![]() |
||
|
||
Starlink speeds blow by Hughes and Viasat – study![]() Recent tests show that speeds and latency levels delivered by Starlink, Elon Musk's emerging low-Earth orbit satellite broadband service, far exceed those from satellite-powered rivals. But initial, lofty costs for the new service could be a sticking point even for consumers in rural areas who lack access to decent Internet service. Average Starlink speeds jumped to 79 Mbit/s down and 13.8 Mbit/s up in October, improving on an average speed of 42 Mbit/s down and 9.7 Mbit/s up, according to a fresh PCMag study based on speed tests conducted by Ookla (Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company).
"The company quoted speeds of '50Mb/s to 150Mb/s' in a recent email to beta test users, so the results we're seeing are by and large in line with that," the report noted. If such speeds stand when Starlink's service launches commercially, they represent a huge leap over measured average downstream speeds for HughesNet (19.84 Mbit/s) and Viasat's Exede system (24.75 Mbit/s). Starlink's upstream averages also surpassed upstream averages measured in September for HughesNet (2.64 Mbit/s) and Viasat Exede (3.25 Mbit/s), according to the study.
As would be expected, tests also showed that Starlink's LEO satellites, which orbit some 340 miles above the Earth, delivered much lower latencies than the geosynchronous-Earth orbit systems from HughesNet and Viasat that reside some 22,000 miles above. Starlink's latencies "varied wildly," but averaged 42 milliseconds (ms), versus HughesNet (728ms) and Viasat (643ms). Fast, but pricey So, Starlink is fast compared to its GEO-based rivals. But indications are that the service won't be cheap. Starlink has not announced commercial packaging and pricing and whether the service will be affixed with data caps or usage-based policies. The beta phase price is $99 per month, plus $499 for the satellite dish and home router. But satellite broadband of any sort is costly. By way of comparison, the report points out that HughesNet's 25 Mbit/s service with 20 gigabytes of data fetches $69.99 per month, while Viasat's 12 Mbit/s unlimited plan (users can chew through 40GB before data is prioritized behind other customers during periods of network congestion, resulting in slower speeds) goes for $100 per month along with a 30 Mbit/s plan that costs $200 per month. More beta invites coming Starlink, which has deployed almost 900 satellites so far, appears to be ramping up its beta tests ahead of its full launch. SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted Monday that "several thousand" additional beta invites are going out this week:
According to Business Insider, Musk also noted that Starlink's beta, which is focused today on the northern US and southern Canada, could be extended into Florida by January 2021. And if Starlink gets the necessary approvals, it could get to parts of Europe by February 2021 and India by mid-2021. Meanwhile, Starlink beta testers have been sharing details on the installation and service experience, including limitations on connectivity and speeds when the equipment is moved to unregistered locations or set up in an area that does not provide a clear line of sight to the Starlink satellites.
Related posts:
— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading, special to Broadband World News |
Charter has sparked RDOF work in all 24 states where it won bids. The cable op booked about $19 million in RDOF revenues in Q1, and expects to have about $9 million per month come in over the next ten years.
Launch of 2-Gig and 5-Gig FTTP tiers in 70-plus markets puts more pressure on cable ops to enhance their existing DOCSIS 3.1 network or accelerate their upgrade activity centered on the new DOCSIS 4.0 specs.
Ziply Fiber, an operator that tangles with Comcast and Charter, has launched two multi-gigabit tiers in 60 urban areas, aiming for all markets by Q2 2022.
Elon Musk's nascent broadband will need to radically accelerate the rate of satellite launches – and navigate tricky supply chain logistics – if it's going to come close to fulfilling its global ambition.
MoffettNathanson questions whether mobile operators will have the network capacity and the right business metrics to back their aggressive stance and forecasts for fixed wireless home broadband.
![]() ARCHIVED
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
1:00 p.m. New York / 6:00 p.m. London When your broadband business adds new services and connected devices, do they also add complexity, slowing customer support teams as they navigate multiple data sources to uncover connectivity issues? We’ve worked with hundreds of support teams to help them implement a subscriber experience management platform that gives greater visibility into subscriber issues. They can proactively troubleshoot amid complexity—improving the subscriber experience and raising customer satisfaction ratings like Net Promoter Scores. Join this webinar with experts from Calix and global research leader Omdia who will share exclusive research about how you can:
|
|
![]() |
Broadband World News
About Us
Advertise With Us
Contact Us
Help
Register
Twitter
Facebook
RSS
Copyright © 2023 Light Reading, part of Informa Tech, a division of Informa PLC. Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms of Use in partnership with
|