Starlink

[ponytug]

Up until now, I've been happy with my Verizon 4G LTE home internet plan with it's 50 down & 8 up speeds. So far, my Starlink equipment has been running for two days and is only yielding 51 down & 10 up. I was thinking of returning it for the full 30 day refund they offered in their recent email and keeping the 4G LTE.

Today however, I noticed my 4G LTE speeds dropped to 8 down and 5 up. the speeds do vary but never this low and they have remained constant at this level for the last 24 hours. I checked my router statistics and I reached 150 GB of downloaded data yesterday for the month and I still have a week to go in the billing cycle. It appears Verizon is throttling their speeds. They claim unlimited data in their ads but make no mention of throttling.

Has anyone else with Verizon 4G LTE noticed this?

More importantly, has anyone with Starlink noticed any throttling?

No evidence so far.

 

[jk96]

My ethernet adapter I've ordered has been pushed back twice now and needed it to connect to my existing router so I can get rid of Viasat. Finally ordered a wireless to ethernet module so I can run the starlink into my existing router. Works great and not seeing any noticeable difference in speeds.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0118SPFCK?psc=1&smid=A2JTFL4V8HYESG&ref_=chk_typ_imgToDp

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Up until now, I've been happy with my Verizon 4G LTE home internet plan with it's 50 down & 8 up speeds. So far, my Starlink equipment has been running for two days and is only yielding 51 down & 10 up. I was thinking of returning it for the full 30 day refund they offered in their recent email and keeping the 4G LTE.

Today however, I noticed my 4G LTE speeds dropped to 8 down and 5 up. the speeds do vary but never this low and they have remained constant at this level for the last 24 hours. I checked my router statistics and I reached 150 GB of downloaded data yesterday for the month and I still have a week to go in the billing cycle. It appears Verizon is throttling their speeds. They claim unlimited data in their ads but make no mention of throttling.

Has anyone else with Verizon 4G LTE noticed this?

More importantly, has anyone with Starlink noticed any throttling?

You might want to like making a hard decision after the war is over. As you're reading today many many people are working to provide a denial of service to servers in Russia. Well this works both ways so right now conclusions on speed issues can be hard to figure out. Just one thought.

 

[MHarryE]

I've had Starlink for 13 months now. When I purchased, Starlink stated that it was selling below cost for beta testing and prices would be adjusted when they had more experience. The announcement for a price increase did not come as a surprise as inflation is a handy excuse. Starlink's seed money has been in part $9.2 billion to provide high speed Internet to rural areas. I had ViaSat prior to Starlink. My ViaSat bill was about $110 with fees and taxes so the new Starlink bill matches what I was paying - plus I do a lot of streaming which was not possible for me with ViaSat. I still think they are taking advantage of "inflation, I want part of that".

 

[JESSE1]

I still have my deposit with Starlink but if my T Mobil 5 G home internet keeps working well I'll get my deposit back. Starlink still shows mid '22 for my area so I've had time to test out T Mobil and so far it's working well with decent speeds from 175 early in the morning to 75 during busy times.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I still have my deposit with Starlink but if my T Mobil 5 G home internet keeps working well I'll get my deposit back. Starlink still shows mid '22 for my area so I've had time to test out T Mobil and so far it's working well with decent speeds from 175 early in the morning to 75 during busy times.

I'm curious if T-Mobile has a data limit before they throttle their speeds like Verizon does.
If not, for me anyway, they could be a more cost effective solution than Starlink.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

If one cannot find a less expensive option then starlink something is wrong. The intent was to provide services for people that could not get services at their location from other sources but just like Tesla cars starlink never was stated to provide the best price but it could provide the best service in some locations.

 

[bdhsfz6]

If one cannot find a less expensive option then starlink something is wrong. The intent was to provide services for people that could not get services at their location from other sources but just like Tesla cars starlink never was stated to provide the best price but it could provide the best service in some locations.

This is absolutely true.

As these less expensive options become available in more rural locations, the Starlink customer base is sure to shrink. The resulting price increases may ultimately make their internet service unaffordable for some.

At some point, a balance will be achieved but who knows what the prices will look like.

The same scenario is occurring with Iridium. They provide worldwide satellite based phone service but their marketshare is being erroded by the proliferation of cell towers into rural areas..

 

[plowhog]

Tmobile is supposed to take over a Sprint tower near me next July. *If* that happens, *if* it supplies me with 5G, I won't proceed with Starlink. Yep, two "ifs" together, aahhh.

For me, the issue is whether to invest $500+/- in a system that will continue to increase in monthly price over time. In other words, in the future, would I be happy with Starlink at $200, $250, or $300/mo?

If I install Starlink, I'll do so presuming the monthly fees, over time, will be far above what they currently are. I believe the recent price increase is only one of many to come.

Similar to Starlink, (rural subsidy from the govt), I once bought real property subsidized by a developer. HOA fees were $170/mo, presuming to go down once reaching full "build out" of the project. But after full build out, HOA fees increased to $395 per month. Removing the subsidy caused the price to more than double.

Ground based providers install a tower, some fiber, and wireless equipment. Once built out, on-going costs are fairly low. To contrast, Starlink's satellites degrade orbit, requiring recurring space launches just to keep the system functional. What is the cost of that?

I think everyone knows, or believes, Starlink is selling equipment and services below cost right now. So the question is: what will the price be once below-cost operation is abandoned, and the subsidies are gone, and the system is built out?

Starlink marketing and accounting folks know what numbers are needed to operate the system at a profit. But they're not talking. If I had to guess, I'd guess its probably double the monthly fees which are being billed today.

 

[WM75Guy]

I'm curious if T-Mobile has a data limit before they throttle their speeds like Verizon does.
If not, for me anyway, they could be a more cost effective solution than Starlink.

For Verizon to throttle you down depends on your connection type. I have the LTE Home Internet gateway and have never been throttled down. I consistently get 30-50 Mbps and I use a lot of data working from home on VPN. Same with my neighbor, who also works from home, and he does VPN and is on video conferencing all day.

Here is what the website shows.

They will throttle down a mobile hotspot.