woman cross country skiing with her two dogs

SATELLITE INTERNET

Do more with an unlimited satellite internet connection

Viasat connects hard-to-reach homes with unlimited data—without extra data fees.

laptop with an image of a farm at sunset

What is satellite internet?

Most internet providers send data to your home over underground wiring. Satellite internet service, on the other hand, sends data to and from your home using satellites orbiting Earth.

Is satellite internet “good”?

Because satellites can beam internet signal anywhere on the planet, they’re especially effective at getting service to rural areas. Far from a last resort, rural satellite internet today brings you the same download speeds you often see in more cosmopolitan areas.

  • Fastest satellite internet speeds run up to 100 Mbps in select areas

  • Unlimited

    3Depending on the specific unlimited data service plan available at your location, after you use the following amount of High-Speed Data, you will continue to receive unlimited data (referred to as “Standard Data”); however, Viasat may prioritize Standard Data behind other customers during network congestion, which will result in slower speeds: Basic 12 (15 GB); Bronze 12 (35 GB, 40 GB or 80 GB); Silver 12 (45 GB); Gold 12 (65 GB); Bronze 25 (35 GB); Silver 25 (60 GB, 100 GB or 120 GB); Gold 30 (100 GB or 200 GB); Gold 50 (100 GB or 200 GB), Platinum 30 (150 GB ), Platinum 50 (150 GB) and Platinum 100 (150 GB or 300 GB). Speeds are up to and will vary.

    satellite internet options remove the stress of overage charges

  • Available in cities and towns across the continental US

3Depending on the specific unlimited data service plan available at your location, after you use the following amount of High-Speed Data, you will continue to receive unlimited data (referred to as “Standard Data”); however, Viasat may prioritize Standard Data behind other customers during network congestion, which will result in slower speeds: Basic 12 (15 GB); Bronze 12 (35 GB, 40 GB or 80 GB); Silver 12 (45 GB); Gold 12 (65 GB); Bronze 25 (35 GB); Silver 25 (60 GB, 100 GB or 120 GB); Gold 30 (100 GB or 200 GB); Gold 50 (100 GB or 200 GB), Platinum 30 (150 GB ), Platinum 50 (150 GB) and Platinum 100 (150 GB or 300 GB). Speeds are up to and will vary.

Illustration of news app on a phone

How does satellite internet work?

All internet service providers (ISPs) use a wired or wireless network to send data requests from point A (your phone or computer) to point B (the servers of the app or website you’re visiting) and back again.

Cable, fiber, and DSL providers use underground wired networks to send this data back and forth. Satellite providers use radio waves that travel to space and back with a latency of <1 second.

Step 1
You click a news article. Your phone sends the data request to your home satellite dish.

Step 2
Your home satellite dish beams the article request up to your ISP’s satellites.

Step 3
The satellites bounce the request back down to your ISP’s ground stations.

Step 4
Your ISP’s ground station requests the article text from the publication’s servers.

Step 5
The server sends the article text along the same path right back to your satellite dish and phone.

What satellite internet speed is right for me?

If you’ve depended on dial-up for the last 20 years, even the slowest high-speed satellite internet plan gives you more ways to spend your time online. If you have more than a few people and connected devices under your roof, though, you may want even faster speeds.

For help choosing the best satellite internet connection speed, glance at the overview below or view the full guide.

Speed gauge measuring 12 Mbps

Ideal for 1–2 devices

Best for checking email, banking, and online shopping





Speed gauge measuring 25 Mbps

Ideal for 2–3 devices

Best for video chat, telecommuting, and light streaming

Speed gauge measuring 50 Mbps

Ideal for 3–5 devices

Best for video conferencing and HD streaming

Speed gauge measuring 100 Mbps

Ideal for 6+ devices

Best for using a variety of connected devices at the same time

man on couch watching movie on laptop

Satellite internet: Good for streaming?

With unlimited satellite internet service becoming more widely available, you can now stream the same news clips, YouTube tutorials, and TikTok videos as everyone else without worrying about overage charges.

Depending on the specific unlimited data service plan available at your location, after you use the following amount of High-Speed Data, you will continue to receive unlimited data (referred to as “Standard Data”); however, Viasat may prioritize Standard Data behind other customers during network congestion, which will result in slower speeds: Basic 12 (15 GB); Bronze 12 (35 GB, 40 GB or 80 GB); Silver 12 (45 GB); Gold 12 (65 GB); Bronze 25 (35 GB); Silver 25 (60 GB, 100 GB or 120 GB); Gold 30 (100 GB or 200 GB); Gold 50 (100 GB or 200 GB), Platinum 30 (150 GB ), Platinum 50 (150 GB) and Platinum 100 (150 GB or 300 GB). Speeds are “up to,” will vary and is not guaranteed.

Satellite internet vs. cable service

Nationwide, cable and satellite providers serve more areas than other internet providers—but many cable providers still won’t serve rural areas. Satellite service bridges that digital divide with reliable high-speed internet access that doesn’t require you to live uptown.

Satellite internet access

Best for rural communities

  • Widely available throughout the United States, especially in remote areas

  • Delivered via wireless satellite system

  • Comes with metered or unlimited data depending on availability

  • Requires professional installation

  • Download speeds as fast as 100 Mbps in select areas

Cable internet access

Best for urban communities

  • Less availability, with service usually limited to cities and suburbs

  • Delivered via wired networks that require proximity to be cost-effective

  • Usually comes with unlimited data

  • Often requires professional installation

  • Download speeds as fast as 2,000 Mbps in select areas

Shop satellite internet plans

Home

satellite internet

The Viasat Unleashed plan comes with unlimited data. If at any time your data usage is trending to exceed the "typical usage" of a residential customer on our network, you may have reduced priority during times of network congestion resulting in slower speeds. Typical usage represents the data usage of 70% of residential customers on our network and is consistent with data usage trending below 360 GBs in any 30-day period. Customers trending to exceed the typical usage threshold should expect to receive about half of their normal service speeds depending on the extent of network congestion. Customers trending to use more data than 95% of all residential customers, which is consistent with data usage trending to exceed 850 GB of data usage in any 30-day period, may experience significantly slower speeds during congestion resulting in a substantial reduction in the performance of applications and video streaming.