Many users on Reddit noted that you can’t even get a hold of anyone at Starlink until you become a customer, which makes asking questions beforehand difficult. Starlink’s customer service seems to be fairly self-serve. The representative said the service will not get overcrowded, and said that the network will get “increasingly great, not increasingly worse” as more satellites are launched.
As more satellites reach Earth’s orbit and more ground stations are built, Starlink users will likely see improved download speeds and lower latency.Ī Reddit member asked a Starlink representative whether Starlink internet users would see slower speeds once more users sign up. But if your only rural internet option is another satellite provider or fixed wireless, Starlink is swooping in for the save.Īnd keep in mind that Starlink is still deploying satellites and ground stations while working out the kinks. These speed results make Starlink a possibly worse choice compared to DSL, cable, and fiber internet. Related: Learn more about how Starlink’s satellites create lower latency The real kicker is there are no data caps.This finally brings Starlink's latency down to its advertised range of 20 to 40 ms, leagues better than other satellite providers with a median latency between 627 to 725 ms. For $99 a month, you can expect to see download speeds anywhere between 50 to 150 megabits per second, at a latency (the time it takes to get a response to information sent) of around 20-40 milliseconds. The beta starter kit that arrived in a 30-pound box at my door included the Starlink antenna dish, a Wi-Fi router, a power adapter, cables and a mounting tripod. Fast-forward to February and I forked over $594.30 (tax, shipping and one month of service included) to see what it's like using Starlink. As soon as the announcement was made, I signed up to be notified when a spot opened up in my area - Walnut Creek, about 30 minutes east of San Francisco. Watch the video on this page for more of my experience using Starlink (and click here if it doesn't play).īack in October, SpaceX announced it would be recruiting beta testers for its satellite broadband offshoot Starlink's "Better Than Nothing" service.
The download speeds and latency looked very promising. My average download speeds hovered at around 78Mbps at a latency of 36ms. It took about four days for the outage to clear in my case, and when it did, Starlink worked flawlessly. My internet connection kept dropping out to a point where it was unusable.
I checked the Starlink subreddit, and it seemed like a wider issue affecting customers in multiple regions. Sounds pretty simple, right? That first week, Starlink was going through an intermittent service outage in my area, which meant I did not have a consistent internet connection. As long as the antenna has a clear view of the sky, the dish will automatically align itself with satellites overhead and you should be connected to the internet. So what's it like using Starlink? Setting up is actually quite easy: It's pretty much plug and play. The company has also indicated that it might ultimately like to launch as many as 30,000 satellites into the constellation overhead. As of May, SpaceX has launched about 1,600 satellites of a planned 12,000. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted in February that Starlink expects to double speeds by the end of 2021 as the company continues to launch more satellites. My Starlink dish, sitting on top of Mount Diablo. Those who live in more urban areas, like me, tend to have more ISP choices, so Starlink would likely not be the first that comes to mind. But note that Starlink is catered toward those who live in remote or rural communities with limited access to internet service providers. Triple-digit download speeds and latency less than 40ms are both basically unheard of in the satellite internet industry.