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HughesNet Fair Access Policy for Residential Customers who subscribed to one of the HughesNet Service Plans on or after August 23, 2022

HughesNet Fair Access Policy

Hughes maintains a Fair Access Policy to ensure fair and equitably balanced Internet access for all HughesNet® subscribers. Hughes assigns a Data Allowance to each service plan that may be downloaded or uploaded within a one-month period. Subscribers who exceed this limit will experience a temporary reduction of speed.

HughesNet Service Plan Data allowances will be based upon the HughesNet Service plan you are currently subscribed to. Each HughesNet Service plan comes with a Bonus Zone data allowance of 50 GB of available data which may (subject to your available remaining Bonus Zone data allowance for the month) be used during Bonus Zone Hours (2 am to 8 am every day).

Service Features and Conditions

All Service Plans feature the No Hard Data Limits where the user can continue to use the Service without being charged for additional data usage.  If a user uses more data than is provided in the monthly plan, he or she will experience reduced data speeds, until their next billing period. Reduced speeds may be as low as or lower than 1 Mbps and may cause Web sites to load more slowly or affect the performance of certain activities such as video streaming or large downloads/uploads.

All Service Plans include data-saving features to maximize the user’s service plan data.  With the Video Data Saver feature, streaming is optimized with video streams at DVD quality (up to 480p). For best performance, the user should leave any video streaming applications at their default automatic resolution setting. Most video services are supported. Not all video sources are identifiable.

How does the Fair Access Policy work?

HughesNet service plans allow unlimited downloading and uploading. However, to ensure consistent performance for all users, a Fair Access Policy provides for a limit, based on your service plan as described above, on the amount of data which can be used before your service performance is reduced. The policy is implemented automatically by monitoring your usage, including data which is sent from or to your HughesNet terminal. Each HughesNet service plan is assigned a Service Plan Data Allowance. This is the amount of data, in bytes, which can be uploaded or downloaded within the month at full speed. If your data usage exceeds the allowance for your plan, the throughput (speed) of your service will be reduced until your next billing period.  The speed of the Services may be reduced to as low as or lower than 1 Mbps. It is important to note, however, that uploading or downloading large files will be affected and may cause Web sites to load more slowly or affect the performance of certain activities such as video streaming or large downloads/uploads.

When is my Data Allowance refilled?

Each HughesNet terminal is assigned a Data Allowance cycle, based upon the date of activation. The refill cycles are based upon a 28-day month (1-28), and the cycle day matches your activation day. If your service is activated on the 29th, 30th, or 31st day of a month, your cycle will be set to the first day of the month. As an example, if you activate service on October 3, your cycle day is 3, and your Data Allowance will be refilled overnight on the third day of each month. If you activate your service on October 30, your cycle day is 1, and your Data Allowance will be refilled overnight on the first day of each month.

How is my usage calculated?

HughesNet counts each byte of data sent from, or to, your terminal. This includes packet headers, re-transmissions, and other standard overhead which is part of any IP communications. However, when HughesNet is able to apply compression and reduce the size of the data you send or receive, only the compressed (smaller) data is counted against your usage.

What happens if I don’t use all of my Data Allowance?

Any unused Data Allowance at the end of your cycle is lost, and your Data Allowance is reset to the normal monthly amount assigned to your Service Plan.

How does Bonus Zone work?

All HughesNet Gen5 Service Plans are assigned a separate allocation of 50 GB for use during the period between 2 am and 8 am (Bonus Zone Hours). During the Bonus Zone Hours, your usage is first deducted from your Bonus Zone monthly allowance, if available, for full-speed service. If your Bonus allowance is empty, then your usage is deducted from your Service Plan allowance, if available, for full-speed service. In other words, your Bonus Zone Allowance provides a special pool which is used automatically during the Bonus Zone Hours, giving you access to more usage at full speed.

If I exceed my Data Allowance, when will my speeds be reduced?

During the Bonus Zone Hours (2 am to 8 am), your service will operate without restrictions if you have Data available in either your Bonus Zone Allowance or Service Plan allowance. Outside the Bonus Zone Hours, your service will operate without restrictions if you have Data available in your Service Plan allowance. If you do not have bytes available in the period, your speed will be reduced to approximately as low as or lower than 1 Mbps. As an example, consider the following scenarios:

1. Your plan provides a 50 GB Service Plan monthly allowance, and a 50 GB Bonus Zone monthly allowance. You have used all 50 GB of your Service Plan allowance by sending and receiving data outside of the Bonus Zone Hours so you have 0 bytes of your Service Plan allowance remaining. Outside of the Bonus Zone Hours (from 8 am to 2 am) your service performance is reduced. During the Bonus Zone Hours, your service performance is not restricted and your usage will be deducted from your available Bonus Zone Allowance.

2. Your plan provides a 50 GB Service Plan allowance, and a 50 GB Bonus Zone Allowance. You have used all 50 GB of your Bonus Zone Allowance by sending and receiving data overnight from the hours of 2 am to 8 am, so you have 0 bytes of Bonus Zone Allowance remaining, but you still have available bytes  of your Service Plan allowance remaining. Outside the Bonus Zone Hours, from 8 am to 2 am your service performance is not reduced, and your usage is deducted from your remaining Service Plan allowance. During the Bonus Zone Hours, your service performance will not be restricted because your usage will be deducted from your remaining Service Plan Allowance.

Who is affected by the Fair Access Policy?

Some users consume much more bandwidth than the average user, and they will experience reduced download speeds as a result of exceeding their Download Allowance. You may be surprised to find that the top one percent (1%) of users download 9 times more the average user. By providing a Data Allowance, more of the shared bandwidth is made available for everyone to use. Most users will have a better experience as a result of the Fair Access Policy.

Online activities such as viewing Websites, checking email, watching video clips or similar short streaming media, and automatic software updates are unlikely to cause you to exceed your monthly Data Allowance.

Typically, with the 50 GB Service Plan, to reach your Service Plan allowance in a one-month period, you would have to download any of the following:

•    Over 16,600 photos (at 3 MB each)
•    Over 12,485 songs (at 4 MB each)
•    Over 2,450 video clips (at 20 MB each)

What will my Internet access be like if I exceed my Data Allowance?

When your Data Allowance has been exceeded, you will experience reduced download speeds throughout the balance of the month. During this period, your HughesNet service can still be used for activities such as Web browsing and viewing emails, but speeds will be significantly slower than your standard plan rate (as low as 1 Mbps). 

If I exceed my Data Allowance, what should I do?

You might consider upgrading your service plan or purchasing Data Tokens.

How do I verify whether I have exceeded my Data Allowance?

You can track your past usage and Fair Access Policy status by going to www.myHughesNet.com, clicking on Customer Care, then clicking on the Check My Usage link in the Resources section.

What do you recommend I do during the Bonus Zone period (2 am to 8 am)?

We recommend that you automatically schedule your system updates during this period. You can also use a download manager software application to automatically schedule large file downloads to occur during these hours.

How do Data Tokens work?

Data Tokens allow you to purchase additional Data Allowance to use during your current cycle. Data Tokens are a great way to restore your service performance until your next monthly refill. Note that once you apply a Data Token to your account, any speed restrictions are immediately removed, and your Token Bandwidth balance will be shown on your Status Meter, System Control Center, and Support Center usage displays. If you have both Bonus Zone Allowance and Token Bandwidth available, then your Bonus Bandwidth will be used first during the Bonus Zone Period. Your Token Bandwidth balance carries forward from month to month, so any leftover capacity will not be lost or forfeited.