T-Mobile vs. HughesNet: Which Internet Provider Is Best for You?

Compare T-Mobile and HughesNet head to head

Although both T-Mobile and HughesNet provide wireless internet, they have a lot of differences. T-Mobile connections are generally faster and cheaper, and they have much lower latency than HughesNet plans.

HughesNet can match T-Mobile in certain aspects, but it’s always a trade off. The cheapest HughesNet plans can match T-Mobile’s price, but have high latency. HughesNet Fusion plans can provide low-latency connections, but are considerably more expensive. In other categories, like speed, data caps, and contracts, T-Mobile wins every time. The only definitive advantage that HughesNet has is its huge coverage, and even then, T-Mobile’s only slightly behind.

Pros and cons: T-Mobile vs. HughesNet

Jump to: Plans and pricing | Extra fees | Customer ratings | Internet types | Data caps | Contracts | Installation | Availability

Jump to:

• Plans and pricing
• Extra fees
• Customer ratings
• Internet types
• Data caps
• Contracts
• Installation
• Availability

Plans and pricing: T-Mobile vs. HughesNet

T-Mobile plans and pricing

T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet plan is a great choice for rural areas. Even compared to some wired plans like DSL, it’s still a good value in terms of speed versus cost—plus you get unlimited data, which is a big deal for wireless providers.

T-Mobile’s 5G network can reach high speeds, but the highest speeds aren’t always available across T-Mobile’s entire coverage area, especially in particularly remote areas where people rely on wireless connections. Customers in larger cities are more likely to get 5G speeds at the high end of that range, but these areas are also more likely to have access to cable and fiber connections, which offer even higher speeds.

HughesNet plans and pricing

Most HughesNet plans come with 25Mbps download speeds (though during our hands-on testing, we found that our connection’s average speed came in way below this threshold), with one slower plan and one faster plan that can reach 50Mbps. Your biggest decision when choosing a plan, however, will be how much data you need and whether or not lower latency is worth a much higher monthly cost.

HughesNet Fusion plans provide low latency using a hybrid of its usual satellite connections and terrestrial wireless networks, similar to the ones T-Mobile uses. This means activities like video chat and online games can take advantage of quicker and more responsive connections while the bulk of your data still travels to orbit and back.

Satellite-only plans differ only in their data allotments, making it easy for you to determine the value. You end up paying less per gig of data with the more expensive plans, so although you don’t want to pay for more data than you’re going to use, you also get more value with higher-tier plans. Of course, this isn’t much of a selling point compared to T-Mobile’s unlimited data.

In general, we don’t recommend HughesNet low data plans because 15GB isn’t very much data at all. It’s better than nothing if that’s what fits your budget, but you have to be incredibly frugal with your internet use to stay under that limit. And if you can get unlimited data through T-Mobile for the same price, there’s really no reason to put yourself through all that trouble.

Extra fees: T-Mobile vs. HughesNet

T-Mobile doesn’t charge you extra fees on top of your monthly bill, which is awesome. New T-Mobile customers have to self-install their equipment, which is fairly easy, even if you’ve never done it before. T-Mobile’s app will walk you through the process from start to finish.

HughesNet comes with free professional installation, which is even better. Its monthly equipment rental fees aren’t too bad, but they do add up, which is a big contrast to T-Mobile’s flat rate. HughesNet does give you the option to purchase your equipment, but that’s a pretty big upfront cost.

Customer ratings: T-Mobile vs. HughesNet

T-Mobile was the highest ranked among nationwide providers in our annual customer satisfaction survey, beating competition in overall satisfaction by a good margin. T-Mobile has been putting a lot of effort into their home internet, and that work seems to be paying off.

We didn’t receive enough responses from HughesNet customers to include it in our nationwide rankings. However, those who did respond gave it rather low marks. Again, since there were so few responses, these results should be taken with a grain of salt, but it doesn’t paint the prettiest picture of customer experiences.

Internet types: T-Mobile vs. HughesNet

T-Mobile provides 5G home internet, which is one of the newest and fastest wireless internet technologies. 5G is cellular technology, but its high speeds make it a great way to deliver wireless home internet. However, these high speeds are not available across T-Mobile’s entire nationwide footprint.

To reach into less densely populated areas, 5G providers use multiple bands of radio frequencies to maximize the number of households they can reach. This accounts for the wide range of advertised speeds you see advertised with 5G Home internet. Customers in rural areas will get speeds toward the lower end of that advertised range, while those in urban areas that are closer to 5G infrastructure will get higher speeds.

HughesNet operates large satellites in geosynchronous orbit, which is a very long distance from the surface of Earth. The time it takes for your data to travel to geosynchronous orbit and back causes incredibly high latency. Latency can be a big deal for certain kinds of activities, so HughesNet created a hybrid connection for its Fusion plans. These plans use cellular networks for latency-sensitive tasks to get that data to your device without the lag you’d expect using a satellite connection.

Data caps: T-Mobile vs. HughesNet

T-Mobile has no data caps, and we think that’s great. HughesNet plans do have caps, and they’re fairly low. HughesNet’s low speed makes it harder to burn through data as fast as you would on a faster connection like DSL, but it’s still better to buy a plan that covers your needs than to buy additional data (which is much more expensive per gigabyte) on a regular basis.

HughesNet plans also come with 50GB of Bonus Zone data, which is data you can only use between 2:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. This isn’t very useful for everyday internet use, but it gives you a time to schedule things like system updates, which could otherwise burn through your entire data cap for the month all at once. You can even download media like games or videos during this time, which you can then play back during daylight hours without using any additional data.

Contracts: T-Mobile vs. HughesNet

T-Mobile requires no long-term contracts, which is great. HughesNet plans require a two-year service contract. Two years is a long commitment for an internet provider, but it is pretty standard for satellite providers.

Installation: T-Mobile vs. HughesNet

T-Mobile has self-installation, which is free. Its equipment is designed to be easy to set up, so professional installation isn’t really necessary. T-Mobile does provide an app to walk you through the process, so even those who don’t have experience shouldn’t have any difficulty setting up their new connection.

HughesNet equipment requires professional installation because it involves mounting a satellite dish on or nearby your house and running a cable inside to the rest of your equipment. The dish also has to be aligned to the satellite by the technician in order to get a good signal.

Availability: T-Mobile vs. HughesNet

Both T-Mobile and HughesNet are widely available nationwide, though HughesNet can reach even farther than T-Mobile into underserved rural areas, which is why satellite internet is essential, even with so many other internet technologies.

Final call: T-Mobile vs. HughesNet

If you have to choose between T-Mobile and HughesNet, T-Mobile is the clear choice. Its cost is as low as the cheapest HughesNet plan, but you get better speed and more data than even the most expensive HughesNet plan. HughesNet Fusion manages to level the playing field in terms of latency (which gives it a leg up on other satellite providers), but T-Mobile still wins out with its lower cost and unlimited data.

Of course, T-Mobile still doesn’t reach every household in the U.S., so for some households, HughesNet is still going to be better than nothing.

Methodology

Our HighSpeedInternet.com editorial team bases our analyses on customer input from our annual customer satisfaction survey, results from our speed test tool, and proprietary internet provider data on speeds and pricing. To strengthen our research, we look closely at provider contracts to get hard-to-find information on price hikes, data caps, and extra fees, and we keep tabs on the latest news reports and online reviews. When applicable, we also rely on our personal experiences testing these services.

Additional resources

• Best rural internet providers
• How Fast Is 5G Home Internet?
• What Is C-Band 5G and Why Does It Matter?
• What Is HughesNet Fusion?
• HughesNet Internet Review