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Have you tested Starlink?
Any ideas on Starlink? What's its download/upload speed and latency? Are you happy with your purchase compared to other available offers?
Ideas on Starlink?
- (assuming you are testing in rural areas)36 votes
- Positive. Worth the price in my area. Down/Up link and latency are good30.56%
- The performance is not as good as fiber but it's worth it in rural areas.19.44%
- It's not woth its price. Competeing non-satellite offers are better22.22%
- Downlink is good but uplink and latency is terrible5.56%
- Others (comment)22.22%
Comments
Yes. It's my daily driver and a game changer for those of us who can't stand living in cities or in town where the good internet is.
Went from 2-3Mbps via 4G hotspot (1 bar of service, 20GB datacap that I'd re-up every other week or so) to 100-200Mbps being pretty common via Starlink.
EDIT: Though to be clear, if I could get access to fiber direct to my house or something, and it was cheaper, I'd use it in a heartbeat. Starlink is a niche product (imo) and absolutely 100% worth it for my use-case.
EDIT 2: I'm also on their 'best effort' plan. The service isn't technically available in my area, but was, very briefly, available at a cell nearby. I used that nearby service cell and selected a local business as my 'service address' so Starlink would sell to me, then I had to enable 'roaming' so it'd work outside of that service address and at my house. Always been fast, and been mostly stable. May go down every now and then for updates, but they're brief. Works fine during rain/snow/storms unless it's absolutely nuts outside, but that is very rare.
The stock router isn't the best in the world. Buy an ethernet adapter and bypass the Starlink router with your own. Plays nicely with my OpenWRT router.
I get 40-50mb down and 5-10mb up. While it's certainly a game changer for people in very remote areas, I don't personally feel the performance is worth the price. It is faster than any other comparable satellite service, and stability is generally good. I have a short loss (1-2 minutes) of connection a few times of day.
I understand that it's newer technology and will be more expensive until it becomes more widely adopted and the startup cost is covered. It's still very expensive. I find it ethically ambiguous to sell internet at such a high price in this day and age, especially to people who may not have any other options. I think I would be happier if there was a higher initial fee for the equipment and a lower monthly bill.
Starlink uses CGNAT as a crutch until IP6 is deployed, which means that it is largely unusable for self-hosting/home lab set ups. Things self hosters appreciate like port forwarding and remote DNS will not work without additional expenditure of time and resources.
Starlink runs on proprietary hardware and software. While you can put the router in bypass mode, you can't bypass it completely: it has to be plugged in. I have to respect the business acumen of Musk in flooding the upper atmosphere with his personal property, but I'm reasonably certain all of these satellites will become space junk sooner or later, regardless of any claims to the contrary. As more and more Starlink satellites hit orbit, there will be less room for other satellites from other vendors to fill the skies, which brings to mind the possibility of a monopoly.
Starlink had IPv6 for about 3 months now. You might need to check again.
https://stats.labs.apnic.net/ipv6/AS14593
If I'm viewing the link correctly, starlink is about 50% rolled out. According to ip6test.google.com:
You don’t have IPv6, but you shouldn’t have problems on websites that add IPv6 support.
I have Starlink, and no native IPv6. IPv6 is great but I'd hardly consider it's absence a deal breaker for general use internet browsing, which is the target market for the majority of ISPs, everywhere. Ask your neighbor if their Internet Service Provider offers IPv6 and they'll just look at you like you're speaking a foreign language.
I think @randvegeta was the first in LET to get starlink. It would be interesting to hear lomg-term review
@ChrisMiller uses it as backup internet and is who got me turned on it. I think he's had it for two years or more now. How is it holding up?
I love it! I have all of my IOT, Smart & Streaming Devices using it to keep them separate from my home/work network.
I've had it since January 2021, when you had to sign up to be invited. I average 100-200mbit during peak times and tend to go over 300 during non-peak times.
I enjoy Starlink, but in no way is it a viable alternative to fiber, or even broadband. For rural internet connectivity though, especially on the go, it is a lifesaver (if you have enough unobstructed sky, that is).
In terms of performance, I average speeds around 400-500Mbps up and down, but latency is the real killer, and honestly a huge detractor to day-to-day usability. Whether it's gaming, movie watching, or roaming the web, the latency is felt everywhere. But again, if you're in the middle of nowhere, I'd say it is much easier to buy, install, setup, and have running anywhere you need to be, especially compared to more cost-prohibitive SAT options cough Iridium.
Though pricing and availability will fluctuate with Elon products (Tesla pricing is killing me), I am excited to see what comes of the Starlink network and future improvements on the terminals as well.
I get 500 Mbps from AT&T for US$65 monthly., I could upgrade to 1000 Mbps for US$15 more .. but am happy with the Internet speed I get... it's fast!! ... I come from the AOL 28k dial up modems era!
Check last time check their website and in my area max speed with Starlink is up to 120 Mbps, equipment cost around £500 + monthly fee is £75, right now getting speed between 120 - 320 Mbps via 5G at £15 per month + equipment for £250, so pointless to waste more money for less speed!
With starlink, RV community streams on youtube are booming like crazy. Very noice!
I'm looking forward to getting it for use as a backup line and also maybe bring it with me if I ever buy a cabin in the woods or something. Right now I'm using a T-Mobile 5G home internet line as a backup and it works really well, of course you have to be pretty close to a tower to get decent speed though.
Do they give you the hardware for free? Do you buy into a yearly/bi-yearly contract?
EDIT:
Can you take it with you anywhere in the world?
Stop comparing fiber and 5G to starlink. Everyone knows Starlink is worse.
It's like saying living in a tent on the street sucks just get a house.
Starlink is for those who can't get a good alternative, and for that, it's great. The tent, compared to no tent, is far better.
Been using the Starlink RV ROAM for 2ish months now and its been really nice. Full native v6 (/56 routed) by default on our end
The downsides we have experienced are
You are required to buy their equipment and it’s not free.
You pay for the hardware. My friend just bought one and said it was around $850 CAD.
I dont understand , you only pay once then you have free internet forever ?
How it works can you explain please
No, hardware is upfront cost PLUS monthly service. That's how satellite subscription services have worked for 4 decades...
Have you tried to visit their website? As clearly explained how it works 😂
You can also rent the hardware for £15 a month
I think that's just in the UK, if I'm not mistaken.
The service is still evolving, as others mentioned, pricing has been increased/decreased depending on location and plan details. The design of the dish has changed / improved over time and I believe that the on-board tech on the actual satellites has been changed too.
For rural use and use in developing countries, this really is a game changer. For travelers and digital nomads, no better option exists.
For a few years I was able to use a rural WISP that provided speeds that sometimes reached 10Mbps (3-5Mbps being the usual) and unfortunately that company stopped offering the internet portion of their telecom business. Once they were gone, my only option was the 4G hotspot that I mentioned in my original response. I'm not even that far out of town or far away from a fiber line, yet this is my only option unless I want HughesNet, which is a slower satellite service with strict data caps.
I'd still rather have fiber, though. But this is the first time in my life I've been able to stream HD content and not have to start something like an ISO download before bed, knowing it'd take all night.
I asked about the prices because i cant see into their website but i have the details now so nothing to laugh.