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Viasat ISP Review 2023

8.5
very good
Top10.com Staff

In a Nutshell

Viasat is a satellite internet provider that has home and business internet plans. Plans come with some enticing perks, including unlimited data and a price-lock guarantee. You can also get speeds up to 3x faster than traditional DSL lines. Being a satellite provider, Viasat is available everywhere in the US.

pros

  • Unlimited data (somewhat)
  • Bundled plans for more savings
  • Widely available

cons

  • Unlimited data isn’t quite unlimited
  • Expensive plans in some areas
  • Price lock isn’t what it seems

Viasat Viasat Visit Site

Viasat at a Glance

Best for: Basic internet usage, out of town areas, families
Starting Price: $49.99 - $69.99
Connection Type: Satellite
Download Speeds: 12-100 Mbps
Coverage: 51 states and territories
Money-back Guarantee: None 

What Services and Features Does Viasat Offer?

Viasat has satellite internet connections. These connections are up to 3x faster than traditional cable services. Plus, satellite is more readily available in a greater spectrum of locations, making Viasat a more desirable choice for many out of towners. In fact, you can get a Viasat satellite connection in any state within the United States. 

Viasat’s biggest selling point is its availability, covering 98% of the US. The company is particularly popular in defense industries, including cyber security, air, and ground security.  Viasat offers additional services to customers, including TV, home phone, security solutions, and advanced support. When you bundle additional services with your internet plan, you’ll pay a cheaper price than you would for the individual products separately. 

Prices, Plans, and Value for Money 

Viasat plans are expensive. And they appear to get more expensive as time goes on. According to the website, Viasat has a price-lock guarantee for two years. But on the plans pricing pages, it clearly states that you’ll pay more after the first three months. So Viasat seems to be sending a confusing message to its customers.


Unlimited Bronze 12
Unlimited Silver 25
Unlimited Gold 50
Unlimited Platinum 100
Price per month*
$49.99
$69.99
$99.99
$149.99
Price after 3 months
$69.99
$99.99
$149.99
$199.99
Download speeds Mbps
Up to 12
Up to 25
Up to 50
Up to 100
Data cap
40 GB
60 GB
100 GB
150 GB

* Plan pricing and availability changes depending on your location. For example, the pricing table listed above is for a rural area in NY. Meanwhile, if you move your location to Brooklyn, the prices do drop considerably. 

The monthly fee doesn’t include equipment rental, which is another $12.99 per month. You can also purchase additional care for $8.99 a month. This plan comes with annual dish relocation and priority customer support. You also won’t have to pay for service calls, which is normally $95 without the EasyCare plan.

Viasat has long commitments, 24 months to be exact. That’s a long time to sign up for a service that you aren’t sure if you’re going to be happy with or want to use. The cancellation policy is also hefty. You’ll pay $20 for each month remaining on your contract.

Ease of Use, Hardware, and Setup

Installation is done professionally since a dish has to be installed directly onto your roof or external wall of your home. You can also get it installed into the ground. BTW, installation should take around 2-3 hours. 

There is no DIY installation option. Bear in mind that you must have the consent of the HOA to install a satellite dish on your property. There is also a 90-day warranty on faulty equipment. 

Once connected, you can use your My Viasat customer portal to set up, control, and change your account settings. These include parental controls, password settings, updating payment information, viewing your billing statements, and more. It’s all pretty intuitive.

Viasat Security 

Viasat has built-in security called Viasat Shield. It has features like continuous monitoring, suspicious activity blocking, and notifications about cyberattacks. You can also monitor activity on all your devices and set up parental controls for safer internet usage. Viasat Shield allows you to set up controlled-permissions for your internet usage, includes browser protection for safer online browsing, and it also guards all devices on the network. 

Viasat Performance 

Viasat claims to offer unlimited data (with only some plans, it’s important to note). But it clearly states that after a certain amount of data usage, you will be prioritized behind other customers. So in essence you can get throttled, or at least slowed down considerably, after you go over a threshold. In our books, that’s the same thing. And it is definitely not unlimited. Viasat loses big points for this unimpressive practice. 

Viasat Customer Service 

Viasat has a help center with a lot of useful information. You can also speak to a customer support rep on the phone for more personalized service. 

Viasat, inc.

6155 El Camino Real

Carlsbad, CA 92009

USA

Phone: +1-760-476-2200

Fax: +1-760-929-3941

Viasat Viasat Visit Site

Viasat FAQ’s

Is Viasat really unlimited?

Technically yes. You can still stream, download, and use the internet as long as you want. But you will get slower speeds after your cap if there is traffic.

Does Roku work with Viasat?

Yes, you can connect several different types of smart TVs and other mobile devices including Roku.

Is Viasat affected by weather?

Satellite connections can be affected by severe storms or heavy snow. But rain and cloud coverage won’t affect your connection.

Bottom Line

Viasat has some nice features, but there’s plenty that may leave you wanting. The pricing plans are expensive, the terms of service are hard to make out, and your speeds can (and most likely will) be throttled after you reach a certain limit. It’s difficult for us to recommend this kind of service. Viasat may not be the best choice unless you live somewhere that doesn’t get fiber optics or more traditional coverage.

Top10.com's editorial staff is a professional team of editors and writers with dozens of years of experience covering consumer, financial and business products and services.

Viasat customer reviews

Based on 28 reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

Top Reviews

Ease of use

Brand satisfaction

Value for money

Service quality

7 months ago

Great service. I haven't had to call for service in over 6 months. They always answer phones and always have techs available should there be a bigger problem.

7 months ago

It came at a time when I went six months without any service. So, I would rate any service I got top notch because I am grateful to have it.

7 months ago

I like the ease of contract, no loss or signal outage, and the equipment is top-of-the line for and average cost.

8 months ago

It provides great quality services and great benefits. The price and coverage is amazing.

9 months ago

You pay for the speed, not the data. It also has excellent customer service and support.

9 months ago

The best of the best system. It is a top quality product and service.

9 months ago

Viasat has great service, I live in a rural area and I couldn't have asked for better internet service.

9 months ago

Lots of different channels to choose from and good customer service. It is a good value for the money

9 months ago

It gives me peace of mind to know I am getting the best quality for my money.

7 months ago

Is very easy to connect with, reliable, and has exceptional customer service.

7 months ago

Good browsing and quality for what it's worth. Not really something I intend on keeping considering there are cheaper providers with more variety. I would prefer better security, and better management in customer service. Overall, it's a good Internet service.

7 months ago

Their internet is good quality, and overall they are good, but expensive. With streaming, it goes fast and then you are out of gigs.

7 months ago

The internet is so great and I never have any problems with it at all.

8 months ago

Very few issues with the internet going down. No slow downloads or processing.

8 months ago

It makes everyone's life easier with little or no interruption. Everything is seamless.

9 months ago

I don't know of anything really better that they could do, unless they provided more channels at a cheaper price.

9 months ago

It keeps me updated with what is going on in our world and helps me deal with specific and unique issues that take place. It could do better with response time.

9 months ago

This is my main internet provider and I can confirm that my internet hasn't had any troubles. Something they could do better is lower their expensive prices.

9 months ago

No interruptions, good quality, easy to use, and good customer service. I love to watch movies like this, they make the experience great. Lower prices would help, but I understand everyone needs to make money.

7 months ago

It runs too slow for me, and I have tried to do better but cannot. Changed to Centurylink and I have faster service. My computer runs faster with Centurylink. Been with viasat for a long time, but needed something better.

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