Starlink Residential 30 Days Trial for $1 + $139 Refundable Plan (Charged at Activation), +$598 to Keep + $139/M Plan @ Starlink

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Starlink Residential 30 Days Trial for $1 + $139 Refundable Plan (Charged at Activation), +$598 to Keep + $139/M Plan @ Starlink
Go to Deal
geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 11:49 starlink.com (1402 clicks)
Last edited 16/04/2024 - 13:35 by 1 other user

Try Starlink Residential for $1 for 30 Days (Free Delivery). Doesn't appear to be available for Starlink Roam. $139 per month after the 30 days plus the hardware cost.
Available Australia Wide.

  • Free shipping.
  • Ships in 1-2 weeks.
  • No contracts.

Try Starlink for $1 for 30 days or purchase in full for $599. The remaining balance of $598 will automatically be charged unless you choose to cancel and initiate a return of the kit.

  • Select "Standard (Trial)" to pay $1 only and defer full purchase of the Starlink kit until the end of your 30 day trial.
  • The remaining balance of $598 will be automatically charged 30 days after activation unless you cancel service and initiate the return of the undamaged kit.
  • You may cancel your Starlink service at any time during the trial. If cancelled, you will receive a full refund for your first month of service and for the $1 charge. You will have * 30 days from the date you cancel to return your Starlink kit, otherwise, you will be charged the full price of the kit. Starlink provides a pre-paid return label for the kit.
  • Users who purchase the "Standard (Trial)" package cannot change their service plan from the Standard plan during the 30-day trial period.
  • Mounts can be purchased for full price at order or towards the end of your trial, and are not eligible for refunds.
  • Upon activation, your first statement (invoice) will appear in your account and the payment method on file will be automatically charged. If your Starlink is not activated within * 30 days post-shipment, your Starlink will be automatically activated.
  • This offer is only eligible for new Starlink customers.

FAQ Article

This isn't always an NBN replacement (FTTP, FTTC, FTTB, HFC) and is more targeted for regional/remote/rural areas that might have NBN FW/Satellite or have poor FTTN. Starlink might not be suitable for everyone.

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Comments

  • Turd on 16/04/2024 - 12:09

    Does it work in apartments?

    • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 12:15
      +7

      If you have a good view of the sky with a balcony without any obstructions (like other surrounding apartment buildings), yes it could.

    • Deviner on 16/04/2024 - 12:15
      +3

      Might be a hard sell to convince your strata to allow you to pop a dish on the roof and run a cable down into your apartment.

      Next thing you know, the whole roof is covered in dishes and there's cables running to everyone's apartments.

      But maybe doable if you're not near the ground floor, from a balcony, as per above.

      • Ridiculous Panda on 16/04/2024 - 12:35
        +7

        If Turd lives in an apartment, then chances are they don’t need it. They probably are just so cheap that they want to use it for a month and plan on returning it so too much effort running a cable from the roof.

        • askvictor on 16/04/2024 - 12:49

          Some apartments have terrible network options. Even if there's fibre to the basement, some run ADSL lines from there to the actual apartments.

          • SimAus007 on 16/04/2024 - 13:45
            +11

            @askvictor: It's not ADSL, it's VDSL2 with NBN if it's fibre to the basement, and this is usually much better than Starlink which has much higher latency and a much higher price.
            There would be very few apartments where Starlink is better than what is in an MDU, from both price point and performance-wise.

      • avoidfullprice on 16/04/2024 - 12:40

        The dishes on roof not so much of strata issue these days; we’ve allowed foxtel dishes on roof for a very long time.

        Starlink uses special cable from roof to your unit, and it shoots power up to the dish. so that is the technical challenge bit in my opinion

        • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 12:44
          +2

          Starlink uses special cable from roof to your unit

          Not anymore, Generation 3 is a RJ45.

            • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 13:19
              +14

              @1st-Amendment: Okay, correction. Let's get technical then.

              It's a standard CAT6 with RJ45 connections for Generation 3. The Gen 2 was CAT6 with proprietary connectors, Gen 3 they have changed it.

              • avoidfullprice on 21/04/2024 - 08:25

                @geekcohen: Cat5 or cat6, it is not an existing cable to the roof in apartment complex, so it is still a major renovation task in terms of strata.

            • SmoothCactus on 16/04/2024 - 13:20
              +16

              @1st-Amendment: Really bizzare thing to nitpick when the point hes making is right - it works on generic off the shelf shielded cat6/cat7 cables.

        • bazingaa on 16/04/2024 - 13:25
          +2

          it shoots power up to the dish

          even Foxtel dishes does this. LNB is powered through coaxial cable at 13V & 18 V.

          • avoidfullprice on 21/04/2024 - 08:22

            @bazingaa: foxtel dishes don’t transmit signal towards the satellite. The power level is different

            • bazingaa on 22/04/2024 - 08:42

              @avoidfullprice: That is why I mentioned power to LNB (Low noise block). Received Ku band to L band conversion happens on LNB and it is powered through coax. 13V & 18 V selects the polarization, but power requirement is low due to only downlink (unless you have an actuator motor to move dish dynamically which is not happens for Foxtel).

              Quick search shows Starlink is powered at 48V or 56V. Power is definitely high due to uplink though.

        • SimAus007 on 16/04/2024 - 13:54
          +1

          Most large MDU stratas won't let you do this, I work with the committee in my building closely in a 15-story building - this is a no-go (for owners or renters).
          If you can do it from your balcony, go for it, as long as it's not overhanging the balcony.
          Smaller MDU's, such as 2 or 3 levels are a completely different story.
          But it's usually a performance downgrade for most apartments compared with existing infrastructure, so there are rarely any tenants asking for it.

