Starlink?

[Peak53]

Anybody else in a rural location thinking of going this route? I'm thinking of ditching my dismal Hughesnet satellite for Starlink? Any happy or sad customers out there?

[Donna K]

I've been on the waiting list for Starlink since last February.
Just got a notification that its arrival is imminent... should be by mid 2022. It's been a long, tough wait.
We are rural and don't have access to cable or fios. It's mountainous here, so no direct sightline to any microwave towers.
When we first moved out here we tried satellite, but with the data caps and latency it was a no-go for gaming.
We've tried 3 different cellular based service providers and had cell tower issues with all of them.
We currently run off of a t-mobile hotspot, which has been pretty decent for us, and their senior discount makes it cheaper than others. There are issues if the tower is congested. Being rural this shouldn't be a problem, but there is an amusement park down the road from us that is open from May thru Oct. The tower is always congested during operating hours.
There's been reports of problems with the starlink dish in freezing climates. Wouldn't mind hearing if anyone who already has it has had icing problems. I guess one of the benefits of waiting so long is maybe they have the issues worked out by now.
Either way, I'm REALLY hoping it arrives before next May!
Will report back when it does

[riverrat38]

We just got on the waiting list, looks like a year off.
We will be glad to ditch Viasat. $110 per month, and we often can't watch youtube videos at 360 resolution. We get 40 GB per month, but would have a hard time using it all at the speeds available. Maybe during the middle of the night.
They are talking over 40,000 "birds". Who woulda thought. Will change the night sky.
The Starlink website explains the amount of clear sky needed for best results. More is better. Mobile use is still in the future. Working on it.
The antennas are interesting. I understand they use heat to defrost them.

73,
Rick

[twodog max]

Back in the spring I was looking out the back door shortly after dark. I saw all the bright lights stringing across the night sky. I was thinking the invasion had started LOL Turns out it was SpaceX launching the starlink satellites. The launch anyway was impressive. I know of several folks waiting anxiously for the system.
I would be thinking of getting it but we are scheduled for fiber optic service from the rural electric coop we use.

[akoda]

We are out in the country been on starlink list for over a year. I got an email explaining silicon shortages will now cause a further delay. I have exceed satellite and boy do they suck.

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk

[Shark Bait]

I have been on Starlink for about 5 months now. It usually works quite well. It stops occasionally but not for very long periods. It is at least 10 times faster that my old ISP and now download limits, like Spewsnet. I highly recommend it. I also like supporting Elon Musk's efforts. It is impressive what he has been able to accomplish so far.

[Onomea]

I think Starlink bringing broadband to the un and underserved worldwide is a good thing, although I regret the resultant light pollution of the night sky, not just for scientists but for the rest of us as well.

[Peak53]

Originally Posted by Onomea

I think Starlink bringing broadband to the un and underserved worldwide is a good thing, although I regret the resultant light pollution of the night sky, not just for scientists but for the rest of us as well.

This is a concern for me as well.

[Peak53]

Despite thinking it would be months for delivery I got a shipped package text today for delivery on Friday. Fingers crossed.

[Peak53]

Well, FedEx was slower than Mr. Musk. The delivery got delayed from Friday to Monday. However, StarLink is now up and running like the wind. The installation instructions are hilarious. There is a 2-foot piece of cardstock with three huge line drawings and no text. A) dish sitting on ground pointing at the sky with a cable running to next pic B) router with an electric cord next to a wall plug C) a cell phone screen with Settings open to WiFi and a checkmark by Starlink. That's it. The Chinese could learn something here.

[BillBond]

Finally convinced the wife to give up on satellite TV over 10 years ago and use the money we save to purchase DVD's.
I watch ebay for good deals and purchased a DVD player that is region free.
Most of the good deals are on DVD's made for foreign markets.

[Onomea]

Peak53, how speedy is your Starlink connection, and, if you don't mind my asking, what does it cost?

[Donna K]

Originally Posted by Onomea

Peak53, how speedy is your Starlink connection, and, if you don't mind my asking, what does it cost?

For us, and I don't believe it varies:

we had to pay a $99 deposit to get on the list
when it ships $500 will be charged to us for the equipment
when it arrives it will be $99 per month

Of course I can't answer the speed question, except to say it is supposed to go up to 150 MBps. (I originally wrote Mbps, which is incorrect)

I'm still hoping someone will come along and say if they've had icing issues. The dish is heated, but the melt water freezing into an icicle and 'attaching' the dish to ground has been a problem for some folks

[Peak53]

Originally Posted by Onomea

Peak53, how speedy is your Starlink connection, and, if you don't mind my asking, what does it cost?

It cost $499 plus fees to equal a total of $574 to make the order, plus $99/month to begin 14 days after they ship. Yes, on the expensive side on the front end.

My speeds show, at the current moment, during a snowstorm, to be 39 ms ping, 29 mbps download and 7 mbps upload. This is dramatically better than with previous service and I expect it to improve when the weather does. Earlier when it was not snowing the download speeds were about 44 mbsp and latency pings about 31 mp. This is dramatically better than what I have been experiencing with traditional satellite.

I tested a couple of long-distance phone calls via cell phone over internet, which turned out pretty good, but with momentary drops of 1 or 2 seconds that were quickly recovered. There was no delay. Overall. I am impressed and will consider dropping current satellite internet and land line tomorrow.

[oink]

We paid our $99 a few month ago and are waiting. I did just watch them launch a bunch more of them a few day ago. It was a night launch so it was pretty cool. I currently get at best 2.7 mbps but even that is unreliable. I don't have much good to say about ATT.