Starlink

[LouNY]

I haven't seen any break down of where the new users are. I would be willing to bet that who gets a dish is complicated, and probably favors folks who can generate buzz one way or another for Starlink.

All the best,

Peter

That certainly doesn't explain how I got mine then

 

[BigBlue1]

I haven't seen any break down of where the new users are. I would be willing to bet that who gets a dish is complicated, and probably favors folks who can generate buzz one way or another for Starlink.

All the best,

Peter

In my opinion that is highly unlikely that they care _who_ their customers are. But they do care that _all_ customers have good service, so the 'buzz' part is kinda accurate.

Starlink's infrastructure involves sat dishes, satellites and ground stations. The sats communicate with the dishes and ground stations to relay network traffic. Sats change which customers' dishes and ground stations they connect to as they orbit.

Sat dishes are 1:1 with customers. The other two pieces aggregate customers. Their sat network is built out at something like 3000 of the eventual 12000 sats. I haven't seen numbers regarding ground stations. However, their roll-out plan seems to limit the number of customers within any particular geographic region (designated by what they call a 'cell') to ensure that the limited number of sats and ground stations aren't oversubscribed. As they launch more sats they'll be able to support more customers at the quality of service they choose to provide.

To me it is a smart system they have in place. It helps them provide high quality service from the start even though their infrastructure build-out is not yet complete. It's frustrating for potential new customers but satisfying for paying customers. And paying customers are the ones giving feedback on the service, so it's best to keep them happy.

 

[Fallon]

To stay in orbit at their low altitude the satellites have to orbit relatively quickly & intrinsically cover more ground than just the US. From a business perspective if you have a limited number of satellites & bandwidth, it makes sense to try & use them for as close to 100% of their orbit rather than just the small part of their orbit over the US.

If the satellite bandwidth is the limit, there are no real downsides. If the number of dishes they can manufacture is a bottleneck it does slow down the US rollout. I suspect both are bottlenecks to a degree, at least in some cells.

 

[plowhog]

According to this article, SpaceX received $3billion of US govt subsidies. So maybe its fair to ask if US taxpayers help build it, why are they on wait lists while other countries are getting deliveries?

If I was the leader of a foreign country, I would hold out for a minimum number of deliveries before agreeing to give SpaceX an exclusive on rural sat licenses in my country. Multiply by many countries, add production shortages, and .... here we are.

Just the same, I look forward to getting an email that my SpaceX order is ready to be fulfilled .... regardless of the history, delays, and frustrations. After all, it seems delays and frustrations are an embedded part of satellite internet! (Been doing that with HughesNet for years!)

 

[IXLR8]

My understanding is that NONE of the ISP's have yet received any of the gov't subsidies. The new FCC commissioner has put it all on hold as he felt the initial subsidy awards were not done in a fair manor based on faulty data and they are all up for review.

 

[BigBlue1]

According to this article, SpaceX received $3billion of US govt subsidies. So maybe its fair to ask if US taxpayers help build it, why are they on wait lists while other countries are getting deliveries?

If I was the leader of a foreign country, I would hold out for a minimum number of deliveries before agreeing to give SpaceX an exclusive on rural sat licenses in my country. Multiply by many countries, add production shortages, and .... here we are.

Just the same, I look forward to getting an email that my SpaceX order is ready to be fulfilled .... regardless of the history, delays, and frustrations. After all, it seems delays and frustrations are an embedded part of satellite internet! (Been doing that with HughesNet for years!)

Do you know if the subsidies for SpaceX have anything to do with Starlink? SpaceX has a much broader scope of function than just Starlink.

 

[plowhog]

Do you know if the subsidies for SpaceX have anything to do with Starlink?

Only what I read in the article.

I don't blame a private company for trying to conquer global market share. Just observing that with limited availability, shipping dishes "there" results in fewer dishes "here."

 

[BigBlue1]

Only what I read in the article.

I don't blame a private company for trying to conquer global market share. Just observing that with limited availability, shipping dishes "there" results in fewer dishes "here."

But if you read above you'll see that part of the issue is system load by geography. It isn't just equipment availability. At the present infrastructure build-out they can only support so many people per location/sat at acceptable levels. Selling the service in other parts of the globe impacts this fact not at all.

A lot of people want to find fault with Starlink and look for all sorts of ways to poke them in the eye but reality is that they are doing things pretty well, IMO.