    • Pcoder on 16/04/2024 - 12:32
      +6

      Starlink is really only for regional areas where a suitable hard wired connection isn't available. The issue is starlink is a shared medium, so closer to major population centres you are the less likely you'll have a lighting fast connection.

      Most NBN connections will trump Starlink and its only for people who only have access to satellite NBN or ADSL/VDSL NBN, not Cable or Fibre NBN.

      Starlink also requires line of sight as I've heard of things like trees impacting it.

      • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 12:47
        +1

        Starlink also requires line of sight as I've heard of things like trees impacting it.

        Yes, trees and other things can obstruct the Starlink. So you need a clear view sky or enough elevation to get above the obstructions such as trees.

      • Bii on 16/04/2024 - 13:03
        +1

        I've heard of things like trees impacting it

        $1 to test it out and I'm keen :)

      • UltimateAI on 16/04/2024 - 13:44
        +5

        Caveat being there are still many suburban areas with FTTN and HFC with max connection speeds of 25mbps. I was on 50mbps and the house opposite could barely get 20mbps. We are in a cul de sac and the cable ran up the street then back down. NBN could/would not provide any upgrade path.
        I metro Sydney, a few streets away have hfc and 1 street is perfect the next an absolute dogs breakfast.

        As for regional, yes this craps all over nbn fixed wireless and nbn satellite.

      • doobey1231 on 16/04/2024 - 13:57
        +4

        Problem is, anywhere that is still using copper in the streets people are jumping on starlink cause no one can trust our government to properly flesh out our NBN.

        • SimAus007 on 16/04/2024 - 14:02
          +2

          Even though most areas on copper can upgrade to full fibre for free with a much lower price, higher speeds and much lower latency than Starlink… If you say so.
          If I lived in a street where I could upgrade to fibre, on HFC or get Starlink, I know I wouldn't be touching Starlink.
          In saying that, Starlink is incredible for regional and remote customers without access to an NBN fixed service.

          • doobey1231 on 16/04/2024 - 14:31
            +3

            @SimAus007: Most areas is a vast overstatement, there are not many areas that are eligible for the full fibre upgrade, its far from an appropriate resolution.

            • SimAus007 on 16/04/2024 - 14:33
              +1

              @doobey1231: Do you have a list of the areas? It's online and very extensive now, with more towns and suburbs coming this year.
              If you have the list it's quite an impressive fix of the original NBN plan which was botched thanks to the Libs.

              • doobey1231 on 17/04/2024 - 08:57

                @SimAus007: Yeah I have seen the list, its still not "most areas" as you said, again vast overstatement. I know a few areas within 20km of the Sydney CBD still waiting for word of upgrade with the only solution being "pay for an upgrade yourself". Ill be impressed when the NBN can actually hold that name, I doubt the people waiting for said upgrade don't find the list very impressive either.

                Point remains that the majority are still left in the lurch, tax payers having to resort to private entities to solve the problem. Its far from impressive.

                • SimAus007 on 17/04/2024 - 10:56

                  @doobey1231: Care to share this street name and suburb 20kms from Sydney CBD? (No street number). I work closely with the NBN so I'd like to take a look.

                  • doobey1231 on 17/04/2024 - 12:07

                    @SimAus007: There is a few areas of note but you can start with Berowra and work your way south towards Hornsby, which is then HFC from memory. Other side of galston gorge is the same, many argue thats rural and it sorta looks like it, but again still quite close to the city no reason it shouldn't have NBN.

                    • SimAus007 on 17/04/2024 - 16:47
                      -1

                      @doobey1231: No HFC NBN areas are being upgraded to full-fibre, such as Hornsby.
                      The same speed tiers are available on FttP and HFC (for residential), so this is mostly seen as pointless as it's more crucial to upgrade services than cannot achieve the higher speed tiers, being FttN or FttC addresses.
                      Galston can get full fibre upgrades now, after looking up a few addresses, most homes there are on FttC.

                      • doobey1231 on 18/04/2024 - 08:15
                        -1

                        @SimAus007: I didn't say Hornsby, I said start with Berowra and work your way down to Hornsby.. All of which are fibre to the node. Please read properly.

                        • SimAus007 on 18/04/2024 - 09:12
                          -1

                          @doobey1231: I asked you for an address minus the street number. Pot, kettle… I was attempting to help you are your address, not random addresses, but here you go, just with a few.
                          OLIVE ST ASQUITH NSW 2077 - Current: FttC. Upgrade to FttP: YES
                          COWAN RD MOUNT COLAH NSW 2079 - Current: HFC
                          RED CEDAR DR MOUNT COLAH NSW 2079 - Current: FttC. Upgrade to FttP: YES
                          ACACIA RD BEROWRA NSW 2081 - Current: FttN. Upgrade to FttP: March 2025
                          GLEN ST GALSTON NSW 2159 - Current: FttC. Upgrade to FttP: YES

          • Oceadge on 16/04/2024 - 18:42

            @SimAus007: @SimAus007, I don't think it's most areas really. Maybe random streets in most areas? I have to pay for a 50/20 NBN connection yet I'm lucky to get 37/8 where I live. Fibre was due to be installed on my street in November last year but now NBN are saying December 2025.

