Personally if you see a shot at something better do not upgrade and get another sentence type contract. I stuck with my 6000 and had those speeds too. I'd say stick it out for free on equipment. The 7000 if you can get one used would be ok as far as I know it will plug and play in its place and double the upload most times. I hate a contract when the good stuff finally lands.
Just depends if you see something better on the horizon mostly. DSL, cable, anything. For a while they were offering the 7000 upgrade over the 6000 for like $50, so another option might be to wait till they bring the price down to a bit more affordable. And you can get a 7000 on ebay or craigslist for fairly cheap. All you need that way is the modem.
Just a few thoughts.
And even though not many of us are still with hughesnet, like a bad war we are still hanging out, and helping our buds along the way.
Wonder what ever happened to PHP? The member.