Chris,
Thanks for making this post. I should have made a similar one a while ago and I appreciate you doing it because we need to tell our largely rural membership about Starlink and how it works.
Kathy and I try, really try, to “stay local” with our financial transactions. A few years ago we essentially underwrote the cost for Xxxx to install their newest gear to service us. And we then paid nearly $200 per month for service that was 25mb down and 15mb up for several years. We were with their predecessor and Xxxx for many, many, years. During that time we noted that Xxxx ownership runs off all their good talent and Xxxx has zero, I mean ZERO, backup power. They keep bankers hours, meaning they are closed on the weekends and on holidays. Until I wrote a letter to ownership, excoriating them for their lack of support we were lucky to even have bankers hours. And if just one area loses power and their backhaul radio is on that circuit, no Internet. And when do they routinely lose power? When the weather is bad and we most need Internet.
In total disgust with them, about a year ago we signed up for Starlink and ran them in parallel for three months. Starlink was consistently faster and, no surprise, the lights never go out at Elon Musk’s place. They are also heated, so no ice build up during the infrequent ice storms. As an aside, when I called Xxxx and fired them, the gal said they would need to come and retrieve their radio. When I reminded her it was on top of an 85′ tall tower she had the temerity to tell me that the radio was $5000. She was clearly an idiot. I told her I could buy them for less than $100 a piece and would place an order for a tractor trailer load of them if they would pay me $5000 per unit… They never came out. Unbelievable… That level of stupidity is, to me, nearly breathtaking.
So, the rural local option is a bad, really bad, option. Yes, for Starlink you have to pay $600 for the hardware and not everyone can afford that. The monthly service is $130 and not everyone can afford that. But, if you can, particularly if you are using Xxxx or one of the other satellite services; make the change. If you currently or formerly use(d) one of the other satellite providers, there is no – NO – comparison. Starlink is vastly superior and if you care to know why – Starlink is provided by thousands of small satellites, hardly big enough to fill a pickup truck bed, and in “low Earth orbit” while the other guys have satellites that are huge, think tractor trailer sized huge. Starlink was designed for their smaller devices to burn up on reentry into Earth’s atmosphere and the other guy’s systems are not. Why the difference? Because Starlink satellites are quite literally nearly visible to the naked eye and the other ones are way – WAY – out in space. That difference in distance means that satellite latency is a PITA with them; Elon Musk’s satellites don’t have that problem. Google “satellite latency” (without the quotes) for more detail on that.
No “Fair Access Policy” data caps. No satellite latency. Well, so little you can’t discern it while it is a nearly nauseatingly noticeable with the other guys. If you have slow speeds, bad service, both provided by Xxxx if they are your provider, or you use one of the other satellite outfits; fire them. We 100% endorse Starlink. With Starlink you will get great service that is all-encompassing. We are buried in trees, but still get great service. And I’ll say it again – The lights never go out at Elon Musk’s operation. If you have power at your location you will have “always on” Internet. Oh sure, if there is a thunderstorm directly overhead you will get rain fade, albeit briefly. But the only real downside that we have discovered is that Starlink uses the strongest CGNAT setup I have ever dealt with. That means that if you currently look at security cameras via a direct IP connection, you will probably need to use a “cloud” connection with Starlink. If anyone has a question about that, please let me know. And Chris, if you know how to use VPN tunneling or some other means to access your home network while using Starlink, I would welcome an education on that. LOL
73
Phillip Beall (W5EBC)
