Starlink

[ponytug]

I received the same ad.

I have no use for a portable unit but it might come in handy if my aging Gen1 system fails.

Anyone try the mini yet?

Yes, I just bought one to get my new gen 3 dish on line. The performance is about the same as our old Gen 2, about 120 down, 25Mbits/s up. Worked great. We are keeping it just to have a backup in case the gen 3 dish dies. FWIW: the gen 3 system is running pretty solidly around 350Mbits/s down and 35Mbits/s up, so if speed is an issue for you on your gen 1, it might be worth the upgrade. Latency (ping times) are also a bit lower.

And, no, we did not get the offer. For whatever reason, we seem to miss most of the offers that I see here.

All the best,

Peter

 

[bdhsfz6]

Might also be useful to get internet in one of my remote barns.
Not sure if you can use a Gen 1 and the Mini at the same time though.
I also don't quite understand the billing. The ad says free but elsewhere, they mention $5/mo extra.

 

[ponytug]

The ad is to get the hardware for free. The mini requires either the full roaming charge or a standby fee of $5/mo. You can have both running.

Again, up thread I covered this, but after powering up a new dish, you have exactly one hour to get a new dish up and running. If you don't get it functional in that hour, you will need to be able to receive an SMS text to activate the system, so some cell coverage, or an active mini. So we had a mini and a Gen 3 running side by side.

All the best, Peter

 

[BigBlue1]

We were talking specifically about the Mini offer. I have the dish at home.

Still the same answer.

Yes, I just bought one to get my new gen 3 dish on line. The performance is about the same as our old Gen 2, about 120 down, 25Mbits/s up. Worked great. We are keeping it just to have a backup in case the gen 3 dish dies. FWIW: the gen 3 system is running pretty solidly around 350Mbits/s down and 35Mbits/s up, so if speed is an issue for you on your gen 1, it might be worth the upgrade. Latency (ping times) are also a bit lower.

And, no, we did not get the offer. For whatever reason, we seem to miss most of the offers that I see here.

All the best,

Peter

Indeed, there is a performance difference. We had the original round gen 1 since mid beta in 2021 and it worked solidly for us for years. But after buying a gen 3 to use for RV camping this spring and noticing the performance difference even without great sky view I decided to upgrade. Have had a new gen 3 on the roof now replacing the gen 1 for about 2 months and it has been equally reliable. But speeds of the gen 1 were often 80-120 Mb/s and with the gen 3 having an unobstructed view of the sky we get 180-420, typically mid 200's.

I actually ended up getting the residential replacement for free because I was asking SL support about some rain fade issues we have experienced and they offered to replace the gen 1 for free. Who am I to turn that down? Anyone want a perfectly functional gen 1 setup?

 

[BigBlue1]

The ad is to get the hardware for free. The mini requires either the full roaming charge or a standby fee of $5/mo. You can have both running.

Again, up thread I covered this, but after powering up a new dish, you have exactly one hour to get a new dish up and running. If you don't get it functional in that hour, you will need to be able to receive an SMS text to activate the system, so some cell coverage, or an active mini. So we had a mini and a Gen 3 running side by side.

All the best, Peter

There are actually various roaming plans you can choose from. $5 standby where you get minimal throughput, $50 data limited at 50 GB/mo, $50 for 50GB but automatically paying $1/GB for anything over 50GB, or unlimited data for $165 (I think) per month.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Still the same answer.

I guess I'm slow, I don't understand. I'm not a target customer because I can get cell coverage? I figured since I was ONLY able to get cell service and not fiber or any other internet at home, I would be a perfect candidate for Starlink as are our neighbors.

 

[BigBlue1]

I guess I'm slow, I don't understand. I'm not a target customer because I can get cell coverage? I figured since I was ONLY able to get cell service and not fiber or any other internet at home, I would be a perfect candidate for Starlink as are our neighbors.

You said:

"Hard Pass Here...My phone has unlimited internet."

Starlink is targeted to people who have no other fast/reliable Internet options. You sound pretty happy with your cell data plan so I don't think Starlink is marketing to folks like you. Starlink will likely never be competitive, cost-wise, with terrestrial ISP options including cellular data/hotspots in places where those are available.

 

[ultrarunner]

Just spent a few work days in rural Thurston County WA where zero coverage is the norm.

Boy was I surprised t-Mobil had solid 2 bars… still zero for ATT and Verizon.

Asked a neighbor and learned the county disaster office raised concerned entire sections were isolated from the system so the push was on to get rural coverage… and t-Mobil stepped up.

I guess not all towers are shared because it’s t-Mobil exclusive and been up two months.

I have better internet in rural Thurston County than in Oakland CA in a city of 450k and a metro over 10 million…

Crazy how that works but nice to not having to wait until I go to town to get messages.

Maybe a Wi-Fi security system is on my future?

 

[buckeyefarmer]

it's an equipment rental for $5, not free. If you stop the $5 month rental, you have to return it.

 

[NoTrespassing]

You said:



Starlink is targeted to people who have no other fast/reliable Internet options. You sound pretty happy with your cell data plan so I don't think Starlink is marketing to folks like you. Starlink will likely never be competitive, cost-wise, with terrestrial ISP options including cellular data/hotspots in places where those are available.

I'm happy with the cell phone internet for traveling. It's not enough for home use. That's why we have Starlink at home. We stream, run 3 xboxes, and a gaming computer on it. Cell won't do that here. We dropped tethering from the 3 phones when we finally got Starlink. Prior to that we carried xboxes to other locations for updates.