          • parad0x on 19/04/2024 - 21:29

            @SimAus007: I had mine done ages ago, and i've watched 3 new rounds marketed after me, i can only assume that this is connecting users further and further out… I'm 60+km from Melb CBD, but i don't believe radial distance is an accurate measure for much population density, let alone internet speeds…
            I considered recertifying my cabling license to meet NBN, but 18mths ago when i was getting my upgrade done, i assumed i was towards the end of the run - i know it took forever to get ADSL2 to my area, which is also dotted with HFC in a weird, very illogical mann, so i put it to the side… Now im kicking myself for not doing it then - maybe i should hunt for some documntation regarding completion of these upgrades
            Hmmm….

            But, i agree, i would say that most suburbs populated with moderate density, is accurate (Outer city suburbs, picket fence, two car garage, grass out the front and room for a pool out the back. Sidewalks, slow moving cars, and still getting lost in a suburb you've lived in your whole life). Australia is a country of long runs between drinks, so unless you follow a pipeline to a moderate density city, then i'd understand fibre being run a certain distance. I would guesstimate that they used an existing copper/hfc connections at a POI as a metric to judge where fibre stops…

            I also know from former employmet that NBNCo is not the only people with fibre underground…. I worked for a small, but imagined the business as big as his ego, who ran Dark Fibre througout a particular suburb theyre situated in. Then as businesses come along they're signed into a whole bunch of crap that dont need or wont get, but certaibnly shouldnt be paying for…. Business NBN EE is cheap enough that nobody else need be considered. Im unsure wheather that area has actually been outfitted by NBN.It was a new Industrial estate in melb 10yrs ago. Ironically i actually worked on the concrete slabs that went down there, cuz i cashed up with my mates family concrete company every Xmas break. He at 14/15 on his way to work at 4am used to tell me that i was "going to be something greater" by staying at school…. He's been earning six figures since his teens, and im at a loss for anyone offering 6+ for Network Admin/SysAdmin/Project Management/Pairing customer actual needs to the right market solution… And despite his salary npot advancing too much further, he has shares in the company, he always has the latest and greatest, his boss is godfather to his daughter, office on Lygon St, very Italian cliche i must say. Now i used to go away on Ausday weekend with this bloke, and despite everything being clear as crystal, he'd spend half the days with one hand on the wheel, and the other on the phone. His work is his existence, that business runs in his blood. I barely see that mate any more - he now had 2 or 3 kids, he works 6 days a week, and 4 hours on a Sunday arvo sending the men onsite for the morning. He's been industrially deaf since his teens, and you dont believe the places concrete gets, until rhe morning shower bough routine brings up hardened cement. Its been his party trick for as long as i remember. He works (profanity) hard so that his wife and children will never go wanting, and he was buying his first investment before i got my first home, which all just results to is hes awake hes on the phone. His kids will grow to learn that daddy works alot, if dad phone rings, its work etc. And i just don't think i could see myself in his shoes right now, and say i was happy. But, im not happy right now with my own sitch so as irrelevant as that is, we are far too off topic to continue.

            TLDR;
            I agree with @SimAus007 thumbs up

        • Doyen on 17/04/2024 - 04:15

          And as soon as NBN delivers they can jump off starlink as there is no commitment so no problem.

    • dman1 on 20/04/2024 - 04:22
      +1

      Cannot stress this enough - do you rent or do you own?

      If it’s a rental well you will have to get permission from the landlord possibly via a property manager. Otherwise if you don’t repair a hole from outside to inside, forget about getting your bond back.

      ONLY if you have a CLEAR UNOBSTRUCTED view to the SOUTH. If live in an area of multiple highrise apartments, chances are if your balcony faces south, there is probably another high rise apartment right in your view.

      Owners Corporations typically don’t let you put your own dish on the common area roof, even if they may already have some Ku Band dishes to provide non-English programming from various Satellites in the region. Otherwise everything everyone already wrote applies and I’ve already repeated one, hard to convince Owners Corporation to allow one person put their dish on the roof then everyone will.

      However you might have better luck if it’s only a 1-3 story apartment or single story apartment.

      Some countries, looking at USA, for example new developments and especially “gated communities” have strata rules you cannot put up an an FTA/OTA antenna as the developer did some deal with one of the big cable TV providers. Lots of people who actually “cut their HFC” cord because fibre runs past, in which case they are very lucky, as that is rare but starting to become more common. Fortunately we are not North America but I’ve seen apartment blocks which are essentially gated communities, but typically they have MATV systems to give people TV.

      There are also townhouses in areas with HFC, if you ever get FTTP, you will be one of the last to get it. NBN said 2 million premises to get FTTP, but the amount of people asking for it, exceeds their capacity to install it if you believe the numbers of Fivre being past 7000 premises a day (that’s an aggregate total from all over the country) and it doesn’t meant FTTP is ready to go, there is still lots of equipment they have to install. That is just a backbone or in the old terms a “main cable”

      If whatever technology you have now is rubbish it could be years before NBN do anything about it - Starlink is an option for right now, if you can afford the up front fees, and $139/month for speeds that will be dictated by the weather. Clouds not so much, rain only slightly, thunderstorms, you may experience very slow speeds or complete drop out.

      Also the OP needs to specify their definition of “apartment”. Free standing house, 1-3 story apartment block or high rise Apartments. Each have their own consideration.

      If High rise or 1-3 Story Apartment, you MUST have a South Facing Balcony clear of obstruction, otherwise you are probably likely wasting your and everyone else’s time.

      Since the Starlink App helps you set it up, including direction of antenna, once you have an account you can quickly find the direction to point the dish. You may find they will enable an account before sending the gear out, their customer service is pretty good so I’m told.

