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[Preorder] Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Internet (up to 150Mb/s) $139/Month + $809 Setup @ SpaceX / Starlink

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[Preorder] Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Internet (up to 150Mb/s) $139/Month + $809 Setup @ SpaceX / Starlink
Go to Deal
MSG on 09/02/2021 - 13:25 starlink.com (5876 clicks)
Last edited 09/02/2021 - 13:48 by 1 other user

Elon Musk’s space venture - SpaceX / Starlink is now available for preorders!

Starlink is a satellite internet service providing high-speed, low latency broadband internet with speeds from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms. Early beta users are reporting speeds of 100Mbps+.

For Australian addresses, the estimated date for coverage is mid-to-late 2021.

Preorders cost $139. When the service goes live, you will need to pay $809 for hardware (satellite dish + shipping) and a $139/month service fee.

This looks like an attractive option for those on NBN satellite. Also can be worthwhile to replace a slower NBN connection due to the exorbitant prices for a NBN FTTP upgrade.

Starlink is now delivering initial beta service both domestically and internationally, and will continue expansion to near global coverage of the populated world in 2021.
During beta, users can expect to see data speeds vary from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms in most locations over the next several months as we enhance the Starlink system. There will also be brief periods of no connectivity at all.
As we launch more satellites, install more ground stations and improve our networking software, data speed, latency and uptime will improve dramatically.

As a point of reference, the best speeds achieved on Starlink in USA are

Download: 209.17 Mbps
Upload: 47.74 Mbps
Ping: 15 ms

List of Confirmed Starlink Speed Tests

Referral Links

Referral: random (39)

1 Month of free service for referrer and referee.

Internet Satellite Internet

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closed Comments

    • Twix on 09/02/2021 - 23:05

      Build where there is FTTP and the distance to the node becomes irrelevant :-)

      • InsertCrow on 10/02/2021 - 05:25
        +1

        I've checked recently and it's in a new development area which, as far as I can tell, has FTTP. I'm keeping my fingers crossed

  • omghi2u on 09/02/2021 - 15:38

    I'm getting a "Due today" of $0.00 and "Starlink is targeting coverage in your area in a future rollout. Availability is limited. Orders will be fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis"

    and the Pay button does nothing.

    I suppose this means I can't preorder for my location at the moment, that this might be a possibility some time in the future..?

  • johnwinds on 09/02/2021 - 15:49
    +3

    Ordered, thanks!

    I'm in metro, but the way I look at it, by supporting Starlink, I'm also indirectly helping make Starship a reality.

    • netjock on 09/02/2021 - 18:25
      -2

      Someone is going to pay for StarShip. It isn't a charity. I assume you'll be paying twice then.

      • johnwinds on 09/02/2021 - 19:29

        I'm ok with that.

    • Kontiki on 10/02/2021 - 09:43
      +1

      You are in metro? Do you have access to FTTP or FFTC? I'm all for early adapting & supporting cool space tech, but I'd be out of my mind to give up FTTP for this.

      • johnwinds on 10/02/2021 - 12:00

        I'm in metro, have HFC NBN with TPG. Paying $110 per month for business NBN with fixed IP address at the moment. The service has been pretty good, getting 99mbit down, 35mbit up.

        About once every 1-2 months I get a text that "NBN is doing emergency maintenance in your area from 8am to 8pm" (happened two days ago again). In which case the service goes down a few times during the day.

        I'll probably keep my TPG active while I try Starlink. If I'm not happy with the experience I can always go back. With every new development there are early adopters that like taking a bit of a risk with the bleeding edge, going into it with our eyes open knowing we might bleed a bit, but will have a bit of an adventure in return.

  • ZeeFlyingMonkey on 09/02/2021 - 15:58
    -4

    Lot's of people worshipping at the cult of Musk … having had Satellite previously it's not the best way to get internet unless you have zero other choice.

    • dcash on 09/02/2021 - 16:25
      +2

      Exactly. 25 years ago I had an 8Mbps downlink via AsiaSat 2. Fabulous in those days, but satellite definitely the choice of last resort in 2021.

    • mathew42 on 09/02/2021 - 17:28
      +8

      The difference between traditional geo-stationary satellites and leo satellites is the distance from the earth, resulting in low earth orbit latency of 20-30ms, down from from 600ms+ for SkyMuster. This is fast enough for real-time video conferencing.

