Starlink is the most prominent satellite constellation in the world that provides wireless Internet connections to users and is currently leading the Internet by providing service via satellite. With the aim of providing internet access all across the globe, it doesn’t matter how remote the place is. Starlink remains successful in attracting users to it.
On September 24, 2023, Starlink crossed a 2 million subscriber base, as announced by the Starlink official account on Twitter (X). Also, as per CNBC reports of November 2, 2023, “Starlink achieved breakeven cash flow.” These things tell us how much people are showing love for Starlink services.
Starlink is now able to provide internet connections in areas where it was never before. Now that you see the subscriber and its earnings, you might want to know why people are crazy about Starlink and what is so special about it. To answer those questions, this post is made to guide you through the advantages of Starlink.
Starlink advantages include global coverage, affordable cost, diverse plan options, high-speed internet, weather resilience features, unlimited internet data, services like mobility and maritime internet facilities, and many others. We are going to discuss all 13 significant advantages of Starlink, which are really appreciated by users.
Contents
- 1 1. Global Coverage
- 2 2. Affordable Cost
- 3 3. Diverse Plan
- 4 4. High-Speed Internet
- 5 5. Weather Resilience Feature
- 6 6. Easy Self Installation
- 7 7. Unlimited Internet (Data Caps)
- 8 8. Cancellation Policy
- 9 9. Mobility
- 10 10. Maritime Feature
- 11 11. Health Advancement In Rural Areas
- 12 12. Education
- 13 13. Smart Farming
- 14 Is Starlink Better Than Fiber?
- 15 Final Words
1. Global Coverage
The first and most important advantage of using Starlink is its global coverage facility. You will get an internet connection while in your home, tracking in the mountains, traveling through the sea, or other places where the internet was never available before. Starlink’s website provides you with the coverage map in order to make you aware of where its satellite constellations are highly active and how they are surrounding the Earth.
As per Starlink’s official tweet on X (formerly Twitter), Starlink is available on all 7 continents in over 60 countries. Countries include the United States of America, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and many more.
2. Affordable Cost
Starlink is not the first company to offer internet through satellite constellation technology. The technology was present decades ago, and many famous companies like HughesNet and Viasat are already providing internet via satellite. But the cost is very high. While Starlink still did the same thing, their plan is very affordable.
Starlink standard residential plan costs you $599 plus shipping charges (usually $50), and the price of the plan per month is from $90 to $120. Under this cost, no other companies are providing internet to the users. Due to this, people are becoming more attracted to Starlink.
3. Diverse Plan
Different people use the internet for other purposes and from different locations. Keeping this point in mind, Starlink company offers many services, which are given below in tabular format.
| S. No | Plan Option | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Residential Plan | For families living at home. |
| 2. | Business Plan | For office purposes. |
| 3. | Mobility | It is for people who want to access the internet while traveling around the world through RV. |
| 4. | Maritime | To use the internet while sailing or traveling through sea. |
| 5. | Aviation | To use the internet while flying in the air through an airplane or private jet. |
4. High-Speed Internet
Another advantage of Starlink is getting high-speed internet while using it. Starlink satellites orbit at an altitude of 550 km and provide low latency, meaning within 25-50 milliseconds, Starlink satellites receive and transmit the data with a Starlink dish.
As per Starlink’s official website, Starlink provides a downloading speed of 25-220 Mbps and uploading speed of 5-20 Mbps when you are using its residential plan, while for other pans, the speed is much more than that.
The majority of Starlink users experience 100Mpbp+ speed, which is more significant than that of Starlink competitors. According to CNET, the downloading speed of Starlink is 65.29 Mbps, while Hughsnet’s is 16.32Mbps, and Viaset’s is 36.47Mpbs when checked through the Ookla Speed test in the United States.
So Starlink offers incredible internet speed as compared to other satellite internet-providing services at an affordable price.
5. Weather Resilience Feature
On Starlink’s official website, the weather resilience feature is mentioned. Under this feature, Starlink has the technology to melt the snow automatically and withstand bad weather conditions like rainfall and heavy wind (if mounting is done correctly).
SpaceX (parent company of Starlink) officials state that Starlik Dish can withstand heatwaves and operate in temperatures from- 22°F (-30 °C) to 104°F (40 °C) without any damage. So bad weather is not a case to worry about, while extreme weather conditions can be the problem.
6. Easy Self Installation
Starlink provides DIY (Do-It-Yourself) installation processes with which you can install Starlink at your desired position in just 7 steps. There is no installation expert supplied to you to install Starlink because the installation process is straightforward. You don’t need any technical degree or prior experience in installation to set up Starlink at home, business, maritime, and other places.
Easy self-installation helps you to save your dollars and the workload of Starlink employees. You also get a manual, Starlink app, and customer support to help you through your installation process.
7. Unlimited Internet (Data Caps)
Yes, Starlink provides unlimited internet for some services like residential, RV, maritime, and aviation plans. However, if you cross the monthly quota of your data, Starlink still doesn’t cut off your internet access under Best Effort Service and just lowers the internet speed.
For business plans, these data caps vary as per the plan you have chosen. Below is the table of the internet plan with its data caps.
| S.NO | Service | Data Caps |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Standard | Unlimited* |
| 2. | Business | 1TB (For minimum plan) |
| 3. | Roaming | Unlimited (For regional roaming) |
| 4. | Maritime | Unlimited* |
| 5. | Aviation | Unlimited* |
8. Cancellation Policy
Starlink also provides a 30-day trial if you are not sure whether to use the service or not. Under the cancellation policy, you can return the order within 30 days from the purchase date. Certain conditions must be followed if you want to return the order. For example, your hardware must be in good condition. You will also get a full refund (exclusive of Shipping charges).
This is one of the best advantages of Starlink because many internet-providing services don’t offer cancellation policies, which is not able to get the complete trust of the audience.
9. Mobility
Getting high-speed internet while going to a picnic with friends or family is a headache. Most of the time, when we spend quality time with our loved ones while traveling in remote areas or beautiful islands, we don’t get a proper internet connection. Here, Starlink comes to solve this problem by providing us with Starlink Roaming service, which allows you to get high-speed internet while traveling anywhere in the world.
Under Starlink roaming service, you just have to mount your dish in your RV or other vehicles that enable you to get high-speed internet.
10. Maritime Feature
In maritime (sailing or traveling through the sea), getting high-speed internet at an affordable cost is hectic work. Many internet services cost up to thousands of dollars, and still, the speed is not a price worth it. Starlink offers maritime service at an affordable cost, which enables you to use the internet while living a dream life on a boat with friends, family, or your darling.
As per TS2 Space (Telecommunications Company), Starlink has now finally connected the remote islands to the digital world. So you can get internet in deep oceans and other waterways also.
11. Health Advancement In Rural Areas
According to FCC reports of 2019, Internet penetration in the United States still lacks by 21%, meaning 21% of people living in rural areas don’t have broadband connection. As per Statista reports for 2022, internet penetration worldwide in rural areas is only 46%. Due to this, people living in rural areas aren’t able to meet emergency health conditions.
With the help of Starlink Internet, these people get the Internet and are able to download apps like Epocrates, which helps them provide better health reports.
12. Education
Online education or Distance learning are the ones that require internet connection to access top-quality education. As per Statista 2023 reports, 15.8% of users are currently present in the Online education market. So those who don’t have access to the internet will not get an education, which is not the right thing. Starink again helps the students to provide internet so that they can have an education.
13. Smart Farming
As per FCC 2021 reports titled “Impact of Broadband Penetration on U.S. Farm Productivity,” just by doubling the number of broadband connections per 1000 households, the yield of corn increased by 3.6%, which is very good.
Drones, robots, and farming apps like Crop Doctor help farmers analyze their crops and increase their yield.
According to March 2022 reports maintained by CME groups and Purdue University, 12% of US Farmers don’t have access to the internet, while 16% have an abysmal quality internet connection.
Starlink provides internet to agricultural areas, which allows farmers to increase their crop yield, forecast weather reports, and many other things.
Is Starlink Better Than Fiber?
Starlink provides internet in those geographical locations where Fiber was never reached before. Due to large cables that also require proper care and high investment, Fibre Internet deprives many users of using the internet due to their location.
As per ITU Data, 37% of people on Earth have never used the internet in their entire lifetime. However, due to satellite constellation internet providing technology at such an affordable cost, Startlink did it. Now people are getting internet where they never expected. Farmers, rural areas, island natives, and others are getting high-speed internet in just a few steps and at an affordable cost.
Final Words
We have to thank Starlink for providing internet in rural areas to improve education, health advancement, farming, or in remote areas to improve internet quality while roaming, traveling through oceans, or tracking.
The advantages mentioned above are real user experience and company officials’ claims. I hope that after reading these advantages of Starlink, you may now want to buy a Starlink skit or know more about what Starlink is.