      However I agree with other comments, Body Corporates / Owners Corporation all names for the same thing in a strata title, are unlikely to let you do it. You might get away with a balcony, but you are not likely to be able to mount it on the roof.

      Owner or Tennant, you should speak to a member of the Owners Corporation committee - they might already have laws in there that prevent anything on the common area and the roof is a common area.

      FYI: NBN FTTB is not available in every highrise apartment block. In some cases you might have been lucky and TPG got in first before the law was changed. In which case you wouldn’t be asking about Starlink.

      Plenty of people who have crap FTTN are running Starlink in the suburbs of capital cities but you pay top price for the hardware.

      Regional and Rural areas often can get 50% off deals on reclaimed/ex-used Satellite dishes, cables and WiFi router.

      My Personal opinion: is get Starlink hardware which terminates with 8P8C (aka RJ45) plug that you then plug into a better router with better Wifi as people have told me the stock Wifi modem supplied has very average coverage. YMMV.

      According to the stats I read, NBN lost 80K customers last year (most likely to Starlink and 2022 was still beta testing so never saw numbers, but I expect they are around somewhere, maybe whirlpool? because Starlink were offering the hardware at about $200-$300 during the beta tests and at the start of 2023 they were offering rural and regional hardware in early in the year for as cheap as $99 hardware deals, but it’s a bit misleading because that standard hardware might not be completely suitable, you might want to put it on your roof or eaves, that all cost extra - whether you get a Satellite installer or buy the gear from Starlink.

      The $99 were so outrageously cheap I expect a lot of people in really rural areas, would have been jumping on those quick smart. Haven’t seen on so cheap in a long time.

      The hardware has always been cheapest for people living in rural and regional coverage.

      Based on what I read, NBN lost 80K (already mentioned earlier) and I can’t get immediate figures to April, but have read another 30K customers dumped NBN in the first three months to March 2024)

      The rest of my post talks about what to look out for if you have other NBN internet and what is coming and who is likely to get it and when

      I’ve edited this and put it at the bottom of the post for anyone who cares or is interested.

  • Frukoz on 16/04/2024 - 12:14
    +1

    Would do it if it was for roam.

    • lexis999 on 16/04/2024 - 15:18

      sounds like lots of people use the residential plan and update their address when roaming, even cancelling instead of pausing when not in use. Of course Starlink could change their lax position on enforcement at any time. My source is Youtube/facebook and mostly US customers so would be interested to know if people have been doing so in Aus.

  • paloverde88 on 16/04/2024 - 12:21
    -6

    why use them when u can use others in sydney metro?

    • Ridiculous Panda on 16/04/2024 - 12:29
      +2

      Who are you talking to?

      • shmahoo on 16/04/2024 - 12:31
        +5

        Talking to you, but you can't hear because of your patchy reception!

    • Jamiea on 16/04/2024 - 12:31
      +7

      Because not everyone lives in Sydney Metro? Crazy, I know.

      • M00Cow on 16/04/2024 - 13:46
        +1

        What? No, that's crazy talk. I've seen Silo, I know there's nothing outside except death.

    • ninnypoop on 16/04/2024 - 13:24

      Plz explain

      • M00Cow on 16/04/2024 - 13:46

        Borrow other people's wifi connections

      • Ridiculous Panda on 16/04/2024 - 15:51

        To his defence, I think he meant to reply to the first comment.

  • Temptation on 16/04/2024 - 12:34

    I have Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC), how does this compared in real life.?

    • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 12:35
      +11

      Stick with HFC.

    • bazingaa on 16/04/2024 - 13:27
      +2

      you can get 1 Gbps with HFC, I have 250/25 package on HFC with More telecom (CBA offer) and it is $64 per month. 1 Gbps was $81 per month.

      • M00Cow on 16/04/2024 - 13:47

        you can get 1 Gbps with HFC,

        Err NBNCo might say that, but in reality…..

        • doobey1231 on 16/04/2024 - 14:00

          Ive seen a few HFC sites with gigabit speeds.

          Having said that, and at the risk of sounding like old mate PM from a decade or so back, I don't believe any at home user needs more than maybe 500mbps and even thats stretching it, at 250mbps they are likely already exceeding device capability - which is a great place to be and where the NBN should've ended up in the first place.

        • SimAus007 on 16/04/2024 - 14:12

          Actually, HFC is about to ramp up the speeds on HFC even further from 1st of May, do a search :)

        • Mr Noob on 16/04/2024 - 16:43

          I'm on HFC and max out somewhere in the 900Mbps range (just did speed test and 939Mbps @ 4:40pm) - although that is apparently only burst speed and max sustained might be 750 or so(?) … although this was newly installed HFC for NBN in a cable area (stupid morons installed that rather than fibre), rather than existing infrastructure.

          I would say starlink is for those without access to rock solid wired 50Mbps to 100Mbps internet / or have very flaky connections.

          • dman1 on 20/04/2024 - 05:24
            +1

            @Mr Noob: You are the first person I’ve read that can get 900Mbps on their HFC. You claim it was a burst, but typical speeds are much lower?

            That’s what I’ve been told as well. Can sustain anything high speed. 750 is about the best you can get and everything has to be perfect.

            Again I’m only repeating from what colleagues and friends have told me.

        • bazingaa on 16/04/2024 - 17:00

          I think not all places with HFC can go high speed. Check POI info ( https://www.aussiebroadband.com.au/network/poi-checker/ ). For me it shows as: TC-4 High Speed Tier Availability 1 Gbps

          There is a Telstra exchange building in about 200 m from my place, this could be a reason though I am not sure.

