Cloudburst: Faster. Cheaper. Much higher quality.

See for yourself. Be sure to look at the Total Cost column for true comparisons. Satellite providers may offer “special” deals on equipment or installation, but their monthly rates are outrageous.

Not only are Cloudburst wireless broadband plans considerably less expensive than those of satellite Internet service providers, they provide superior upload speeds. And, Cloudburst works much better, too! Read about satellite service issues, such as incompatibilities, weather interruptions, and use limits, here.

The bottom line: None of the satellite Internet plans are better than any Cloud Alliance plan due to the inherent weaknesses of satellite systems.

Plans listed in increasing order
by combined download/upload speeds:

Provider Plan Name (download/upload)1	Monthly Rate	Equipment Fee	Installation Fee	TWO Year Total Cost
StarBand Nova 500 (512/100)	$59.99	$99.992	$1993	$1738.75
WildBlue Value Pak (512/128)	$49.95	$24.954	$99.955	$1323.70
HughesNet Home (1024/128)	$59.99	$299.98	“free”6	$1739.74
StarBand Nova 1000 (1024/128)	$79.99	$99.992	$1993	$2218.75
WildBlue Select Pak (1024/200)	$69.95	$24.954	$99.955	$1803.70
HughesNet Pro (1228/200)	$69.99	$299.98	“free”6	$1979.74
Cloud Alliance Cloudburst–1.0 (1024/512)	only $39.95	$299	$1997	only $1456.808
WildBlue Pro Pak (1536/256)	$79.95	$24.954	$99.955	$2043.70
StarBand Nova 1500 (1536/256)	$109.99	$99.992	$1993	$2938.75
HughesNet ProPlus (1638/250)	$79.99	$299.98	“free”6	$2219.74
Cloud Alliance Cloudburst–1.5 (1536/768)	only $59.95	$299	$1997	only $1936.808
HughesNet Elite (2048/300)	$119.99	$299.98	“free”6	$3179.74
Cloud Alliance Cloudburst–2.0 (2048/1024)	only $79.95	$299	$1997	only $2416.808
HughesNet ElitePlus (3072/300)	$189.99	$299.98	“free”6	$4859.74
Cloud Alliance Cloudburst–3.0 (3072/1536)	only $125	$299	$1997	only $34988
HughesNet ElitePremium (5120/300)	$349.99	$299.98	“free”6	$8699.74

All prices from each company’s web site (updated 8/15/10)

Notes:

¹ kilobits per second (1024 kilobits = 1 Megabit)
² After $200 StarBand mail-in rebate
³ Estimate—StarBand’s local installers charge as they wish.
⁴ WildBlue “Shipping and Handling”
⁵ WildBlue “Activation Fee” after $50 discount
⁶ After $100 HughesNet mail-in rebate
⁷ Alternatively payable at $14.95/month for 24 months.
⁸ Subtract two months’ charges for an even lower two year total, with Cloud Alliance’s Discounted Annual Rate plan!