      • netjock on 09/02/2021 - 18:28

        This is fast enough for real-time video conferencing

        How much would you save over a lifetime of being able to speak after the other person finishes 570ms faster?

        • mathew42 on 09/02/2021 - 21:08
          +3

          If you have 1 second delays then the conversation is not natural and people talk over the top of each other so you need to either have extended pauses to make sure the other person has finished talking or find yourself interrupting. For tele-health it is even worse when you are attempting to instruct someone.

          • netjock on 11/02/2021 - 14:01

            @mathew42: As said. People who likes to jump on the first pause.

            1s pause, like humanity hasn't lived through worse. Remember the telegraph or the fax, or just plain old telephone.

    • netjock on 09/02/2021 - 18:26

      If Elon said Spam Steak was the future. People will pay twice as much and wolf it down like god isn't making any more of it.

      • dcash on 11/02/2021 - 08:56
        -2

        Just like Elon with Tesla and Bitcoin. On the one hand he pretends to promote a green industry by making electric vehicles, but then he promotes Bitcoin (perhaps the worlds biggest source of pollution that produces nothing) by pumping $1.5b into it. And of course his flock of sheep followers blindly follow. Remember his submarine that was going to rescue the cave boys in Thailand? What a tool. What an absolute tool (Elon, not the submarine)

        • netjock on 11/02/2021 - 13:59
          +1

          People don't like to hear they are following the false prophet.

          • dcash on 11/02/2021 - 15:13

            @netjock: True. And I think a big part of it is lack of education. For example I find a lot of poorer (hence less well educated) Filipinos absolutely idolise Imelda Marcos. If you try to explain to what the Marcos regime did to their country, they honestly just don't care. I remember one of them telling me, "So what? She's rich and I want to be like her!" It's money and riches before all else, and their idols can do no wrong in their eyes.

            • netjock on 11/02/2021 - 15:23

              @dcash: Just play along. Don't call them stupid, just makes things worse. Sometimes people change but sometimes they don't, who knows.

              It seems like society is going through waves of hysteria, I can't be sure which wave is causing which wave but it seems like people. I'm just tired from all the panic buying from FOMO.

              Elon is just trying to make a few bucks for himself. People might be in bitcoin already and just get lucky. If the little guy thinks they can drive the market (GameStop) we know how it is all playing out.

  • customundo on 09/02/2021 - 16:01
    +4

    Meanwhile at NBN headquarters:

    "We have market leading speeds guaranteeing a least 5Mbps to 90% Australian households nationally. Speeds may vary during peak hours"

  • Treble Sketch on 09/02/2021 - 16:12
    +3

    This sounds exciting! Hopefully, this will help rural communities can finally get some decent internet with a dish or two and a small local network.

    The folks over on the subreddit have been pretty excited for this increased global rollout and it looks like there are a few ground stations down under too!

    https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/

    The map mentioned above.
    https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1H1x8jZs8vfjy60…

  • pjetson on 09/02/2021 - 16:25
    +2

    50-150mbs and sometimes nothing? Sounds just like the NBN to me :-)

  • elvislj on 09/02/2021 - 16:42

    Can someone explain why the latency is faster when the data has to travel into the space and back? Also with the ever evolving technology will those satellites become space junks soon?

    • Merlict on 09/02/2021 - 16:57
      +2

      Can someone explain why the latency is faster when the data has to travel into the space and back?
      Faster than what? Most wired connections have lower latency (I get 8ms, and keep in mind 15 is a very best case scenario from a borderline shill site). It's low latency compared to most crap satellite net

      Also with the ever evolving technology will those satellites become space junks soon?
      They're in a low orbit, so should fall harmlessly back to earth fairly quickly.

    • ashtyn on 09/02/2021 - 16:58
      +3

      Latency is 20-40ms which is not lower than fixed broadband's 23ms average (data includes fiber and copper). Their satellites orbit much lower (550KM) compared to regular satellite internet (35,000KM). Also this service travels over air, not copper.

      • [Deactivated] on 16/02/2021 - 08:16

        This. Geosynchronous orbits, like the one used by NBN's satellite service, are positioned 35,786km from the ground - and this is roughly double the distance from Sydney to London.

        So a packet going up to a geosynchronous satellite and back to earth takes about double the time it takes for a packet to ping a London router from Sydney (not taking into account switch latency).