      • dman1 on 20/04/2024 - 05:20

        Some people can get faster speeds than others but NBN if I not guarantee 1Gbps on HFC, not ever. Find me anything that says you can get faster than 750Mbps on HFC, I’ll spend you $20.

        Some people may be lucky to get faster speeds but NBN themselves on all PR /marketing crap which gets passed onto RSO, clearly say a huge speed range of 500Mbos to 750Mbps - you can pay for 1Gb, but you’d be extremely lucky and rare to get it. The entire HFC network is in such disarray. I have friends and colleagues who have relatively stable HFC with maybe a few short-use dropouts a month and others who get 20-30 dropouts in a week, and all their RSP does if give them a credit.

        NBN haven’t said anything about upgrading HFC, but it’s clear from European countries that had HFC, who just got five in the past five years or have been told it’s coming within the next 12-24 months - London is a classic example.

        Their infrastructure is so old, they have no choice except to run armoured aerial fibre to people’s houses as digging up some of those small streets is either not possible or too expensive.

        When you get out of those areas - a huge number of cities who have fibre, they never bothered to remove the HFC, because it costs too much. Same reason Telstra left the public phones in their existing locations, the cost of removing them far outweighs the cost of leaving them there.

        If NBN’ current proposal goes ahead they want to make entry level FTTP and HFC 500/50 at the same price, there will be a 750/50 for HFC and a 1000Mbs (960Mbs/50) as the three tiers.

        In order to do that the RSPs have to upgrade their multiple 10GB and/or 100GB Fibre lines going into the 121 POI around Australia.

        Aussie Broadband are the only RSP I am aware of who are running their own fibre tie lines to the various POIs - most of the other RSPs are renting them from Telstra or Optus. Optus didn’t keep or downgraded a lot of their fibre because they made the mistake of thinking NBN would be running them and they would rent from them but this is off the track.

        The other HUGE issue is the nodes for HFC service 500-700 premises, a lot of them are still on single fibres.

        Knowing 5 different people with half decent and have sh*t HFC, not a single one of them has speeds anywhere close to a 1Gbps - one guy I know where all the HFC was run underground every 5-7 years they have to come and re terminate his connection because whatever they are using gets rusty or oxidises and when that happens he has zero connectivity for as long as they can get someone out there and they have been in the same house for very close to 20 years and it was a 5 year old outer estate when it was built. The rest of the people I know say 400-600 is the best they’ve got and it’s so variable.

        HFC will replaced eventually but like many other countries they will probably leave the cable on the power poles, except that the copper is worth a fortune but even at the price it’s at right now, would that cover reclamation?

        I’m always happy to be corrected and while I’ve never had HFC I speak to people who do, my FTTP had an up time late last year of over 10 months with no dropouts - yes everything it’s on BBU / UPS AND we had two power failures in 2023 and neither lasted more than 45 minutes.

        I’d like to see HFC with an up time like that.

        More impotently I’d like to know how how NBN is going to offer 750/50 as a tier when most people on a 1Gbit plan are lucky if the can get 500-600Mbps and sustain that.

        Just saying - I’ve never had it, I can only repeat what’s been told to me.

        As for NBN plans go read ITNEWS as that has all the articles about what NBN are planning for FTTP and HFC but the caveat being can the RSP provide those speeds, because it means a lot of extra tie lines, new routers etc etc

        • Mr Noob on 20/04/2024 - 10:50

          I must be one of the lucky ones with HFC then. I live in a townhouse complex, and instead of running in fibre, they installed brand new HFC to all units in the building. (poorly)

          speedtest.net almost always gets me 930-940Mbps.

          i just did a search, found ipfail continous speed test at ipfail.org - assume it is legit -, ran it twice for 120seconds (is that long enough?) … first I had a dip in middle (may be other user in house sustained 625 mbps, but either side was 900mbps) … second time 120 seconds sustained download speed of 886.5Mbps … with a range of 730 to 960Mbps. total of 13,305 Mbytes transferred (or 13GB at a sustained rate of almost 900Mbps)

          https://imgur.com/a/yM6X3w2

          13GB transfer seems like enough for a resonable test - but could probably find something else, or if you recommend something, to do longer if you think it warranted to get a better picture.

          I know I've definitely had Torrent combined (obv highly variable as peer2peer) and other downloads hit 80MB/s+ sustained … seem to recall even higher.

          In regards to stability - may get a short dropout once per week/fortnight for a minute. Usually at night, so possibly doing something. Other tenant does WFH 2days/week and if there were dropout issues I'd hear about it.

    • rainynight65 on 16/04/2024 - 13:50
      +9

      Starlink is primarily for people who don't have other options. If you have HFC and it doesn't completely suck for you, stick with it.

      As it was once said, Starlink is for people who wish they had a fixed line ISP they could hate.

    • SimAus007 on 16/04/2024 - 14:11

      Do not touch any satellite service if you are on HFC, you will pay more for higher latency and a less reliable service.

      • 4foxache on 16/04/2024 - 19:21

        It's not designed for people on HFC or FTTP. It's the last line of defense if you've got no other options and still want decent speeds and latency.

        • SimAus007 on 17/04/2024 - 08:18

          Of course, agreed, I was replying to someone considering moving to Starlink from NBN HFC.

    • johnwinds on 17/04/2024 - 06:00

      I was on HFC and experienced a lot of dropouts. I spent months with TPG and NBN trying to resolve it.

      I got Starlink in 2021 and it has been the best experience I've had with an ISP. There are rare dropouts but they only last a few seconds (I guess the next satellite comes into view very quickly considering the size of the constellation). It pretty much "just works" without any dramas.

