Does Viasat Work In The Rain?

Does Viasat Work In the Rain?
Yes, Viasat satellite internet works well when it rains, although torrential downpours may temporarily disrupt internet service. Any service interruptions due to rain typically come from severe storms, which generally occur in the warmer months and are most likely to pop up in the late afternoon and evening hours.
The southeastern part of the United States, where hurricanes often come ashore, is the most likely region to experience internet interruptions due to heavy storms. Both the Southeast and the Midwest are prone to severe thunderstorms during the spring and summer, and Viasat satellite internet customers in these regions may experience short outages during the peak of the storms. Otherwise, Viasat works in the rain, and any rain-related outages are typically measured in minutes, rather than hours.

Can Rain Falling Far Away Affect My Viasat Internet Service?

Yes, it is possible for a faraway storm to interrupt Viasat satellite internet service. Because Viasat internet service is delivered via satellite beams, and there is a distance of about 22,000 miles between the satellite and the gateway antenna on the ground, rain falling many miles from your location may affect your satellite internet service. The gateway antenna serves a wide area on the ground, and may suffer attenuation or “rain fade” while it’s sunny where you are.

How Does Viasat Work In the Rain?

While light to moderate rain is no problem, Viasat will sometime increase power during heavy rain events to help the satellite signal reach its destination and keep the internet working for its subscribers. The power increase may be at the satellite or it may be at the user terminal.
Viasat engineers work hard to minimize rain fade to preserve the reliability of Viasat satellite internet. They know rural internet users depend on Viasat internet for the information they need and VoIP phone service to connect with their neighbors. Those are great reasons to ask, “Does Viasat work in the rain?”