All Viasat satellite internet plans can handle streaming, but it’s more a matter of how high you want the image resolution to be for your content, and how much data you consume. Viasat plans range in price from $50 a month for a plan that lets you stream in Standard Definition (SD) all the way up to $200 per month for the fastest speeds that would permit HD streaming on more than one device. Your address and budget are the main factors in plan selection. Not all high-speed plans are available in all locations. Depending on your needs you should be able to get a plan that lets you stream TV shows and video at the very least, and in most cases, you can alternatively pick a plan that lets you stream entertainment content from the major platforms.

The standard recommended speed for streaming in standard definition is 3-10 Mbps of download speed. However, if you want to stream in SD, HD or 4K you’re going to need more like 25 – 100 Mbps of download speed. This would apply to streaming Disney, Sling TV, Netflix, Paramount and Hulu. Viasat offers different plans with higher speeds and more fast data amounts and that’s where you want to look if you are streaming programming regularly and on more than one device at a time. We mention data volumes here because streaming in SD uses up approximately 0.7 GB per hour; streaming in HD uses approximately 2.5 GB per hour, and streaming in 4k is a big data gobbler at 8 GB per hour. Make sure your data plan from Viasat includes unlimited data because you’ll need it if you stream a lot.

A 45-minute TV episode in standard definition will use 0.5 GB while the same episode streamed in HD will use 1.9 GB. The GBs add up and pretty soon you’re exceeding your fast data cap unless you have a plan that can extend the fast data amount (for an additional fee in most cases).

Viasat offers up to six plans depending on your address, with speeds that range from up to 12Mbps to up to 100 Mbps. Those speeds aren’t always at that level so it really depends on time of day and other factors but in general you should be good to go in Standard Definition with the more affordable plans and if you so choose you could do that much more with plans at the top of the range. Viasat offers introductory incentives for the first few months and also has data-saving tips as well as its own app to make your billing and data usage transparent and easy to manage.