HughesNet is also amongst the most well-known satellite internet service providers, especially in the areas where cable and DSL internet are not accessible. However, satellite internet has data restrictions and this means it has a certain maximum amount of high-speed data that one is allowed to use in a month. It is for this reason that one needs to find out the activities that consume the most data on HughesNet so that they do not end up being surprised with the bill that they are charged.
Video Streaming
Interestingly, streaming video services including Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and Twitch take the largest slice of the internet traffic in HughesNet. Videos that are streamed in high definition consume about 3 gigabytes for every hour of streaming, although this may vary depending on the resolution of the video being streamed. This proves to be rather efficient, especially given the small amounts of satellite data that are available in some cases.
For instance, with HughesNet for $55/month, the 20GB plan would translate to less than 7 hours of HD video streaming per month. The 50GB data plan, for instance, will allow you to have about 17 hours of use. Hence, watching videos frequently poses challenges particularly when one is unable to purchase a plan that allows for unlimited streaming at night.
Watching videos at lower quality is still a process that consumes a lot of data over some time. Avoid streaming videos at High Definition, even when you are watching at the maximum quality, this will help you save data.
Video Calls and Conferencing
Applications such as FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, or GoToMeeting, in particular, to broadcast your video feed to all participants of the call. Of course, streaming and downloading these video feeds consumes a lot of data over time as it is natural.
Actual HD video calls are known to consume about 1. 5 GB per hour of usage with all participants involved. If you regularly use these services for long one-on-one video calls or conference calls, it is advisable to have shorter calls or lower the resolution of your videos where possible. You might also think of plain voice calls so as not to consume your HughesNet data allowance.
Gaming
Many people are now familiar with online gaming; however, you need to know that playing online multiplayer games consumes more data. You look at games such as Fortnite, Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft and 100MB per hour of playtime can be used or even more if you are downloading patches and updates.
Also, new-generation streaming services such as PlayStation Now, Google Stadia, and Nvidia GeForce Now have been known to use over 10GB per hour when using their highest streaming quality. Plain and simple, online gaming, and especially cloud gaming will consume a whole lot of data and HughesNet will reflect this through reduced data allowance.
Rather than rely on bandwidth-intensive online multiplayer games, gamers should play single-player mode games offline. This will assist in gaming lasting longer on one’s satellite data each month.
Large Downloads
Large files contain large quantities of data and downloading them requires extensive data usage, therefore it is vital to monitor and reduce these downloads. Consider cases where one downloads new video games, digital game updates, torrents, mobile applications, software updates, movies, and so on, such downloads exceeding 100MB in total are accrued in a relatively short time.
For instance, downloading a 50GB video game on HughesNet means that a consumer will be left with a data allowance of 50 MB out of the standard 50 GB. If possible try and limit download speeds on such large files as it is good to use a limited amount per day. It is also wise not to download any files that are deemed as illegal as those could cost one his/ her internet connection from the provider.
Video and Music Streaming
Like with sites that offer video streaming, streaming many online songs at once can collectively use considerable data. As for the use of streaming services such as Spotify, Pandora, SoundCloud, or Apple Music – although they consume fewer megabytes per song compared to video streaming, these megabytes accumulate. Listening for several hours per day could easily leap into 500MB+ depending on the quality of the audio.
Therefore, be cautious if you listen to music with the stream playing throughout the day as it can prove to be prohibitive if you are not on an unlimited data package. Streaming songs on-demand may consume a lot of data, however, downloading the songs and playing them in the background is a good way to reduce data consumption.
Social Media Use
The fact is that you might be shocked to know that the mere act of scrolling through social network applications can take a toll on your data usage. Most of the social media apps and sites including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat, and the rest use data for loading images, ads, and videos in your feeds and for loading your content.
Even 15 minutes on these apps is enough to consume over 100MB + monthly based on usage. Furthermore, some social media apps play videos in the background when scrolling through feeds and that uses data. Even though Live videos and streaming play a significant role in increasing engagement, be selective and strategic with when you’re going live and which networks you’re uploading larger, media-rich content to.
Web Browsing
Just visiting web resources and utilizing email, which are less demanding than video streaming, also involves an enormous amount of data as well. Sites that have many images, graphics, cookies, as well as ads, have higher data usage than basic sites with text-only content. Opening multiple tabs is a more effective feature than opening one site at a time.
Another way to be deliberate about your internet consumption is to try not to mindlessly surf the Web, which can help reduce this data loss. Close browsing tabs that one is not using, avoid accessing websites with large downloads and minimize the appearance of videos that play automatically.
Automated Backups and Updates
Most gadgets and services run backup or synchronization processes that, when connected to the Internet, save data to the cloud. Automatic backups on iCloud, Google Photos or OneDrive, game console downloads, Google Drive syncing, and mobile app data all gradually use up HughesNet data.
Many of these automated tasks can quickly consume over 100MB and above even when you are not directly browsing the internet. The back-ups and updates may be stopped for a while when the data plan is almost exhausted but for the rest of the month, they can be run. Only restart them once your data resets each billing cycle as they might give wrong data when restarted in between.
To sum up it is possible to state that in general, most satellite data is consumed by video streaming and conferencing activities among the frequently performed internet activities. But even those who consume relatively fewer amounts of data such as music, gaming, browsing, and background activities also consume the bandwidth. Make sure to avoid using any unnecessary data where possible to ensure that you do not go over your limit each month. Figure out how you utilize your data and learn more about how your data is used so that you can discover how to use less HughesNet data.
