A Viasat internet speed test may be necessary if you want to know how fast your internet service downloads and uploads information. A Viasat speed test can tell you if there may be issues that need to be resolved.

Speed Test - Viasat Internet

Viasat is the top satellite internet provider in the United States. Taking a speed test can give you a good idea of the performance your Viasat internet service is giving you, which can help you know what kinds of online activities your internet plan can and cannot handle. Each plan comes with an expected download and upload speed. Using a speed test is a good way of seeing if your plan is delivering as promised.

For the most accurate results, plug your computer directly into your Viasat modem via an ethernet cable and make sure there isn’t any background activity on your computer before starting the test. Running the test regularly and at different times of day will also give you better results.

What Speed Test Results Mean:

Download Speed: This is the amount of data your computer can receive via its internet connection every second. This is the most important number in the test result because most of your internet experience is receiving, rather than sending, information. This number is the one most advertised by internet service providers and the number that will most dramatically affect your ability to use data-heavy internet activities.

Upload Speed: This is the amount of data your computer can send via its internet connection every second. This is particularly important for video chatting, sending large files, and posting on social media. Because most internet use is downloading, ISPs prioritize it over upload speeds, which is why upload speeds tend to be lower.

Latency: This is the time it takes for a piece of data to get to a server and back and is often called ping rate. It’s normal to have ping rates below 100 milliseconds, and those who need near instantaneous reactions, like those playing first-person shooters online, will want ping rates of 30 milliseconds or less.

Cities With the Fastest Viasat Internet

Satellite internet speeds depend on a few different factors. For example, how well was the receiver installed to get a good connection to the satellite? But the biggest factor is which satellite beams your location can access. Even though satellite internet has a very wide reach, not every location has access to every plan. Below are the cities with the best Viasat internet speeds:

Average Download Speeds with Viasat

The average download speeds from users in Viasat’s best service areas have seen an increase over the past 12 months. They started at around 27 Mbps 12 months ago and ended at around 32 Mbps, peaking 6 months ago at around 37.5 Mbps. These are just averages, but they can still give you an idea of Viasat’s potential.

If you are more interested in Viasat performance as a whole and not just in the top service areas, this too has seen an increase. Average download speeds among Viasat users started at around 10 Mbps 12 months ago and ended at about 12 Mbps, peaking at around 14 Mbps in the middle.

FAQs

What download speeds should I expect?
You should consistently be testing at at least 80% of your promised download speeds. With satellite internet, the speed can vary quite a bit so make sure to check at different times.

What Wi-Fi speeds should I expect?
This adds a couple extra factors into the equation, such as the quality of your Wi-Fi equipment and the possibility of interference, but you should typically expect between 30 and 50% of the promised download speed.

What download speed do I need?
There are many factors that will determine your required download speed, but the two biggest are the number of devices that will be connecting to your internet at the same time, and what your most common online activities are. 5 to 10 Mbps is plenty for normal web browsing, but you should aim for at least 25 Mbps if you plan on doing more data-heavy activities like video streaming.

With Viasat satellite internet, it’s also important to consider your monthly data allowance since after passing that amount you will experience slower speeds during times of heavy traffic.

Your Viasat Speeds

We hope taking a Viasat speed test has given you a better understanding of what your Viasat internet is providing for you, and we hope you are satisfied. If you are hoping to get more out of your internet service, Viasat is happy to help you find the plan that will meet your needs.

Viasat offers a variety of different plans that can meet customer needs no matter what they are. With speeds ranging from 12 to 100 Mbps, and a wide range of data allowances, Viasat has a plan that is perfect for any type of user, whether they are using the internet primarily for work, school, or entertainment. Those who rely heavily on the internet should choose a plan with higher data allowances.

With its nearly unlimited reach, Viasat is the internet of choice for many across the United States. Having access to land-based internet providers requires living in proximity to their infrastructure, something that is not possible for many people living in rural areas or other locations outside of cities. With Viasat internet, the only infrastructure needed is Viasat’s satellites, already in space waiting for your internet signal. To find out what kind of speed your Viasat internet is giving you right now, go ahead and click on the speed test below.

Data caps may be slowing down your internet

Slow internet is often not the cause of a slow service, but of exceeding your monthly data allowance. If you are experiencing slower than expected speeds, keep track of your data usage. Finding ways to conserve data or upgrading to a plan with more data can help fix this problem.

Viasat Provides the Data You Need

Viasat plans come with a variety of download speeds, but the difference in data allowance can also have a large effect on your internet experience.

Viasat’s data allowances are the amount of data you can use each month at prioritized internet speeds. As long as your data usage is below your monthly threshold, you will receive the download speeds you signed up for. When you pass your monthly allowance, your internet performance will be deprioritized behind those who haven’t used all their data yet. This means slower speeds during periods of heavy traffic, but normal speeds at other times. These slower speeds could potentially have a large effect on your experience at the end of a billing cycle.

With the Viasat app, monitoring your monthly data is really easy. By keeping track of your monthly internet usage, you can make sure you stay below your monthly data allowance and prevent your internet speeds from getting slowed.

Viasat has long been the king when it comes to data allowances. But after Viasat doubled those amounts on many plans last year, those data allowances became six times those of HughesNet plans at a similar price. This monster lead in the data allowance game is one of the biggest factors that make Viasat the top recommendation when it comes to satellite internet. With other satellite internet providers, running out of data is all too common, especially with all the online activities of modern internet users.

If you want to see the data-for-price comparison between Viasat and its closest competitor, check out the following chart:

Plan Viasat Unlimited Gold 50 HughesNet 50 GB Viasat Unlimited Platinum 100
Data 200 GB/mo 50 GB/mo 300 GB/mo
Price $100/mo. for 3 months, then $150/mo $149.99 $150/mo for 3 months, then $200/mo

Which Internet Plan Should You Choose?