    • zuccs on 09/02/2021 - 17:00
      +5

      Space (Low Earth Orbit) is only 500km away. It's closer than Melbourne to Sydney! I know we're comparing radio vs light, but it's helps put distances in perspective.

    • inherentchoice on 10/02/2021 - 13:14
      -1

      will those satellites become space junks

      The StarLink satellites have ion thrusters and can de-orbit by themselves (and burn up on re-entry into atmosphere). Also, their low-earth orbit means they will naturally fall back to earth over time. So the thrusters are to maintain their orbits but also work for de-orbit when they are retired.

  • zacsg1 on 09/02/2021 - 17:09

    I would love to know the ping for gaming, i get 65ms from Perth to Sydney but my speeds are only 13mbps on FTTN and its going to cost $14,000 to upgrade to FTTH 🙄

    • netjock on 09/02/2021 - 18:03

      What price do you put on gaming.

      Maybe for $14k it is deal on the basis of getting a 50% reduction in ping.

    • Elijha on 09/02/2021 - 19:43

      lol, sounds like you live at my place I have the same issues / costs.

    • furythree on 06/03/2021 - 13:41

      worth it if youre a maximum sweat TTV wraith apex legend

  • Bargaingeek on 09/02/2021 - 17:10
    +8

    People trashing the speeds have no idea how bad sky muster nbn is and lack of options for regional areas. This is a game changer in many cases

    • netjock on 09/02/2021 - 18:06
      -5

      Not going to comment on the speeds.

      Living in rural areas come with benefits and disincentives. It is like FIFO to work in the mines but still expecting full range of coffee houses on site, plus new live music from different bands on Friday / Saturday nights and Amazon Prime next day delivery on products.

      It is not to say that there isn't regional centres that have good infrastructure but the pay isn't going to be same FIFO premium levels.

      • Merlict on 09/02/2021 - 19:20
        +3

        None of this comment is helpful or relevant. He wasn't moaning about country problems, just saying this could be a good solution.

      • Kontiki on 10/02/2021 - 09:52
        +2

        Bargaingeek is not 'expecting' anything, based on their post. That makes your post irrelevant. If I have sh*t mobile reception in my city suburb, I would be just as happy with a new tower without expecting the same benefit as living in the CBD.

    • omghi2u on 09/02/2021 - 18:31
      +2

      can confirm. I will be signing up for this the moment they let me!!

  • Goldenra1n on 09/02/2021 - 18:23
    +2

    This is very cool but I'm too tight to fork out that amount of cash

  • plmko on 09/02/2021 - 18:30
    -1

    This is worse than a "no bargain" "OzRRP" listing for Nintendo classic/PS5 etc, the stock isn't even finite and cannot sell out.

    WTF is this even up voted?

    • takutox on 09/02/2021 - 19:16
      +5

      Because fibre to the premises quotes $592,824 to install 30cm from exchange.

  • kkmenon1156 on 09/02/2021 - 19:35
    +3

    Cult of Elon Musk worse than Trump

    kkmenon1156 on 09/02/2021 - 19:35 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
    • Cluster on 09/02/2021 - 23:19

      Last time I checked, Musk didn't encourage his supporters to storm the Capitol and overturn the legitimate will of the people. Musk is an ardent supporter of evidence and the scientific method too. Trump believed the more he shouted a lie and the louder he was the more true it became.

      • nope on 14/02/2021 - 15:22
        +1

        Musk is an ardent supporter of evidence and the scientific method too.

        oh absolutely

  • Wonderfool on 09/02/2021 - 19:40

    Wow, this came much faster than expected. So, is 5g dead thanks to this? Lol.

    • Kontiki on 10/02/2021 - 09:56

      No, not at all. 5G is much faster & cheaper, for one. And it remains to be seen if Starlink is reliable, you are dealing with non-geostationary objects constantly moving in high speed (think of it as switching between mobile 5G towers while on a train).

  • Elijha on 09/02/2021 - 19:44

    What about data caps etc seems everyone is talking about speed but if 1 movie eats up an allowance then it could get very expensive to use more?

    • repoz on 09/02/2021 - 21:48

      In the FAQ: https://www.starlink.com/faq it mentions no data cap in the Starlink Beta program.

      Not sure how this will translate over once beta is complete.

  • affinity on 09/02/2021 - 20:17
    +7

    FTTN should NEVER have been a thing, but now that it is, some will be lucky enough to be able to get an FTTP upgrade, most won't.

