Viasat Business Internet Review

Why Viasat Is the Best Business Internet Provider for Rural Businesses

Although cable and fiber internet provide higher internet speeds than satellite internet does, they are not available everywhere. Viasat’s Business Internet plans, combined with the company’s internet backup options, are available virtually everywhere, even in rural locations. Viasat also makes it easy to set up an internet connection, allowing business owners to get connected and back to focusing on growing their business. For these reasons and more, we chose Viasat as the best internet provider for rural businesses.

Viasat Business Internet Features

Persistent IPs

Most internet companies offer a choice between static and dynamic IP addresses. Static is typically the most popular choice for businesses, as it’s useful for hosting websites and providing remote access to employees. With Viasat’s persistent IPs, however, you don’t get just one IP address; you get three.

Unlike dynamic IP, where the address occasionally changes to a totally new address, persistent IP switches among three IP addresses provided with a Viasat business plan. Because these IP addresses do not change, they are much more consistent and allow businesses to monitor devices connected to the IP.

Backup Internet

Viasat’s satellite internet on its own works wonderfully as a secondary internet connection for business customers who may want to supplement their primary business internet plans. That said, even Viasat’s service is not immune to outages, natural disasters and other unexpected events. Fortunately, Viasat has its own backup internet that will serve as a secondary internet connection that the company offers to other customers.

We liked that with this backup internet plan, business customers can continue running business-critical applications. Less downtime means less lost productivity and a better ability to keep operations running smoothly in the event of an outage.

All-in-One Pricing

Viasat’s internet prices may be steep, but they come with several great benefits that outweigh those of their direct competitors. Viasat’s lowest-priced internet plan costs about $175 per month, making it much more expensive for a 35 Mbps plan compared with its competitors. However, this price includes free hardware leasing and installation, and there’s no fee for data overage. And, of course, satellite internet is available in places Viasat’s competitors don’t serve.

Vast Internet Coverage

Unlike cable and fiber internet, satellite internet provides the highest amount of coverage globally. Viasat’s five satellites orbiting the planet provide near 100% internet coverage, including even the most non-serviceable areas. For this reason, we liked Viasat for rural businesses that don’t have dependable internet connections or access to fiber or cable internet services.

Viasat Business Internet Costs

Viasat offers unlimited and metered business broadband plans. The prices are as follows:

• Unlimited 35: $175 per month
• Unlimited 60: $300 per month
• Unlimited 100: $500 per month
• Metered 1GB: $50 per month
• Metered 10GB: $80 per month
• Metered 20GB: $100 per month
• Metered 50GB: $150 per month
• Metered 200GB: $400 per month

These prices may be steep for megabit internet speeds, but the cost includes many features that are usually offered as separate charges. Both the unlimited business broadband and metered business broadband plans include persistent IP addresses, hardware leasing, and prioritized internet in the case of network traffic.

Viasat Business Internet Setup

Installation is done within three to five business days of being ordered online. As Viasat typically caters to areas that other providers do not serve, this is a relatively quick turnaround. Both the unlimited and metered business broadband plans come with free hardware leases that include a satellite dish and a modem, so customers do not have to provide their own equipment.

Viasat Business Internet Customer Service

Customer service for Viasat Business Internet is available seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Central time.

In addition, Viasat offers a library of articles with frequently asked questions and troubleshooting advice. We liked that this information offers customers a self-service option if they are unable to reach the customer service team.

Viasat Business Drawbacks

Although Viasat has wider internet coverage than cable or fiber internet providers, Viasat’s speeds leave something to be desired. Its fastest download speeds are only up to 100 Mbps, a fraction of the gigabit internet speeds offered by cable and fiber internet providers. Additionally, upload speeds are much slower: up to 4 Mbps. Businesses that need to do large data transfers or perform tasks that require heavy internet use should consider Viasat only as a backup option to complement their primary connection.

Furthermore, Viasat’s satellite internet is relatively expensive compared with cable and fiber internet with the same speeds. Viasat’s Unlimited 100 Mbps plan costs $500 per month, whereas other providers offer gigabit internet for a fraction of that price. However, this price does come with many features, including hardware leasing, prioritized connection and three persistent IP addresses, as well as connectivity in remote areas.

Methodology

When reviewing business internet providers, we considered the features that business owners need in order to get their business going from start to finish. Part of that process included doing extensive research, calling providers, and finally deciding on a best pick case for each of the vendors. When doing so, we considered factors such as installation times, internet speeds, business phone services, and internet availability. For rural businesses, we chose Viasat as the ideal business internet provider.

Overall Value

We recommend Viasat Business Internet for …

• Rural businesses.
• Small businesses in non-serviceable areas.

We don’t recommend Viasat Business Internet for …

• Businesses with significant data transfer needs.
• Companies that utilize cloud-based services for operations.
• Businesses that have fiber or cable internet options available in their area.