      I don't play games so the latency isn't an issue for me.

  • Bii on 16/04/2024 - 12:38

    Is it eligible perfect for camping? I'm planning to go hiking for 3 days.

    • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 12:43
      +1

      No. Not applicable to the roaming plan which you would need for hiking/camping/travelling.

    • coxymla on 16/04/2024 - 12:43

      Dishy is pretty large and unwieldy. You would not have fun hauling one around on a 3 day hike.

      • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 12:45

        Generation 3 is easier to travel with compared to Generation 2 with its stand/motor.

    • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 12:45

      How would you power it? Hiking with a battery and 240v interverter?

      • c9 on 16/04/2024 - 12:58
        +2

        Convert the kinetic energy into electricity from hiking?

      • leiiv on 16/04/2024 - 13:19
        -3

        Most camping sites have power?

        • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 13:20
          +4

          Maybe Caravan Park Camping. Most others if you are hiking I do not believe power, unless I am missing something. Some barely have a flushable dunny.

  • Yuppieshrink on 16/04/2024 - 12:47
    +8

    I have at my farm, regional SA, bloody awesome, I know people use it for roaming for caravan regionally

  • merriweather on 16/04/2024 - 13:30
    +2

    I've been looking at this recently since I'm in a regional area but noticed the other day that Telstra Home 5G has just become available, and they're also doing a $1 for the first month promo. Wonder if this is in response to that…

    • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 13:34
      +4

      I would be going Starlink over Telstra 5G.

      • Starlink is going to be more consistent in terms of speed, yes 5G might be faster at times, but it will depend on the time of the day.
      • If Telstra has an outage, you have no internet, yet Starlink will run no problem.
      • Most likely going to have a lower latency on Starlink vs 5G

      Just some of the things I can think of quickly where Starlink is going to be better.

      • askbargain on 16/04/2024 - 13:42
        +1

        And what if starlink has an outage?

        • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 13:44

          Then you are screwed. Starlink has only had a small number of outages. Less than what Telstra has on a regular basis.

        • MrKnowItAll on 16/04/2024 - 15:35
          +2

          From past experience, Starlink outages are pretty quickly resolved. I had one during my year of running it (before FTTP upgrade was available) and Elon was posting real-time updates on his X account. All up under an hour from outage being identified to resolved, and he claimed there was a fix put in place to prevent the same outage occurring again (something about an expired certificate).

          End of the day, outages happen with everyone, Starlink, NBN, Telstra,
          you name it, at least with Starlink as your primary, you can fall back to Telstra 5G as a backup, whereas if you go solely with Telstra, you won't have a backup. But with such a setup cost and monthly fee (and the rare nature of outages) you'd have to weigh up the cost vs. benefit pretty carefully, it may not be suitable for all.

      • M00Cow on 16/04/2024 - 20:14
        +1

        Most likely going to have a lower latency on Starlink vs 5G

        how do you figure that?

      • mayo on 16/04/2024 - 20:58

        Starlink is going to be more consistent in terms of speed, yes 5G might be faster at times, but it will depend on the time of the day.

        Based on what? Telstra limit connections in areas to avoid oversaturation.

        Personally I get consistent 300 - 400 Mbps speeds including at peak.

        • geekcohen on 17/04/2024 - 11:11
          +1

          Based on what? Telstra limit connections in areas to avoid oversaturation.

          Sure, what about when an influx of people comes into the area? Weekends? Nights?

          Personally I get consistent 300 - 400 Mbps speeds including at peak.

          Sure, whats the latency though? How consistent is the latency?

          • mayo on 17/04/2024 - 15:24

            @geekcohen: Latency is OK but like any wireless service it does get occasional lag spikes.

            For my gaming purposes it's fine, still able to be competitive though I am far from a pro gamer. Not having Oceania servers is usually more of a handicap.

            Sure, what about when an influx of people comes into the area? Weekends? Nights?

            Like I said, 300 - 400 Mbps consistent at all times. I run semi regular speedtest.net checks including mornings, middays, afternoons, evenings and midnight checks. When I was an early adopter for my area it was 600-700.

            I'm waiting to see if they let it degrade much further but currently for $85/mo it's fine for those of us in FTTN areas without upgrade available. Given that Telstra 5G Home offers a $1 one month trial it's certainly worth a try for most people.

    • bangabargain on 16/04/2024 - 13:56
      +2

      How regional? I'm regional on NBN fixed wireless, paying $80 a month and absolutely no problems - getting 140down and 7up - sure starlink is better, but $70 a month better?

      • merriweather on 16/04/2024 - 14:04

        In a town of ~3000 people a couple hours south of Sydney.

        NBN option here is FTTN which is fine in some houses and absolute dog shit in others, like mine. We're within line of sight of the 5G tower and speeds on my phone are pretty good so I think I'm going to roll the dice on it and just hope that the holiday period congestion (we're a coastal town) isn't too bad.

        • bangabargain on 16/04/2024 - 14:18

          Interesting - I guess is some ways maybe fixed wireless isn't that bad - don't have to rely on dodgy cables!

          Definitely worth a shot on 5G

        • SimAus007 on 16/04/2024 - 14:25

          You can't upgrade to full fibre? Most areas offer this and if yours isn't one of them, it will do very soon (for 100Mbps order or higher).

          • merriweather on 16/04/2024 - 14:27
            +1

            @SimAus007: Supposedly available late 2025. But previously it was going to be happening early 2024 so I won't hold my breath.