 

[plowhog]

A lot of people want to find fault with Starlink and look for all sorts of ways to poke them in the eye but reality is that they are doing things pretty well, IMO.

Maybe so.

But, to be fair, they did a terrible, inexcusable job of letting customers twist in the wind based on install dates given out that were not met. Really terrible handling of that-- non-existent communication or updates-- leading to widespread mocking of the company by those who felt duped.

I ran a technology company for 20+ years. I can attest it is a very difficult industry to do a good job in. And if you soil your reputation with some products or service that fall short, it is very difficult to turn around the negative impressions you have built. Starlink is grappling with that now.

SpaceX/Starlink has resources so much greater than we ever had that's it's hard to even imagine it. So I did expect better of them. But, if I receive an email saying a slot has opened for me, I will proceed forward despite the past.

 

[Wakey]

We have Verizon MiFi which costs us $80 a month.... You gave us your speeds, how much bandwidth do you get for a month with your plan? We only get 15G.

We pay out the nose for incredibly slow internet. Verizon is the only option here. We are on the list for Starlink, but I am reluctant to get too very excited as to how soon we'll get it...been signed up for about a year.

I had the same plan and I called displeased and they updated it to 50 gig per device. The first month, after it went over 15 gig it started to crawl so I called again and they have this flimsy fine print that says you can get good speed so long as no one in your area is using the network which is laughable so they appeared to have changed that as well. I think I pay an extra ten bucks a month.

 

[John_Mc]

Maybe so.

But, to be fair, they did a terrible, inexcusable job of letting customers twist in the wind based on install dates given out that were not met. Really terrible handling of that-- non-existent communication or updates-- leading to widespread mocking of the company by those who felt duped.

I ran a technology company for 20+ years. I can attest it is a very difficult industry to do a good job in. And if you soil your reputation with some products or service that fall short, it is very difficult to turn around the negative impressions you have built. Starlink is grappling with that now.

SpaceX/Starlink has resources so much greater than we ever had that's it's hard to even imagine it. So I did expect better of them. But, if I receive an email saying a slot has opened for me, I will proceed forward despite the past.

I'll agree that they did an extremely poor job of communicating with potential customers and those who were on the wait list. It's only once you are up and running as a full paid subscriber that there communications improve. I've been very impressed with their responsiveness since we received our dish about a year ago.

To be fair to Starlink: this was billed as a Beta service throughout much of the period in question, and we were warned of possible issues and that they were focused on testing and development. Also, there are pandemic-induced supply chain issues worldwide affecting a wide range of manufacturing industries. (I work in a steel related industry, and managing our raw materials and supplies has been a nightmare. We've been fortunate that we have never been on a "Just In Time" inventory system, so were able to buffer many of the supply chain issues for ourselves and our customers. Others have not been so fortunate.)

Should Starlink have done a better job of communicating with those on the wait list? Certainly. Is at least part of the problem of their own making? Probably. Am I still happy with their product despite this? Definitely! My kids can actually do their online homework now, and can meet with teachers via zoom when the school has to go remote. I no longer have to drive a couple of miles and sit in a parking lot with a high speed public WiFi in order to attend business meetings via Zoom. (Sitting in a car in 10˚F weather, and starting it every so often to warm up and recharge my laptop was no fun. Ditto for meetings on humid 90+˚ days.)

 

[kcflhrc]

Another thing you have to consider with StarLink is how are the ground stations fed? Most likely with fiber but maybe not. There may be limitations there with them leasing circuits or leasing fiber in certain geographic locations. At some point all this fancy satellite stuff in low orbit has to hit the Internet backbone via some type of cable. It's not all wireless and satellites folks. There is some sort of backbone feeding all of these ground stations and would typically be leased facilities. That may be hampering the roll out

 

[Hilbilly]

I'll agree that they did an extremely poor job of communicating with potential customers and those who were on the wait list. It's only once you are up and running as a full paid subscriber that there communications improve. I've been very impressed with their responsiveness since we received our dish about a year ago.

To be fair to Starlink: this was billed as a Beta service throughout much of the period in question, and we were warned of possible issues and that they were focused on testing and development. Also, there are pandemic-induced supply chain issues worldwide affecting a wide range of manufacturing industries. (I work in a steel related industry, and managing our raw materials and supplies has been a nightmare. We've been fortunate that we have never been on a "Just In Time" inventory system, so were able to buffer many of the supply chain issues for ourselves and our customers. Others have not been so fortunate.)

