Starlink

[riptides]

I keep getting pitched to hookup. Last time the agent was so adamant, assuring me I was wrong, that it was indeed available I let her schedule the installed. When tech got out ofhis truck he started laughing. i said, not getting it am I? Nope. He did say he’d get back to me. The contractor was at the tower. Shortly after I got the email asking if I wanted to proceed to get it to the property, $52k.

I had the same sort of laugh with the power company and burying lines.

They did my neighbors, took all the poles out, buried the lines, no charge.

I needed an upgrade, they come out, I ask about the lines, they only bury from the last pole to the house. Some crazy figure for from the road to the last pole. I tell them about my neighbor and well, nope not happening. I call their office, nope, not happening. Guess it all depends on time of day and who is handling the case. I had a fiber person out here twice a few months ago. Measuring. I ask when? Not his job, only measuring. LOL.

 

[ultrarunner]

Several renters got very upset because when they called to schedule Comcast set appointment as if a done deal only to be told later no can do.

 

[grsthegreat]

Ok, i just completed redoing my house wifi to incorporate mesh network. My TPLink router supports mesh extenders, so i ordered 3 TPLink RE550 mesh extenders. Placed the main extender in living room about 1/2 way thru house from router. Than i pared the other 2 extenders to this extender. I placed one about 200 feet away in horse barn and placed the other about 200+ feet away in my shop.

Tested system. I now have same wifi network name at all locations. Wifi calling works all over my property, inside shop, inside barn and even an additional 100’ away in carriage barn. In the house i have starlink speeds of about 150-200. In The barn this degrades to about 30. In the shop i saw 40.

I just walked to middle of the arena, maybe 150’ from barn extender, and could roam internet. . . .

I can live with this.

I was told it degrades by piggybacking extenders, but this is more than liveable. I opened up internet and was nearly as fast as indoors while streaming.

And as i walk, i dont get kicked off of phone calls while walking between extenders like i used to.

Ive finally entered 21st century.

Now once fiber arrives……..

 

[LittleBill21]

people will be mind blown, most people don't need over 10mbit for anything, and most won't notice till its sub 1mbit. I've tested it several times.

 

[lincmercguy]

people will be mind blown, most people don't need over 10mbit for anything, and most won't notice till its sub 1mbit. I've tested it several times.

You'll notice if you stream TV. It will still work, but you'll get a lower rate stream and the compression artifacts will be more apparent. Some people won't notice it.

I remember in college when we finally got cable internet and we're amazed at the blistering 300kbps rate and not having to share the modem phone line anymore, lol.

 

[LittleBill21]

You'll notice if you stream TV. It will still work, but you'll get a lower rate stream and the compression artifacts will be more apparent. Some people won't notice it.

I remember in college when we finally got cable internet and we're amazed at the blistering 300kbps rate and not having to share the modem phone line anymore, lol.

10mbit will go up to 1080p without issue, 4k is only around 15 to 22mbit on netflix, its highly compressed regardless.

 

[lincmercguy]

10mbit will go up to 1080p without issue, 4k is only around 15 to 22mbit on netflix, its highly compressed regardless.

On one stream. Get three people watching TV and you'll see it. Or I'll see it at least, I work with this stuff for my day job.

Netflix does squash the crap out of their stuff, a 15M 4k stream looks like garbage with a horizontal pan across choppy seas.

I'm getting 250M-300M from Starlink these days, so three streams is not an issue. I always told the kids they cannot stream while I'm working. It used to be because the streams would slow down my work, but not I just tell them that so they watch less TV, lol.

 

[ultrarunner]

people will be mind blown, most people don't need over 10mbit for anything, and most won't notice till its sub 1mbit. I've tested it several times.

Cellular is about 1 MB here but I borrowed a Verizon Cube and consistently 10-11 MB and I was happy.

Wanted to order one and told no can do as no service at my address.

Guess I could use a different address and meanwhile I make do…

 

[LittleBill21]

On one stream. Get three people watching TV and you'll see it. Or I'll see it at least, I work with this stuff for my day job.

Netflix does squash the crap out of their stuff, a 15M 4k stream looks like garbage with a horizontal pan across choppy seas.