    FTTN was and perhaps still is using VDSL2 at lower voltages so as not to interfere with other services using copper phone lines — the plan was to up the voltage as other services ceased to exist to up available speeds on the service.

    Labor was frustrated by LNP opposition and delay tactics that were unreasonable, but which helped LNP to victory at the election. They couldn't let the NBN be a success under Labor. This absolutely should have been a bi-partisan project, it is far too important than to be a political football.

    TurnCOST wasted a hell of a lot of money destroying the NBN, I wish he would go away and be the ghost of PM's past that he expected everyone else to be. Hell, he even got an Australia Day award, that makes an absolute mockery of those awards now. Absolutely pathetic oxygen thief if you ask me.

  • affinity on 09/02/2021 - 20:18

    I'm not so sure anyone in AU can get this or any other foreign satellite service; didn't ACMA say no already?

    EDIT: https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/92knxwn3 — must have been some other service they denied, or they changed their mind….

    Are the prices in AUD or USD? It's no good for me, but it might be for others that I know.

    • Twix on 09/02/2021 - 23:07

      Pricing is in AUD.

  • Gomo on 09/02/2021 - 20:43

    This is great to those who don't have nbn ! Lots more options is better in the long run ! I myself have FTTP So I don't think I would need this service. Might be pretty good if you travel around in an rv or something

  • Jatacid on 09/02/2021 - 23:05
    +2

    I saw a string of 60 of these on Saturday. Lit up the entire sky. Part of me is inspired and in awe and excited for the opportunities this could provide, but another part of me is sad that we'll never have an empty sky ever again and we'll always be bathed in some form of artificial frequency no matter where you are. Very conflicted. Excited for where we are going, but also, why can't we leave good enough alone?

    • Cluster on 09/02/2021 - 23:15
      +6

      The satellites are only visible near sunrise and sunset. They orbit at 340km so it's impossible to see them at any other time.

      Also, what exactly does "we'll always be bathed in some form of artificial frequency" mean? You're always within range of AM radio (unnatural) unless you go to distant outback locations… and then there are a few shortwave (unnatural) radio stations that you can pick up from anywhere. Don't forget about geostationary satellites like Skymaster (unnatural) that cover the entire land mass of Australia. Does GPS work? You're receiving unnatural energy there too.

      It puzzles me why people are worried about unnatural radio transmissions with microwatt energy while they're standing in summer sunlight that will give them sunburn in less than 30 minutes. But I guess the sun is natural so it's all okay.

  • Jojo-Ma on 09/02/2021 - 23:41
    +2

    I find that we Aussies love to point fingers and cast the blame just to exude the moral high ground, so that we feel better.

    While we debate about taxi drivers not getting enough pay, someone's quietly creating Uber.

    While we're trashing the nbn, someone's quietly designing a world internet.

    While we're debating about Christine Holgate's million dollar paycheck, Amazon is slowly taking a piece of AusPost's pie.

    Soon our incompetences will be solved by US tech giants.

    • affinity on 10/02/2021 - 00:27
      +3

      I don't support Uber and would wish that it would cease to exist.

      The NBN should have been world class or close to it, it could have been with the original Rudd plan.

      Christine Holgate may have suffered just because she was a woman and not a friend of ScumMo … what she did was an excellent business decision; unlike the extreme waste of LNP failures (including the NBN).

      Haha, incompetence in gov't with LNP, for sure!

    • Kontiki on 10/02/2021 - 10:04
      +6

      The frustrating thing with NBN is that every tech-savvy person saw this coming, many years ago. I remember reading hundreds of complaints about the Liberal's FTTN plans before they even started building it. At the same time, friends with FTTP already in place reported awesome results.

      Politicians without a clue, pushing poop technology only so they indeed could point the finger at their opponents. They should be serving the people with good technology, which comes at a price. Now they are 'upgrading' the NBN, only to meet the original standard already set by those same opponents.

    • TEER3X on 11/02/2021 - 20:41

      I would've thought Amazon is increasing Australia Post's revenue, could be wrong though.

      Uber is scum on so many levels. Basically contributing to poverty.

  • AssBargain on 10/02/2021 - 03:05

    even with NBN my house's connection has a max potentional of 58mbps unfortunately. Would love to get the ~150mbps download speed if it wasnt for the latency

    • mathew42 on 11/02/2021 - 12:15
      +1

      Latency of 20-40ms would likely be very close to your current latency. A congested connection will quickly destroy latency without proper quality of service rules.