Should Starlink have done a better job of communicating with those on the wait list? Certainly. Is at least part of the problem of their own making? Probably. Am I still happy with their product despite this? Definitely! My kids can actually do their online homework now, and can meet with teachers via zoom when the school has to go remote. I no longer have to drive a couple of miles and sit in a parking lot with a high speed public WiFi in order to attend business meetings via Zoom. (Sitting in a car in 10˚F weather, and starting it every so often to warm up and recharge my laptop was no fun. Ditto for meetings on humid 90+˚ days.)

Anyone that has put down a deposit for a system is a customer not a potential customer. No different than putting down a deposit on a load of lumber, a car purchase, or any other purchase. As soon as the company takes your money, you are a customer. When I ordered my new tractor, I put down a substantial deposit and it took 6 months to get the tractor. During that time I could call the dealer any time and talk to them. Not so with Starlink and that is wrong. Take my money and ignore me is not right.

However once you are told they are shipping the dish, the communication lines are open and fast. After being notified that my system was being shipped I contacted them twice with questions and got answers within a few hours. That is customer service. Not being able to contact a company that has taken money from you is the opposite.

I just got my dish today and immediately set it up in a temporary location, because I couldn't wait to see the difference. It was super easy to set up and get running. The speeds are crazy compared to my current (soon to be last) provider. I checked the speeds before changing over and this is what I got on my 2012 Mac mini;
1) Xplornet; download = 1.5 Mbps, upload = 0.4 Mbps, ping = 595 ms
2) Starlink; download = 206.5 Mbps, Upload 11.6 Mbps, ping 38 ms.

It's like my old Mac just got a shot of go juice.

 

[plowhog]

It's like my old Mac just got a shot of go juice.

Glad to hear of the positive experience!! So many of us hope to join in on that ....

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I’m getting 8Mbps down, 10 Mbps up right now on LTE.

 

[riptides]

I get anywhere from .27 to 62.4Mpbs down and .03 to 44.5Mbps up.

On LTE.

LOL Consistency is well....nah...will not say it.

 

[Jchonline]

Anyone that has put down a deposit for a system is a customer not a potential customer. No different than putting down a deposit on a load of lumber, a car purchase, or any other purchase. As soon as the company takes your money, you are a customer. When I ordered my new tractor, I put down a substantial deposit and it took 6 months to get the tractor. During that time I could call the dealer any time and talk to them. Not so with Starlink and that is wrong. Take my money and ignore me is not right.

However once you are told they are shipping the dish, the communication lines are open and fast. After being notified that my system was being shipped I contacted them twice with questions and got answers within a few hours. That is customer service. Not being able to contact a company that has taken money from you is the opposite.

I just got my dish today and immediately set it up in a temporary location, because I couldn't wait to see the difference. It was super easy to set up and get running. The speeds are crazy compared to my current (soon to be last) provider. I checked the speeds before changing over and this is what I got on my 2012 Mac mini;
1) Xplornet; download = 1.5 Mbps, upload = 0.4 Mbps, ping = 595 ms
2) Starlink; download = 206.5 Mbps, Upload 11.6 Mbps, ping 38 ms.

It's like my old Mac just got a shot of go juice.

Yes like I said..the only unhappy Starlink folks are those that havent gotten their dishy yet! So far its a game changer.

 

[LouNY]

It is not a binding deposit, you can back out anytime and get your money back.

 

[plowhog]

Take my money and ignore me is not right.

Customer Service seems to have been dying a slow death for years now. It's not just Starlink.

Power in CA went out about 2 weeks ago. It was out for 11 days, a big storm, but not huge. ATT landline went out at the same time. As of today they are telling me it will be repaired "by Feb. 1st at 7:12pm." So more than 30 days.

It's this kind of rural BS why I wanted Starlink. On the schedule as advertised. I guess I need to learn more patience being in line with no information ...

 

[Jchonline]

I got my parents off of the landline 5 years ago...I transferred their home number to a Google Voice account they both share. App on both of their cell phones...so they both ring if someone calls. It worked great for awhile..then robocalls increased in 2017.....they finally got fed up with it and just had me uninstall the app from thier phones. Now they just use cell phones for everything. They saved $60 a month.

They are coming around!