Posted on 01/24/2021 7:19:17 AM PST by SmokingJoe
A recent survey has determined that over half of Americans are ready to switch to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service. This was despite only 5% of internet subscribers in the United States being connected via satellite today.
The study was conducted by Reviews.org, which asked respondents whether they would consider getting on board with Starlink once the satellite internet service is fully set up. As it turns out, over half of those surveyed stated that they’d be signing up for the Starlink Beta program, despite the $499 cost of the satellite dish and the service’s current $99 per month fee.
Interestingly enough, 55% of the study’s respondents who do not use satellite internet today noted that they would stay with Starlink permanently if the system’s connection was faster, even if its price was higher than their current internet service provider. Over 40% of the respondents also stated that they would stay with Starlink if SpaceX would allow subscribers to make payments on the satellite system instead of an upfront $499 fee.
Average internet costs in the United States today stand at 57.2 Mbps for about $65 per month, which translates to a $1.13 per Mbps rate. Starlink is more expensive at $99 per month, but considering that the system provides average speeds of 103.1 Mbps at its present state, SpaceX’s satellite system is actually cheaper on a per Mbps basis.
What really sets Starlink apart from current internet service providers in the United States is its low latency, which allows the system to perform much closer to what subscribers receive with cable internet. Current Starlink latency averages 39 milliseconds with download speeds of about 79.5 Mbps as of October 2020. This is over three times the best download
(Excerpt) Read more at teslarati.com ...
Hughes’ latency is only a problem if you’re an addicted gamer or trying to run your phone thru your Internet. I do neither, so it’s AOK with me. I probably will stay with Hughes as long as possible, since I already own the dish and modem. They also do some things that enhance my Internet security, which I doubt that I would get from Starlink.
Astronomers are absolutely livid over finding Starlink sat streaks ruining their images. Musk claims he’s made the sats less reflective, but they are still a YUUUGE problem for ground-based astronomy. I’m no longer an amateur observer, but I feel their pain.
You can actually play online video games with no problem.
Zoom and Teams meeting aren’t going away post-Covid. Latency matters for more than just what you assert.
“Musk should bar Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc, unless they agree to cessation of censorship.”
He can buy/make his own free speech, uncensored versions. And steal patriot coders from them.
He could create a new online store, too. And publish books. And produce TV and movies. And do online education.
In answer to various posters, that vid indicates, if indirectly regarding rain, that this is going to be fairly weather tolerant...
Our local (rural) telco just upgraded us to 75 MBps (up and down) Fios @ no additional charge. With all fees and taxes included, I think we pay about $70 a month.
To be honest, the old 50 MBps was plenty fast for us, even including my daughter’s gaming. I probably ought to see what the next cheapest speed the telco offers is.
I wonder if Musk will offer service to local telcos to break them free of the big guys? Not everyone can pony up for that $500 antenna.
In a rural area Mr. Chainsaw can solve that problem.
“Satellite signals have inherent high latency, not useful to my setup.”
Sounds to me like it’s viable only for people that don’t have access to cable, which is fine.
Cable, which provides lower latency, higher data rate, lower cost, and is underground, will always be my choice here at home.
“The number of satellites will be just shy of 1500.”
Gulp!
Untrue. They are laying fiber where population density supports it. This does not include most of rural America.
Starlink hasn't even come to my area, but it is already improving my poor internet. The microwave ISP I have now has upgraded their service significantly over the past year. They hear Elon's footsteps behind them and have to upgrade in order to compete. For years I suffered with poor connections and uncaring tech support because they were the only game in town. Now speed is up and tech support cares.
Nothing quite like job insecurity to improve service.
“and not have to lay fiber”
Irrelevant. The fiber is already laid and it’s in conduits through which more fibers can be cheaply pulled.
Also, tell me how 5g will benefit you. I’ve said before that it’s benefit is for big brother because it allows closer tracking of people’s location.
The $500 is because of low production rates for the equipment. It also reduced the number of subscribers to a reasonable level so speed doesn't suffer.
It will come down in short order.
Nice thought but you will need a dish that moves to keep the link to the satellite. Those are not cheap and usually don’t last that long because of the water environment. Their dish is $499 and fixed. Good luck
The dish is a tracking dish.
My beloved husband is looking forward too being able to use that service.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuFS0zOwyBg&feature=youtu.be
And could the U.S. government even regulate or control it? They certainly can't BLOCK it!
Agree...
Plus most service models amortize equipment costs which they probably didn’t do in the Beta phase.....
Sorry...
Can’t use anything as slow as 79.5 Mbps as of October 2020...
Ping me when 700-900 Mbps is available...
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