      • [Deactivated] on 16/02/2021 - 08:19
        +1

        Agreed. Australians are subject to high (20ms) latencies as a general rule because of how geographically distributed the country is. Not to mention the latency in accessing services from the Northern Hemisphere.

        If you were in Europe or North America this service might have less value where you can live your entire online life with ultra low latencies.

  • snooksy on 10/02/2021 - 08:22

    Does anyone know what IP you would be assigned using StarLink and does the IP address change if you get bumped to another satellite? For NBN we are assigned Australian based IP addresses which makes sense. Where are the StarLink base stations located that feed into the WWW on the ground?

    • Merlict on 10/02/2021 - 12:23

      does the IP address change if you get bumped to another satellite?

      I doubt it, you're only connected to individual satellites for minutes at a time so it would be bouncing all over the place

    • Switchblade88 on 14/02/2021 - 13:37

      Base stations are in Aus. ABC has a map in their article with more likely to come.

      IPs are not going to change as you move through satellites; in the same way your phone keeps it IP when you change base stations in a mesh wifi network.

  • currentfad on 10/02/2021 - 08:35
    +4

    Linus just made a video on this.

    • dwhes on 10/02/2021 - 12:58
      +3

      Came here to post this lol. Shows how viable and functional it really is.

  • Loot N Plunder on 10/02/2021 - 13:38

    Hilarious

    NBNCo has today revealed rollout debt has surged a further $7,000,000,000 since Scott Morrison became Prime Minister
    https://twitter.com/MRowlandMP/status/1359293566737121280

    A lazy seven billion dollars on outdated technology that isn't fully installed yet, better order some more copper
    How are those lead acid submarines going to perform in 2050 when we finally get our hands on one, hint lead acid is going to be obsolete in 2050
    HA HA HA HA
    Reap it Australia reap what you have sown

  • H4nd0 on 10/02/2021 - 22:55

    Just applied. Don't care about speed. Don't care about latency. Or cost. I've got a PAN and FTG firewall here and can load balance across all links. Bring it on HFC + 4G/5G + Satellite. NBN is a joke. We need competition. I also hold GME. I also eat crayons dipped in glue.

  • hailstorm on 10/02/2021 - 23:16

    $809 for setup, the sat dish must come gold plated :o

    • affinity on 11/02/2021 - 01:06
      +3

      It's quite an advanced unit, probably very good value by the look of it. Many antennas working together in the dish, watch the Linus Tech Tips video referred to in this thread.

    • JS1 on 12/02/2021 - 08:44
      +1

      It's believed they're selling the dishes below cost; the cheapest competitors (in terms of dish manufacturers, not satellite ISPs) charge a few thousand dollars.

  • ZeeFlyingMonkey on 11/02/2021 - 00:54

    … 5G (admittedly in a full coverage zone) 470 Mbps … too bad it turns people into frogs or something.

  • cv05 on 11/02/2021 - 18:47

    These must be full self install kits at this stage, can anyone confirm? I wonder what they'll do for installers down the track.

    • JS1 on 12/02/2021 - 08:49

      Full self-install; the mobile app that comes with it helps you place it in ideal areas - on your roof is the best and most obvious choice, but it can still function if you just place it in your back-yard. Basically the dish just wants to be able to tilt itself (via motors) a bit towards the south and away from major obstacles so that it can have as many satellites within its field of view as possible (without the dish having to pivot).

      Probably the biggest challenge for self-installation will be running the custom ethernet cable from outdoors to indoors - you could just crack a window a bit, run the cable through and tape up the gap to keep bugs out, but most will probably want something more permanent and neat.

  • thirtysixd on 11/02/2021 - 21:25

    This is tempting.

    Im in a nbn sattelite area and speed is utterly garbage (my poor neighbours are on nbn and get 1990s dialup speeds / rural tas)
    We are currently on 4g with optus
    Just speed tested at 60mbs but ping to melb is 33ms (have seen higher / dont see tower being used much in next few years)

    Guess it comes down to ping but im confused on how traffic would be routed
    Could I see less than 200ms to america again?
    20-40ms to where exactly?

    Anyone want to chime in?