            • SimAus007 on 16/04/2024 - 14:29

              @merriweather: They will, they are spending up big to move people from FTTN to full-fibre (FTTP) now.

      • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 14:20
        +2

        I'm regional on NBN fixed wireless, paying $80 a month and absolutely no problems - getting 140down and 7up

        Where on earth are you getting that on Fixed Wireless? Is that on a good day or is it pretty consistent?

        • bangabargain on 16/04/2024 - 14:43
          +1

          Northern NSW, that was just a speed test an hour ago, downloads are normally above 80 download at least - my plan is limited to 75, but just did another one and got 140/10. https://www.speedtest.net/result/16137516858.png

          • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 14:59

            @bangabargain: That's insane. FW in VIC is crap.

          • dman1 on 21/04/2024 - 11:56
            +2

            @bangabargain: Apologies for this long post - I got carried away with my own NBN sad story.

            TL;DR

            • Don’t trust Speedtest on your own RSP’s network. That is not an accurate way of judging speeds.

            • NBN are spending a small fortune on fixing some of the worst Fixed Wireless Cell Towers, including adding a bunch of new ones. There should have only been 22 houses per Cell Tower, somehow it ended up as 56. NBN designers cutting ciorners

            • to even qualify for Fixed Wireless, if you can’t get 99dBm signal strength from your house to the cell tower due to trees or hills in the way, they reclassify you as Satellite only. My brother on a 10 Acre Farm got screwed by some tall trees and about 8 months ago I convinced him to get Starlink.

            ————-
            Apologies for this long post……..

            You would be one of a very small cohort of people with Fixed Wireless who are getting reasonable speeds, but 7Mbos up is not even close to what you should be getting).

            If your current service meets YOUR needs then there is no reason to change to Starlink. If you have 4-5 people in the house where only 2-3 are heavy users, Fixed Wireless in peak periods is going to let you down. If you are two people living in a house who watch a bit of streaming, web, email, etc, no work from home then stick with what you got.

            People tend to bitch and moan if they aren’t getting enough bandwidth - if you are, stay with what you got. NBN have poured many millions in fixing up the Fixed Wireless and also extending it to cover areas where it was only NBN Satellite only.

            Fixed wireless will get better, but it’s going to take time, many of the towers only had microwave dishes on them, they should have all been fibre from the start. There are several towers that run off diesel generators because they couldn’t get mains power in there. Those sorts of crazy decisions are top of the list to fix - but topographical regions (is it really hilly or dead flat) that’s where the money will be spend first. 22 customers was the original number per cell tower, not 56 like it ended up being. Same with modes being 1200 metres apart, the original design was 800 metres so people like me didn’t end up 1500 metres from the closest node and way outside service qualification (1100 metres) to get the minimum of 25Mbps.

            Also Speedtest using your own RSP’s server is not an accurate way of measuring your speed. Considering it’s a few hops from your house to their Ookla Soeedtest Server you will always get the maximum speed, you need to be running speed tests from other parts of Australia or better yet, from other sides of the world.

            I am part of a small FTTP rollout for 80 houses of which (in total) there are hundreds if not thousands across Australia where the designers knew full well the copper branch cable was too long and people would never get the Govt Guaranteed minimum of 25Mbps. If you got shoved onto FTTN and you ask for a “Service Qualification” you cannot be further than 1100 metres from the node. If you plug in the original RSP modem they should be able to give you all the stats. Finally get a fault case opened up as you as likely paying for a faster plan than you can actually get). RSPs were forced to pay back money where people were on 100/40 plans but their modem had sync speeds of considerably less than that. Most were forced to pay it back either in cash or as a credit.

            As for me and my FTTP - get ready for a long story:

            1 June 2018 they started the FTTP construction, I spoken several times with the project manager who had spend ten years going from place to place to fix up these “let’s cut corners” BS some farkhead was either instructed to do (probably likely) or made the decision based on a NBN decision like the nodes being 1200 metres apart.

            25 days into construction, we get letters telling us we have 9 months to get on FTTN or lose our PSTN/POTS service.

            Because of tte Universal Guarantee they said they were going to disconnect people but I’ve never heard of one person getting cut off).

            Anyone with Fixed Wireless or Sky Muster could keep their copper service as both technologies were considered unstable and Sky muster you could not make a phone call due to latency. I doubt you can make a VoIP call on Starlink as it has latencies, much less, but they are still there - but someone will prove me wrong.

            At the end of Jul 2018 some 80 houses had PCDs with active fibre there were about six houses I knew of where they either couldn’t get permission or find someone home when they went past.

            I spoke to the project manager, he said that based on his previous projects, it was usually 8 weeks before the Atlas (NBN’s Master Map) would get upgraded by the deployment team and your Service Class would get changed.

            That didn’t happen for me. I spoke to another subcontractor testing all the lines in September, had the closest P6 (double lid pit) open and was testing each connection that came back to that MDU.

            I spoke to NBN customer service about five times and one person before the PCD was installed tried to claim the cable wrapped around my Madison Box (small grey box where the copper from the street terminates and then 2 pair runs inside the house) you’ll only see them on houses built in the past 20-30 years depending on if it was a knockdown rebuild, new build or new estate etc.

            I showed them the photo which had printed on the outside NBN Fibre to the Premise Optical Fibre Cable.

            They claimed that was new copper running to my house despite being clearly being able to read that it was Fibre.

