Fair Access Policy

To ensure equal Internet access for all HughesNet^TM subscribers, Hughes Network Systems maintains a running average Fair Access Policy (FAP). Fair Access establishes an equitable balance in Internet access across satellite broadband services by service plan for all HughesNet customers regardless of their frequency of use or volume of traffic. To ensure this equity, customers may experience some temporary throughput limitations. HughesNet Internet access is not guaranteed. This policy applies to all service plans including “Unlimited” plans where customers’ use of the Service is not limited to a specific number of hours per month.

HughesNet system usage data indicates that approximately 5% of subscribers are responsible for a disproportionate share — often as much as half — of the total HughesNet service traffic. Unfortunately, many of those subscribers are not using HughesNet for its intended purpose. To ensure that all HughesNet subscribers have fair and equal access to the benefits of the Satellite broadband service, HughesNet has enacted a Fair Access Policy to prevent abusive consumption of bandwidth by a handful of users.

FAP is straightforward: based on an analysis of usage data, Hughes Network Systems has established a HughesNet usage threshold well above the maximum typical usage rates. When a customer exhibits patterns of system usage which exceed that threshold for an extended period of time, the FAP may temporarily limit that subscriber’s throughput to ensure the integrity of the system for all HughesNet subscribers.

Typically, the restrictions will be lifted within 8-12 hours of the original application of the FAP if the customer’s usage in this period stays below the FAP threshold.

For example, you may experience FAP if the cumulative requested downloads in a relatively short time period (1-4 hours) exceeds your HughesNet plan download threshold. An example of what can be downloaded within any HughesNet plan would be a software application such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Adobe Acrobat. And normal Internet surfing generates small downloads for each Web page viewed. For example, an hour of surfing can generate 1-10 MB of download activity depending on the content being surfed — well below the amount required to trigger FAP.

Subscribers are likely to avoid the limitations imposed by the FAP if their use is typical of the majority of Internet users and consists of Web surfing and a reasonable amount of downloading. See below for a table of FAP parameters for each plan.