I'm getting 250M-300M from Starlink these days, so three streams is not an issue. I always told the kids they cannot stream while I'm working. It used to be because the streams would slow down my work, but not I just tell them that so they watch less TV, lol.

my point was simply, his 30mbit was more then enough. people think they need 1g service and 600+ to their device. that was all

 

[ultrarunner]

In 2017 had to go outside to make calls and for heavy duty Wi-Fi stand outside my neighbors home… I help them all the time and they gave me their password.

About 3 years ago I consistently had 1 bar and for some unknown reason today I’m getting 2 and sometimes 3 bars tonight… never happened before!

Comcast is offering $30 monthly NOW 100mb internet for new customers with no added fees or contract… it says self install but I have no cable to the house so I guess I would have to climb the pole and trench???

Over Air Wi-Fi providers say not available when I enter my address..

Star Link is available but I would not get enough use for the cost… in 1 year only turned on the TV 1 time for the debate via rabbit ears.

Anyone have NOW internet for $30 per month with no fees or contract?

 

[lincmercguy]

my point was simply, his 30mbit was more then enough. people think they need 1g service and 600+ to their device. that was all

Yeah, 30 is pretty decent for most stuff these days. Under 20 and things start to annoy me, but we use streaming exclusively for TV.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Ok, i just completed redoing my house wifi to incorporate mesh network. My TPLink router supports mesh extenders, so i ordered 3 TPLink RE550 mesh extenders.

I installed the TP-Link AXE5300 mesh system down south and get similar results. The mesh topology supposedly doesn't suffer from speed losses as data moves from node to node, but it does drop with distance and the number of walls and barriers the signal has to get through. The only time I notice the slow down is when I'm moving large files, so I've been dragging my feet installing ethernet cable between the nodes that are inside the house. Installation was as simple as plugging each node's wall wart into the socket, then running the configuration app to let the nodes know about each other. No problems for a year now, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

[drumminj]

I installed the TP-Link AXE5300 mesh system down south and get similar results. The mesh topology supposedly doesn't suffer from speed losses as data moves from node to node, but it does drop with distance and the number of walls and barriers the signal has to get through. The only time I notice the slow down is when I'm moving large files, so I've been dragging my feet installing ethernet cable between the nodes that are inside the house. Installation was as simple as plugging each node's wall wart into the socket, then running the configuration app to let the nodes know about each other. No problems for a year now, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I also have a tp-link mesh network (deco) and having wired connections between the nodes makes a huge difference in my house as far as performance. I just have them connected via an unmanaged switch.

We don't do anything that really requires crazy speed/throughput but I do see huge differences running speed tests.

 

[wilso]

In 2020 we decided to move, and since I work from home needed high speed internet. We looked a some rural properties but none of them had good internet available so we moved to the beach and got a place on the water. Now 5 years later, we miss the peace and quiet of the country and want to be closer to the grandkids. We bought a place a couple months ago in a very rural county and we were told fiber was available. I contacted the internet provider and put in my order, when I asked timeline they said typical was 3-4 months. Since I needed to be at that home immediately to oversee some renovations before we moved, I ordered Starlink. Starlink showed up a couple days later, got it all up and running in no time and it worked great. That weekend my brother came by and helped me mount it on the roof and run cables inside. The following week some guys show up to mark the utilities, when I asked them for what they told me fiber. Week after that they came and ran the fiber. I used the Starlink about 3 weeks and then had 1gb fiber internet at the house, and in a county with <10k people. I'm impressed, and things have certainly come a long way in 5 years.

Now I just need the renovations completed and get moved in and sell the other house.

Your journey sounds like a real adventure! It's impressive how quickly Starlink got you up and running when you needed it most. I’ve heard mixed reviews about their customer service, but it’s great to see that your experience was positive. My cousin also faced issues with fiber internet, and Starlink was a great option for her. It’s amazing how far things have come in just 5 years!

