Starlink is finally available for pre-order in Texas.

BEST USE CASE

Bottomline, If you have another terrestiral fiber or cable option, you’ll likely be better off sticking with that, at least initially. The best initial use case is for people in rural locations without options for low latency, high speed internet. Starlink will be a game changing solution to solve that problem.

Also, if Starlink eventually allows it in their terms of use, it would also make for a great redundant internet connection for businesses. We plan to use it as a redundant home office solution as well as remote use

Biggest Potential Problems:

Field of View - Based on number of satellites currently in orbit, initially you will need an overhead, 100 degree clear field of view for best reception. This requirement will shrink as more satellites are launched into orbit. 100 degrees is a wide field of view that means you may need to roof or pole mount the dish if you live in a heavily wooded area or have tall houses next to you.

Brief periods of no connectivity at all. As more satellites are launched, service performance will improve. See the map. The GREEN circles are satellites in final orbit while YELLOW circles represent satellites that are still traveling into final position. If you watch the map, you can see where an area in the southern latitudes below 41 degrees still have a few gaps.

SINGLE LOCATION USE ONLY - In a perfect world, I want to pay for one internet connection and be able to take it with me. Starlink says a mobile solution is in the works but provides no time for release. The current dish is designed to work within a specific region. I plan to test this later this year as I travel about.

INSTALL

At least in beta tests, the dish was aligned toward the north and it was smart enough to self align. They have an app that makes basic set up simple.

The dish contains a phase array antenna, two motors and a heater to keep snow off the dish. Starlink is initially selling the dish for $499 plus $50 for shipping and handling. It’s speculated that it actually cost them over $1K manufacture it.


The package comes with a dish, ground stand, 100 feet of cabling that is used between the dish and a power source, plus a router. You can use your own network router as well. You can also order various roof and pole mount kits after you place your initial order but you need to sign into your account to do so.

HOW FAST IS IT?

Current beta showed 50 to 150 Mb/s down, 20-30 Mb/s up, with latency from 20 to 40 ms in most locations. Low latency allows zoom, team and other calls to work great and no problem streaming. The Starlink satellites are in low earth orbit so a completely different user experience compared to Hughes.


Some beta test videos will tell you want you want to know -




Starlink FAQ

So on a percentage base how much better then huges. I have huge in Rockport and I'm not happy

The big issue with Hughes is latency and low data limits. Starlink has low latency so you can do things like video conference and upload videos. The Hughes birds are 22,000 miles above the earth so the distance creates a long delay. The Starlink birds are in low earth orbit so you won't notice any latency issues. Their service will get better as more satellites are launched.

Night and day based on what I hear from the RV Full-timer's groups. Hughes is old technology as well.

X2

Will cloudy weather impact it like satellite TV?

Charlie

Regarding bad weather, the dish draws up to 200 watts of power to heat the dish up to 55 degrees to keep snow off. The Starlink satellites are in low earth orbit, 60 times lower than the Hughes satellites that are at 22,000 miles up. One of the videos I linked to showed a speed test during rain and it was still showing a strong connection. Because it's line of site, I suspect some signal loss might occur in really bad weather. Again, if you have fiber or cable, this isn't a solution you'd switch for. This is more for people that have Hughes or low speed rural Internet.