It’s easy to think it’s all about speed. Speed is nice, but you also have to ask how long that speed is going to last. That’s where data allowance comes in. You want to make sure you have enough data each month to take full advantage of the speed offered by your plan. Once it’s gone, your plan’s download speed won’t matter much. It could drop as low as 1 to 5 Mbps during peak hours.

If you have multiple people with multiple devices using your internet, your data could go fast. For maximum performance, especially if you want to use your satellite internet for data-heavy activities like video streaming, it’s important to pick a plan with a higher data allowance.

What Download Speed do I Need?

If you’re constantly uploading and downloading large files for your work, you will likely need a larger download speed. If that’s not you, you might still be surprised what kind of speeds your normal internet activities might need. For example, even a household that does basic web browsing and email checking might need higher download speeds if there are many devices accessing the internet at the same time. Check out the chart below to see how much speed your internet activities require. Video streaming and gaming are going to require the fastest speeds and browsing the web will be the least demanding.

Video streaming: 1–2 devices: SD: 10 Mbps | HD: 50 Mbps 3–4 devices: SD: 50 Mbps | HD: 100+ Mbps

Music streaming: 1–2 devices: 5 Mbps 2–4 devices: 25 Mbps

Internet browsing: 1–2 devices: 3–5 Mbps 2–4 devices: 10+ Mbps

Online gaming: 1–2 devices: 25 Mbps 2–4 devices: 75+ Mbps

How much data is Enough?

By using the chart below, you can calculate approximately how much data your household will need. The chart shows the typical data usage of one hour of different internet activities. Pick a typical day of internet usage and count how many hours are spent on each internet activity. This will give you an estimate of your daily data usage. By multiplying this number by 30 you can get an idea of how much data your household uses every month.

Activity Data use per hour
Internet browsing 0.01–0.02 GB
Music streaming 0.15 GB
Social media 0.15 GB
Video call (two people) 0.06–0.56 GB
Video conference calls (depending on the number of participants) 0.8–2.4 GB
Streaming video in SD (480p) 700 MB
Streaming video in HD 3 GB
Streaming video in UHD (4K) 7 GB
Video game downloads 1–20 GB
Basic online gaming 0.01 GB
Multiplayer online gaming 0.06 GB

The Viasat Internet Speed Test

The Viasat internet speed test measures your download speed, upload speed, and latency. Learn more about each below:

Download speed: Everything you see and do on the internet is pulling data from servers across the world. How fast this data can travel from those servers to your computer is download speed. Slow download speeds mean waiting longer for web pages to load or for videos to buffer. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the minimum download speed required to qualify as broadband internet is 25 Mbps.

Upload speed: This measures your data flow in the opposite direction, that is, how fast data travels from your computer to servers around the world. Video calls require the uploading of your video and audio, emails use your upload speed to be sent out to email servers, and posting photos on social media uploads those images to the social media servers. According to the FCC, the minimum upload speed required to qualify as broadband internet is 3 Mbps.

Latency: Latency is the time it takes for a single piece of data to travel to a server and back. Lower latency means your internet will have faster response times. Low latency is important in online games that require quick reaction speeds, like first person shooters. A good latency for gaming is 50 ms or less. Satellite internet has higher than average latency due to the data travelling all the way up into space and back over and over.

When you click the speed test, an empty file will be sent to your computer, measuring download speed, then back to the server, measuring upload speed. The test will also check the lag between sending and receiving to measure latency.

Make sure to take the speed test at a few different times during the day. Internet speeds tend to fluctuate depending on current network traffic situations and taking it at different times can give you a better overall idea. Peak internet traffic is usually between 5 and 11 p.m.

Why Conduct a Viasat Internet Speed Test?

If you have Viasat satellite internet service, you may want to know if it is working as well as it should. If your Viasat internet service is supposed to give you up to 25 Mbps of download speed and you discover it is well below that with a Viasat speed test, you may need a technician to diagnose a problem and make any necessary repairs.

What to Do with a Slow Viasat Speed Test

If you test your Viasat internet and find it’s slower than what you think it should be, you can take a few steps to see if it improves. You may need to move your modem to a more central location in your home. You might need to clean your satellite dish, if your satellite internet is slow. Check for loose screws with the system that may allow shifting and hamper speed. Even the best satellite internet can be slow if not properly maintained. A Viasat speed test will let you know if you’ve fixed the problem.

Viasat Speed Test – How Fast is Viasat Internet?

How fast your satellite internet from Viasat is will depend on your location. You may notice a difference if you have rural internet when you do a Viasat speed test. However, satellite internet is usually much faster in any area than DSL. If you have a data allowance with your plan, you may notice it slow down once you’ve reached the cap for the month. Unlimited satellite internet will prevent this issue and allow you to stay online at faster speeds all month long.

Unlimited data means you can do more online with no slowdowns. Continue streaming your favorite movies or music, enjoy satellite internet for gaming or just chat with friends with no delay when you have the fastest internet. Compare Viasat internet plans for unmetered access. A Viasat speed test will show you what you can expect in your area.

Get the Best Internet Service with Viasat Speed Test

Viasat internet (formerly Exede internet) offers high-speed internet service as one of the premiere satellite internet providers. Connect your smartphone and other portable devices to get fast service with Wi-Fi. Find out how fast your service can be with a Viasat speed test.

Compare Viasat with the competition, and you’ll see it goes more places to provide the high-quality service you want. Check out online satellite internet reviews to learn more about this provider. You can contact customer service to find out the base price for your area. Bundle it with other services to save even more and get the high-speed satellite internet service you want.

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