 

[JRH02]

I am watching this partnering between Starlink and TMobile with interest. We have Starlink and it works great for us. I'm ready to move on from Verizon after 20+ years and since we live in an area with zero cell coverage it would be a great thing to say bye-bye to VZ. We have had no interest in leaving VZ previously but the bill for two phones on a family plan sharing 5g of data is just more ridiculous than ever. Most of our phone use is at home over WiFi via Starlink anyway. But when we get away from the house and out into the woods, if someone gets hurt, there is no option. This partnership may have solved this finally.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good luck with TMobile. I tried them here before I went with Starlink,. Coverage was spotty and I had lots of dropped calls. I returned their equipment well before the free trial expired, but had a devil of a time trying to get them to stop billing me. Ended up having to cancel the credit card I gave them, and still had to make several more calls to get them to stop sending dunning notices.

 

[JRH02]

Good luck with TMobile. I tried them here before I went with Starlink,. Coverage was spotty and I had lots of dropped calls. I returned their equipment well before the free trial expired, but had a devil of a time trying to get them to stop billing me. Ended up having to cancel the credit card I gave them, and still had to make several more calls to get them to stop sending dunning notices.

I think you can get billing and cancellation horror stories from any of the cell providers and more. And to spotty coverage from TMobile, the only people I know who are 'happy campers' with them live in metropolitan areas. But the Starlink thing would solve the spotty coverage - or will it? What I need to know is what happens then I am on a call and TMobile's cell signal fades out? Does the conversation fail over to Starlink - and vv?

 

[bdhsfz6]

I think you can get billing and cancellation horror stories from any of the cell providers and more. And to spotty coverage from TMobile, the only people I know who are 'happy campers' with them live in metropolitan areas. But the Starlink thing would solve the spotty coverage - or will it? What I need to know is what happens then I am on a call and TMobile's cell signal fades out? Does the conversation fail over to Starlink - and vv?

According to AI, yes, it is automatic:

AI Overview
Learn more

To use T-Mobile's Starlink satellite service, simply sign up for the beta program, and when you're in an area without traditional cellular service, your phone will automatically connect to the Starlink network, displaying "T-Mobile SpaceX".

Here's a more detailed explanation:

• Automatic Connection: When a T-Mobile phone, participating in the beta program, is out of range of a cell tower, it will automatically connect to the Starlink satellite network.
  
  
• No Manual Action Needed: You don't need to manually select or connect to the Starlink network.
  
  
• Network Indication: When connected to Starlink, your phone will display "T-Mobile SpaceX" at the top-left side of your screen.
  
  
• Texting: You can send and receive text messages as usual, though messages may take longer to send during the beta phase.
  
  
• Emergency Services: To reach 911, enter "911" in the recipient field, and your location will be automatically shared with emergency services.
  
  
• Picture/Video Messaging: Picture and video messaging are not available during the beta phase.
  
  
• Qualifying Phones: The service works on most smartphones from the last four years.
  
  
• Sign Up for Beta: To participate, you need to register for the beta trial, according to T-Mobile.
  
  
• No Special Hardware: You don't need any special hardware or apps to use the service.
  
  
• Future Expansion: T-Mobile plans to expand the service to include voice and data, in the future.

However, Starlink does not yet provide universal coverage as many "would be" Starlink internet customers know all too well.

Also, Starlink satellites are low earth orbit which means the signal won't be available in deep valleys or mountainous terrain. Coverage will certainly be better than cellular but there will still be dead spots.

For true global coverage you need an iridium satellite phone. Very expensive though.

 

[sd455dan]

I am watching this partnering between Starlink and TMobile with interest. We have Starlink and it works great for us. I'm ready to move on from Verizon after 20+ years and since we live in an area with zero cell coverage it would be a great thing to say bye-bye to VZ. We have had no interest in leaving VZ previously but the bill for two phones on a family plan sharing 5g of data is just more ridiculous than ever. Most of our phone use is at home over WiFi via Starlink anyway. But when we get away from the house and out into the woods, if someone gets hurt, there is no option. This partnership may have solved this finally.

Going through the same cost cutting thoughts with "ziply". Our land line pricing has gotten to the point it is not worth it, $75 a month and finally got the wife to agree to drop it, going to try Ooma on Starlink.

 

[3930dave]

But when we get away from the house and out into the woods, if someone gets hurt, there is no option. This partnership may have solved this finally.

If you are looking to add Emergency Coverage, how does InReach price out for you ?

Rgds, D.