I don't play games so I can't comment about it with Starlink, but I work too many hours a day, including too many video conferences, and I have not had a problem with Starlink. No problem with streaming video either, unless there is VERY HEAVY rain, which has not happened since last spring. Did notice that the over the air TV was pixelating the other night due to high winds. I think the high wind moves the TV tower and messes up the signal.
| 25 Mbps Symmetric | 24 months | $39.99/month | $6,425 one time installation fee |
| 50 Mbps Symmetric | 24 months | $59.99/month | $5,975 one time installation fee |
| 100 Mbps Symmetric | 24 months | $85.99/month | $5,400 one time installation fee |
| 200 Mbps Symmetric | 24 months | $149.99/month | $4,000 one time installation fee |
Yup, 200Mb/s should be fast and it is during off peak hours. Neighbor says he can almost set his watch by when the speeds drop off, and by how much. I was told the service agreement is about 20 pages long... all protecting the provider. Apparently the language regarding speeds is 'up to', then again Starlink says the same thing. But when you are paying a premium for 200Mb/s service and can't stream a movie without buffering... something is wrong. Provider has been to his house 4 times in 6 months and says everything is okay. I'm about ready to get a 500' fiber cable and run it to his house to see if Starlink will provide him with what he needs before he orders it.
If you're serious about the Starlink connection, look into "wireless bridge" devices. Much easier than running a cable and they don't have to be expensive.
I have a wireless bridge 450' to my shop, with a fairly clear path. But my property is heavily wooded and so is his, even in the winter we can't see each others house. It is about 430' to his house, I don't know of a wireless bridge that would get over the river and thru the woods to his house. Then again I haven't looked at the latest wireless bridge's.
You are missing the fact they stream their tv shows/movies and we don't. Their TV is on the 3rd floor of their house. Easier to string a fiber cable through the woods than cart their TV to my house. They don't have any issue with just surfing the net, but when it comes to Zoom calls and streaming TV, that is when they get into issues. They also don't keep the same schedule we do and dropping a feed to their house is the best, easiest and most accurate way to compare. I have no interest in him starting a 2 hr Zoom call in my house at 8pm, which he often does and his fiber system drops calls often apparently.
Bandwidth issues can be due to more than the ISP. If they have a large, multi-floor house their issue might be with the local wifi signal. I'd encourage them to test their streaming with a device in very close proximity to the ISP router at the time they experience problems. If it is still crappy there, with a very solid wifi signal to the streaming device, then suspect the ISP. If it is better then maybe they need a mesh wifi network to get strong signal across their house.
He has logged speeds from 4am to 11pm daily for over a month. Speeds go up and down depending on time of day and are apparently very repeatable. Evenings when he is trying to stream TV and/or do Zoom calls... he gets buffering or calls dropped. He has Netgear Orbi mesh units on all 3 floors. I personally think he may have too many. I have been trying to get up with him to see just what he has in his house and see if speeds at his fiber modem can be measured. But for a retired guy, it is difficult to get our schedules to match up.
For my $0.02, if he hasn't tried running an Ethernet cable from the fiber modem to a switch and then a cable p, or two, to his computer(s) for the zoom calls, and streaming, I think that he should. That would rule out a bunch of things, and should be step one.
For my $0.02, if he hasn't tried running an Ethernet cable from the fiber modem to a switch and then a cable p, or two, to his computer(s) for the zoom calls, and streaming, I think that he should. That would rule out a bunch of things, and should be step one.
I have no particular reason to think that his issues aren't just fiber overloading, but there are lots of ways to mess up a WiFi network, even more to mess up a mesh network (combined 2.4/5GHz SSIDs, some LED lights, dimmers, garage door openers, poor mesh layout, old IOT devices, etc.)
He might want to look at WiFiman, from Ubiquiti.
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I wouldn't bother running a cable through the woods. There is lots of publicly available data out there that demonstrates thatStarlink works for multiple concurrent zoom calls and streaming. (To which I can certainly attest.) If he doesn't believe what is publicly known, then I think it has reached the "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink" stage, and I would leave him to it until he is willing to listen to your advice and follow it. Training horses has taught me a lot about how to do deal with problem cases gently. Just sayin'...
There are networking consultants out in internet land that would be more than happy to consult for your neighbor.
All the best,
Peter
I had a Zoom meeting today from noon until 1, had buffering several times.
There are a lot of things that can lead to those types of issues. Getting to resolution can often be a journey. You'll probably looked into these, but in case:
