HACKER Q&A
📣 the_only_law

Satellite ISPs Worth It?


I’d kill to ditch my current provider, but the only other provider in my area that offers DOCSIS or fiber broadband appears to be unavailable at my address.

I’m curious whether satellite providers are worth looking at. It seems that some of them offer similar “up to” speeds as my current provider, but at a significant cost increase.

But I never get close to the “up to” bandwidth my ISP advertises and a cheaper plan with a Lowe “up to” from a different provider could be fine if in effect I get the same speeds (from memory it’s rare to get more then 50-60mbps down”.

I’ve also have read about higher latency with satellite connection, and am not sure offhand how much that would effect me.

  👤 Rottweiler Accepted Answer ✓
What speed, cost, data caps do you get from your current provider? I'd be surprised if any of the conventional (GEOSAT) offerings could beat it.

The only satellite ISP worth considering, IMHO, is Starlink. But you'll have to be patient. The wait could be months.

👤 giantg2
I've always heard of more issues with satellite, like lower speeds and storms blocking reception.

100mbps sounds like a good service. I think I'm on 35mbps and haven't had any problems.

👤 tantony
Is Starlink available in your area? Their satellites are in a much lower orbit (not GEO) and so the latency is much lower. It is supposed to be around $100 per month with a $500 up-front cost for the terminal.