    • JS1 on 12/02/2021 - 09:04

      Right at this moment they're putting up satellites that can only bounce a signal between your dish at home and a dedicated ground stations somewhere within a few hundred kilometers of you, which is where your connection will re-enter the Australian fiber backhaul network. So if you're (eg) in rural Victoria, you'll get a pretty good ping to most Australian servers, but if you're out in Alice Springs then your ping to Sydney, etc servers is going to be comparable to if you had a wired connection, because the only place they'd be putting a ground station node within range of you is in Alice Springs.
      However, SpaceX just put up beta versions of what you could call their v1.5 satellites, where the satellites transmit your data between satellites via laser. Light in a vacuum travels faster than through glass fiber or air, and the satellites can transmit roughly as-the-crow-flies to the ground node nearest to the server you want to talk to, meaning that for international or very remote transmissions you could potentially get better ping via Starlink than anything else (FTTP, 5G, etc). Currently the plan is for every Starlink satellite launched in 2022 and onward to have those laser links, with some minority of satellites launching this year expected to have them.
      Light takes about 40ms to travel from Sydney to Los Angeles; Starlink won't achieve that due to having to encode / decode signals, etc, but I could see <100ms being a possibility once the full Starlink constellation is up. <200ms should definitely be achievable.

  • snooksy on 13/02/2021 - 09:03
    +2

    I wanted to let people know my NBN story. I was finally connected late last year to NBN. For 3 months I experienced daily dropouts while I subscribed to 100MB FTTN plan with a max connection speed of 68mpbs. The wiring in my house was all redone before NBN connected. I could not get it fixed for 3 months. NBN won’t come out unless dropouts more than twice per day every day which I had evidence of but still said it wasn’t worth fixing - too hard. In the end I decided to drop to the 50mpbs plan and magic - stable connection. I personally would pay double for 250mbps connection which I think is a good throughput for today’s internet wanting to stream multiple 4K video streams and games / business work for a household. I tried to get a quote from NBN for technology choice to upgrade to fibre. They said technology choice is not available in my area - outer eastern Melbourne. No technology choice in reality. Just marketing buzzwords. I couldn’t get a quote for fibre install. After 10 years of waiting for NBN the realisation for me is that the government only spend about $700 per person on the network and with all the people along the chain taking their cut of that $700 then we got probably what should have been expected with is a tiny upgrade over adsl. The FTTN VDSL I got is ok but it’s already obsolete for me as soon as it finally worked. Load balancing with satellite might work for me. I’m in a mobile phone dead spot where I only get 1 bar of 4G reception at my house so it’s going to be at least 5 years for actual street based 5G to possibly make a difference there. If I can pay $900 install and get extra speed for an additional ~$100 a month by bonding I might be getting close to decent internet.

  • theguru1 on 13/02/2021 - 18:13

    Information received is that even though you can sign up there is no guarantee of service.
    Those located in City/Metro areas will not be connected. At this stage only the southern areas of Australia.

    • affinity on 13/02/2021 - 19:26

      Is this an ACMA thing or is it for some other reason? What reason? I expect it would be a reasonable backup service, even better if it was bonded with an NBN servie.

      • Switchblade88 on 14/02/2021 - 13:40

        Likely to minimise congestion.

        Same as with 4G/5G cells; too many users kill everyone's net speed. It's easier to serve low-density areas exclusively where this isn't an issue, instead of trying to appease all the city-dwellers and then excluding people (first in best dressed) or similar.

      • theguru1 on 21/02/2021 - 21:44

        Yes, ACMA licence for remote low density. Metro areas excluded.
        https://web.acma.gov.au/rrl/access_area_search.map?pAREA_COD…

  • tight-ass on 13/02/2021 - 22:33

    Linus Tech Tips putting gaming on Starlink to the test. Lots of interesting info in the video too about how it all works - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh1a2K9ZgNA

  • LiquidX96 on 16/02/2021 - 01:01
    +2

    After reading so many comments i can see lot of people are unaware of the features and the intended user base.

    First thing the speed of about 150 Mbps is the current actual speeds with only about 1000 satellites in orbit right now. Starlink has a requirement to launch 12000 satellites by 2027 with plans to launch 42000. Now in reality actual speeds with full rollout of satellites are speculated to be in excess of 1Gbps.

