off. But business uses are starting to be available now.”

What Should You Believe?

Of course, we can’t predict the future. However, we can make some educated guesses. The Metaverse is unlikely to be as sinister as alarmists predict. And it’s unlikely to benefit us as much as its promoters predict.

Every new communication medium can draw us in and tempt us to abandon reality. All can be addictive. This was true of the original internet. It was true of television. It was even true of radio. We decide how much we’re going to immerse ourselves in any medium. We can walk away if we want to.

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LG Builds 325″ Direct View TV Set

Would you pay $1.7 million for a TV set? Well, on the off chance you were dying to part with such a large sum, LG wants to help you do it.

LG Launching 325 Inch TV That Costs A Staggering Amount Of Money

On September 14, the South Korean electronics giant announced the release of a 325″ ( 27 feet and 1 inch) direct view 8K TV set. It shatters the previous record of 171 inches.

LG’s behemoth somewhat resembles Sony’s Crystal TV and Samsung’s The Wall. Like them, LG’s new offering features a gargantuan screen with millions of LEDs. The LG set, with 33 million LEDs, is a component of its Extreme Home Cinema line.

Unlike The Wall, LG’s new set is not modular. It is a single screen, not a combination of of screens configured to display a single image. Also, it differs from most other giant sets in its direct view format- the same one you’d find in most homes. Most giant sets rely on rear projection.

LG’s giant set weighs more than a ton. Merely installing the beast requires specialized training.

LG says its new TV set is rated for a half-life of 100,000 hours, which means it’s good for at least ten years of standard use. And if you buy one, LG technicians will visit your house twice a year to check on it.

Direct View LED (DVLED) technology has seen fairly common use in commercial signage in the last few years. However, it has seen almost no residential use.

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How to Remove Your Digital Ex

Divorce or breakup can be heartbreaking. And the heartbreak can prove all the more intense if we’re unable to avoid contact with our exes- or reminders of life with them. So if you’ve suffered a breakup, then, how can you remove your ex from your digital life?

Wisconsin Court System - Court services - For the public - Self-help law center

Block or Unfollow Your Ex

This would seem to be elementary. Most of us, though, find it difficult to suppress curiosity about our exes. Still, we have to discipline ourselves to avoid searching their profiles. If we do search them, we train the Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram algorithms to show us more about them, and this is also true of inquiries on browser search engines such as Google, Safari, or Firefox.

You may also have to mute friends or family members (temporarily, of course) who often share photos of your ex. This tells the algorithms you want to avoid these people, and your feed will feature different posts.

Remove Memories from Your Tablets, Phones, and Social Media

If you own one of the newer iPhones, this will be easy. In iOS 14, you’ll find a tool labelled Suggest Fewer Memories Like This. To activate it, open the Photos tab. Tap the For You icon, and you’ll find a list labelled Memory. Choose one you want to eliminate. You’ll find three dots next to your choice. Hit these, and you’ll be shown two options: Delete Memory and Suggest Fewer Memories Like This.

In Facebook, you’ll find the Hide People option on the left side of the Memories page.

Google Photos offers the options of hiding people, pets, or even particular dates- so you can avoid painful reminders of anniversaries. Find the Photos app, scroll to Photo Settings, and open the Memories tab. When you find it, hit the Hide People or Pets or Hide Date icons.

Monitor Your Smart Home Devices

If you neglect this step, you’re begging for trouble. Out of concern for privacy, we recommend NOT acquiring an Alexa or Siri device in the first place. If you do have one, though, and you can’t bear to part with it, at least exercise caution with it. An ex could activate the device remotely- even when you’re away from your home.

Kim Komando, a web expert who bills herself “Your Digital Goddess”, says she’s heard more stories than she can count about exes connecting to WiFi systems of old mates and bugging their routers. Even worse, it’s legal in most jurisdictions to hack WiFi.

Remove or Audit Old Accounts

Some web services, such as iCloud and Google Drive, allow access by exes to sensitive data, including text and photos, so you may have to contact the provider to remove your ex’s access. Exercise special vigilance in monitoring shared paid services, and ejecting your ex if necessary.

Change Your Passwords and Security Questions

Kim Komando suggests changing your passwords to any old accounts if there’s even a chance your ex still has them. And don’t forget the security questions. Even in a casual relationship, partners are likely remember important events in each other’s histories.

For paid services, such as Netflix, you may need additional steps after changing passwords. Check the box marked Require All Devices to Sign in Again with New Password. You’ll have to log in again, but your privacy- and avoiding additional expense- is worth the inconvenience.

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If you want to remove your ex from your online activity, these suggestions will help. Remember: eternal vigilance is the price of privacy.

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Could Someone Blow Up the Internet?

You may have heard of Seth Aaron Pendley. The FBI arrested him last week for plotting to blow up an Amazon data center in Virginia in hope of crippling the internet.

Man in Texas Tried to Buy Explosives to Blow up Data Centers

The Department of Justice announced his arrest in a press release: “Mr. Pendley allegedly told the undercover he planned to attack web servers… he believed provided services to the FBI, the CIA, and other federal agencies. He said he hoped to bring down the ‘oligarchy’ currently in power in the United States.”

The DOJ said the undercover agents discovered the plot because one of Pendley’s friends warned them. He had allegedly frequented MyMilitia.com. This, according to the DOJ, is a website on which ‘extremists’ socialize and plot subversion, and through which Pendley had boasted of his plans. Under the screen name ‘Dionysus’, someone had said he planned to “conduct a little experiment.” He said he would “draw a lot of heat” and “would be dangerous”. According to the DOJ, “When another user asked what outcome Dionysus desired, he responded ‘death’.”

In a separate post, Dionysus wrote, “I’m not a dumbass suicide bomber.” Well, that’s reassuring!

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The DoJ said its agents quickly figured out who ‘Dionysus’ was. After learning he was Pendley, the FBI reviewed his other social media feeds. An FBI informant then began discussing Pendley’s plans with him via Signal. He allegedly told the source everything. The DoJ said he planned to blow up a prominent data center with C-4, allegedly hoping “this would kill off about 70% of the internet.” C-4 is a plastic explosive.

If convicted, Pendley could serve up to twenty years in a federal prison.

Could he have pulled it off? Could someone actually blow up the internet?

Was Pendley realistic in thinking he could have “killed off about 70% of the internet”? Experts say no; his self-appointed task was impossible. IT professionals typically arrange extremely tight multi-level security for data centers. And on the off chance someone could blow up a data center, internet functions are so widely dispersed, auxiliary servers could easily fill in for the damaged ones. Most people would not even notice any slowing of web service.

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