The HughesNet FAP
by ntbnnt
I use satellite Internet, which is great for web browsing, IRC, IM, e-mail, and the like.
But it offers absolutely no convenience whatsoever for downloading music, listening to Internet radio, or downloading my favorite Linux distribution.
You see, HughesNet has a particularly restrictive Fair Access Policy (FAP).
Now, I understand perfectly why a FAP is needed; however, it seriously limits many of the more obvious and useful applications of high-bandwidth Internet.
Having the hacker's perspective, I questioned if it were possible to reset my Internet usage statistics, so that I'd be able to take the 2.5 hours of non-stop HTTP communication that it takes to download an ISO of Debian without having to wait 24 hours after each hundred megabytes.
The equipment for a HughesNet connection is a satellite dish, its radio, and a receiver, or modem if you will. The modem is a basic VxWorks-based router with only one port and the equipment and software to interpret the satellite signal.
You can Telnet into this router by connecting to 192.168.0.1:23 and entering:
Anyone with experience hacking VxWorks equipment should find a new toy instantly with that information. But, onward to the FAP issue.
There is a separate Telnet daemon running on the HughesNet modem.
It is listening for the free-minded to call upon its power at 192.168.0.1:1953, and Hughes made it easy for us, since we can access this menu without any kind of login.
Basically, this is the CLI of what you get by visiting http://192.168.0.1, but it provides some much more useful functions.
Entering ? into the command prompt will yield all the info we will need.
The HughesNet FAP is enforced by tracking the bandwidth used by each Site ID.
If you've never done so before, go to System Info to see this.
Basically, it serves as authentication that your modem is commissioned for service. If you have no Site ID, access to the HughesNet network will not be granted.
Now, basically the goal is to reset all of the information stored about you at the HughesNet NOC, so your FAP status is reset back to nil. That will allow you to finish the download of Debian, Red Hat, or whatever you prefer.
So, we will need the help of tech support.
This is fine, because tech support is your friend. Reconnect to your router and enter the command: rd
This is going to force your modem into a state of being decommissioned, which will require it to be recommissioned with the help of tech support. Go ahead and call 1-866-347-3292 Give them all the info they need; be honest.
The agent will not check your FAP status - it's simply not in the script.
He will tell you to go to http://192.168.0.1/fs/registration/setup.html and click "Re-Register."
Continue through the prompts until the modem reboots.
After it does so, let it sit, watch the status at http://192.168.0.1, and let it update. When it's done updating, go ahead and check the FAP status.
It should now say "NO". That means sweet, unmetered freedom.
Smile and watch as your connection goes from 2.2 kb/s to 200.2 kb/s, and smile bigger with that nice fat download sitting in your download folder.
Redo this as needed, but remember to call tech support every few times that you need to do it; that way Hughes will see that there are issues with your service and that you aren't decommissioning your modem for fun.
Shouts to h3xis, who taught me about firmware, showed me how to hack Tomato, and introduced me to 2600.