Starlink Basics / Boost Mobile ?

[ponytug]

I have gone to Starlink web site - 2X. Entered my home address. Reply says service not available yet in this area. Besides the initial cost - Starlink being a satellite service - how much better can it be than what I already have.

You could try using Google Maps. Open it up and get your place centered more or less on the map. Then double click or tap to put a pin on your place. When you get the pop up with the lat/lon, click on the lat/lon, and the side bar should open up with a location. About midway down the side bar should be a gobbledygook set of letters and numbers, like this "972C+238". Starlink can use those locations instead of what might be a complicated street address that might not be where the antenna would be. PM if you want help.

E.g. here is a screenshot for that location, somewhere outside of Amber.

All the best, Peter

 

[John0829]

We had DirecTV and internet service though ATT cell towers, some program they shut down with no replacement so we moved to Starlink. Cancelled DirecTV and told ATT to shove it and started streaming with the Starlink. Will not look back it was the best move that could have been made. We usually have two TV's streaming at the same time, one in her work room and me in the shop or gun room plus all the other internet access going on at the same time like laptops, tablets, etc. with nary a hitch. Thing I love most is that the Starlink continues to work in bad weather and not drop out like DirecTV would every time a rain cloud passed over.

Oh and dropping DirecTV and ATT we cut our monthly cost by several hundred dollars.

 

[oosik]

Ponytug - one red dot and not much else for miles. Amber was active until the 1960''s. A train stop with large grain storage facilities. It also had a post office and public school ( up to grade 8 ).
My property is 1.5 miles north of the red dot - as the crow flies. Little over two miles by road.

 

[BigBlue1]

I have gone to Starlink web site - 2X. Entered my home address. Reply says service not available yet in this area. Besides the initial cost - Starlink being a satellite service - how much better can it be than what I already have.

That is pretty odd. Starlink is available pretty much everywhere in the US at this point. They may have some areas with high usage where they will offer service if you pay a 'congestion fee' but I have not heard of anyone not being able to sign up for years now.

You can view their availability map here:

Starlink

High-speed internet. Available almost anywhere on Earth.

starlink.com

Only a few scattered areas (see dark blue hexagons) around the country are 'unavailable'.

Try this instead of using your actual address:

Get the Google Maps 'Plus Code' for your location:

Plus Codes

Plus Codes are short codes for locations, for places that don't have their own street address.

maps.google.com

Back on the Starlink web site plug that in instead of your address. And make sure you have chosen 'Residential' service as the 'Get Started' step from the home page.

As for how much better? If you have Hughes Net it will be significantly better in multiple ways: Faster connection speeds, no monthly data cap and a much lower latency. Whether those benefits will make a difference to you depends on your type of usage. If you're just reading e-mails and looking at forums and Facebook you might not see a difference. If you are streaming video, downloading large files or doing things like Teams/WebEx/Zoom meetings it likely will be way better. Having Starlink as your ISP is very much equivalent to having a standard terrestrial ISP like Comcast, Spectrum, TDS, etc.

As for cost, right now (through March 31) Starlink has a no-cost hardware special. It is some type of 'no fee' rental setup where you don't pay anything as long as you keep the service active but if you cancel service you have to return the hardware (or buy it). Residential plans are available for as low as $50 for 100Mb/s speeds, unlimited data. Higher speed tiers at higher prices, up to $120/mo.