    Second thing about user base Elon recently discussed it on Joe Rogan podcast Starlink is not intended for Urban high population areas such as CBD's. You need 5G or Fiber to service those areas because each satellite orbiting at 500 Km in space is serving hundreds of KMs of area and it won't be able to provide ideal service comparable to 5G when Mobile towers are present at every corner of City each serving an area of only a couple of 100 meters. (Starlink also bought 5G spectrum in Australia in the recent auction)

    Third thing everyone is confused about is server ping time in the same city while the whole argument of low pings is for long distance connections. Obviously your ping with a Sydney server living in Sydney with NBN would be less much less than Starlink. But after the rollout of laser links If you are in Sydney and you want to play on a US server you would be getting much better pings with Starlink than a normal connection because light travels 31% slower through Fiber Cables than in vacuum. Just Imagine there was a new deep sea cable put between New York and London so traders can shave of 5ms ping to edge out on competition and Starlink is trying to beat those ping times with laser link connections and that's pretty amazing.(SpaceX just sent 10 satellites to test laser links in there latest launch).
    Also the new satellites are made of lighter elements and upon reaching there end of service the satellites will use their ion thrusters to enter atmosphere and burn out leaving no space trash.

    Fourth the cost of setup and subscription Elon musk tweeted that the price of Starlink is same everywhere in the world changing only with currency conversions and local taxes. Currently its pretty high price considering the alternatives in good serviced NBN area but the price might come down with mass adoption who knows.

    Finally using Starlink you are directly paying for Mars Colonization.

    • zombie hunter on 16/02/2021 - 11:51
      +1

      "Finally using Starlink you are directly paying for Mars Colonization."
      Other Companies you paying for farking huge mansion, exotic cars and rolex watches.

  • Farrba on 16/02/2021 - 22:22

    so basically you can connect to the internet irregardless where you are in australia?

    so frustrating when we go to a creek which is only 300 metres from the highway, and mobile internet lol.

    • affinity on 16/02/2021 - 22:32

      It's really only a fixed location service; not to be packed up and taken with you on a trip outside of your area.

  • Albert10 on 19/02/2021 - 08:18
    +1
    Merged from Starlink Available for Order

    Hi Guys

    Just received an email from Starlink, saying the service will be available in my area(Melbourne) in mid or late this year; and I can order now.
    the speed they offer is 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms; price: hardware cost $709, shipping $100, and monthly service fee $139. To start the order I need to pay $139 now.

    I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this.

    Any of you has already got it?

    Cheers

    • djsweet on 19/02/2021 - 08:39
      +3

      You're a bit late to the party. You might want to check out this thread: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/603349

      • JimmyF on 19/02/2021 - 08:52
        +1

        Darn came here to say the same thing…. Yes the OP is about 10 days too late! :)

    • kusama on 19/02/2021 - 09:05

      It should be good. Get it if your NBN sucks

    • brokenglish on 19/02/2021 - 09:23

      This is great for people who don’t have access to NBN or any decent internet especially in the regional area.

    • endotherm on 19/02/2021 - 10:57
      +1

      Doesn't mean all of your data gets copied to the cloud(s)? :)

    • bigbadboogieman on 19/02/2021 - 11:59

      I got this email today too.

  • lightfoot on 09/04/2021 - 17:54
    Merged from Starlink Now Serving Australia

    Just received the following email from Starlink:

    Starlink is now available in limited supply in Australia! Initial beta service is available in parts of central Victoria and southern New South Wales. Service will expand across the country in the coming months.

    Users can expect to see data speeds vary from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s over the next several months as we enhance the Starlink system. There will also be brief periods of no connectivity at all.

    https://imgur.com/a/Qs4KpCQ

    • Drakesy on 09/04/2021 - 17:59

      $139 a month (at the moment). + $809 setup fee. Definitely a viable option for those stuck on wireless while NBN screws them around. Although early adopters will be more or less paying for the privilege to be a guinea pig.

      If they're half reliable (not sure how they'll do in storms etc, Foxtel satellite seemed to struggle in those conditions) i have a feeling the NBN days are numbered as more people getting onto the system will surely bring prices down.
      NBN Should've gone fibre optic…

      Kingsman here we come!

  • iDroid on 08/10/2021 - 22:39
    +1

    Got my Starlink today. Gotta say, rather happy.

    Rock solid so far and getting speeds 170 - 250Mbps.

    • affinity on 09/10/2021 - 02:24

      Pity it's only good for regional areas.

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