            That person never spoke to me again but closed the case. Third call I spoke to two guys at NBN customer service, sent them that picture and all the pictures of the skinny fibre in the pit with the MDU, along with the project number and picture of the project number, well most of it, the rest was which POI it was connecting to and a few other tags). The customer service guys said that is 100% fibre - upload all the photos to following email address and we will pass it along. Four weeks later I got a reply saying there was no record of my project, so I said could I send the pictures and project number through, he said , use the generic customer service email address which I did, I only had to send for or give photos - you really can argue with pictures which have the lat and long embedded in the EXIF info.

            Another four weeks go by, it’s late November now, and another person responded, yes, your area will have FTTP and it should be active early 2019.

            From February 2019 I called, got a run around, found the contact details of the head of complex complaints resolutions and wrote (email) and left two voice mail messages on there. With 24 hours I had a senior complex case resolutions officer assigned to my issue. I never spoke to the head, but she certainly made heads roll as my email explained that this fibre was completed end of July and I’d been trying to get NBN to update their Atlas ever since.

            Then there is an 18 month saga where I would email twice a week and call at least once a week - rarely ever get an answered call, always went to voicemail and many times got an out of office email.

            Who knows what else she had on her plate. I just knew that if I didn’t persist then I’d never get fibre.

            What really irritated me is they didn’t update the NBN Atlas until 2023 which finally shows if you drag your mouse over properties in the area (start with one address, then zoom out and scroll around the map) it shows what technology runs to each property.

            Last time I checked now there are 9 houses connected to fibre and considering the 18 months it too to get me changed from service class 12 (FTTN) to Service Class 1 (PCD installed, requiring a NTD installed)

            Dragging the mouse over most of the houses it says FTTN, but FTTP is available. Five years after it was installed. Most people around here, at least the ones I spoke to, are lucky if they get 20Mbs down and 1Mbos up.

            Half a dozen all got Starlink in early in 2023. Since the Atlas wasn’t updated yet.

            Dunno how the others got fibre - I did a letterbox drop but got no response from it, but maybe that helped a few people - but since Bendigo will be all FTTP soon anyway, all the RSPs have send out the new plans, told people they have to be on 100/20 or faster for three years and they will get FTTP free. Most are offering 6 months discount.

            I also wrote somewhere in this threat about NBN preparing to make 500/50 as the entry level plan for FTTP and HFC.

            I suspect it will take a lot longer to get the HFC up to scratch but it will also require many RSPs to increase their infrastructure and their fibre tie lines to each POI along with extra 10Gb or maybe 100Gb switches depending on how many customers each RSP has at each POI. Telstra still has by far the most NBN customers. There’s a top six, which are usually the ones the ACMA/ACCC who invited customers to install speed monitoring boxes set up by a third party. All this stuff is years old and should be easy found by Google.

            I finally got my FTTP installed in October 2020.

            I am locked in a battle with Telstra that started the moment they forced me onto FTTN and I because of my background in IT and telecoms I identified a problem with Telstra’s service on 3BEN POI. That doesn’t exist on at least two other RSPs.

            With that sort of evidence I still have Telstra telling me their service runs fine and NBN faulting their service runs fine. Both blaming the other and I get a $20 credit on a 250/25 connection.

            Except I have ten other people including my parents with the same complaint.

            Speeds here in Bendigo, Victoria are up and down like a mountain range and have been since late December 2018 when I got Fttn installed. 8 speed Increases later, Telstra woefully underestimated the CVC they needed.

            I’ve run the same test using remote access and in person to family and friends including people in Melbourne all using Telstra and I cannot replicate the fault. The fact I have two RSPs on two separate UNI-D ports and the other RSP doesn’t have the problem either I have about as much unequivocal evidence I need to prove there is a problem but they still won’t do anything about it.

            So that’s my story and also the advice about the Fixed Wireless. If its fast enough for your house, minimal people and you get good download speed but those upload speeds are definitely too slow (even for a 50/20) connection, you don’t need to get Starlink if it’s going to cost you $500+ hardware set up costs and then $139 a month (you said $70 a month more) that seems very cheap for Fixed Wireless.

            Ok enough from me. Sorry for annoying you all with me long posts.

            Cheers.

  • ldd-mn on 16/04/2024 - 13:41

    Friends have the Gen 2 dish, and the included router has absolutely awful range for WiFi. Did Gen 3 fix this?

    • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 13:44

      According to US users on Gen 3, yes. I am yet to confirm it myself.

  • harryozz on 16/04/2024 - 13:58

    Can someone please confirm for me.

    So you pay total $140 upfront, then when you return it in 30 days, they will refund you the total amount of $140?

    • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 14:17

      You pay $140 upfront and if you cancel + return it in 30 days, no further costs. After the 30 days, you pay the $598 remainder for the hardware and then $139 per month.

  • jebdra on 16/04/2024 - 14:05

    We're thinking of going with starlink as we spend a lot of time in the van, and hotspotted mobile is not always usable. Plus we are paying for NBN at home when we're away. Probably come out about even at the end of the year I suspect, and give us much better internet in the van, but I'm reluctant to give up my fttc.

    Shame this is only for residential.

    • geekcohen on 16/04/2024 - 14:18

      Whilst Starlink is an option for home + portable use on the roaming plan, it just means no internet at home and if you have security cameras etc, you cannot access stuff.

      The beauty of Starlink Roaming is you only pay for when you are using it, so you can pause it when not being used.

  • T-man on 16/04/2024 - 14:06
    -2

    Does anyone know of a service similar to Starlink that can be easily used on airplanes without relying on the expensive carrier-provided Wi-Fi?

    • 191919 on 16/04/2024 - 14:57
      +1

      yeh just use ESP like the rest of us

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