Starlink

[Jchonline]

StarLink portability is aimed at people who have boats or RVs and who would need Internet access away from home. This is a REALLY big deal for boats.

Starlink seems to be limited to 12 miles offshore at the present time, which I think is mainly due to the need to have satellite to satellite communication. Having said that, I noticed there were dead zones in the Chesapeake in VA, one of the sounds in NC, and in one of the Great Lakes where one would expect coverage.

In some places, cell service is good enough if one is near shore, we have had cell service six or so miles off shore, and I have heard of people getting a signal farther offshore. But even along the coast, one can be without cell service and cell Internet can be expensive. Offshore Internet is exceedingly expensive, and can cost tens of thousands of dollars for the equipment and the data plans can be hundreds of dollars a month and still be data limited. I have seen plans that were $1 a megabyte.

Starlink is working on boats at the present time but not warrantied, however, this is one of the areas that Starlink wants to support so it will happen in time. Starlink is going to wipe out some of the off grid Internet providers. Paying $130 a month for unlimited bandwidth at the Starlink speeds is dirt cheap compared to the competitors.

Land based, we were paying $120 per month of an unlimited cell plan. And our DSL at 1.5 mbps was $50-75 a month. Our new cell plan, we need backup Internet access, is $20ish a month but data limited AND not working.

Incorrect.

From the Starlink FAQ page (and I have Starlink btw)

For an additional monthly fee, the Portability feature enables users to temporarily move their Starlink to new locations in order to receive service anywhere within the same continent Starlink provides active coverage. To see active coverage areas, please view the Starlink Availability Map. Portable users are served best effort and can expect lower service levels than fixed users, particularly in areas marked as "Waitlist" on the Availability Map.

Add Portability on Your Account:

• If you are an active customer, you can enable Portability from your account page and it will take effect immediately.
• If you have multiple Starlinks, Portability must be selected and purchased for each location.
• When you enable Portability, you are charged on your next monthly invoice. Portability is charged in full monthly increments and cannot be pro-rated. The Portability feature and billing charges will be ongoing until you decide to disable it. Once you disable Portability, the recurring charge will stop after your next monthly invoice and Portability will only remain active for the remainder of the current billing cycle. For example, if you enable Portability on March 12th and your next billing date is on April 1st, you will be charged $25 on April 1st for the full previous month.

Limitations:

• Best Effort Service: Portability service is provided on a best effort basis. Stated speeds and uninterrupted use of services are not guaranteed. Starlink prioritizes network resources for users at their registered service address. When you bring your Starlink to a new location, this prioritization may result in degraded service, particularly at times of peak usage or network congestion.
• International Travel: Starlink can only be used within the same continent as the registered Service Address. If you use Starlink in a foreign country for more than two months, you will be required to move your registered service address to your new location or purchase an additional Starlink to maintain service.
• No In-Motion Use: We do not support Starlink use in motion at this time. Using the Starlink Kit in motion will void the limited warranty of your Kit. While our teams are actively working to make it possible to use Starlink on moving vehicles (e.g., automobiles, RVs, boats), Starlink is not yet configured to be safely used in this way.

 

[California]

I haven't been following this thread so skip over this if its irrelevant:

Ukraine is using Starlink for real-time decentralized artillery firing. This article says the time between discovery of a target by a forward observer or drone, to firing on that target from multiple diverse locations, has been reduced down to as little as 30 seconds. The enemy doesn't have anything like this StarWars-level instant Command&Control structure.

Thread by @TrentTelenko on Thread Reader App

@TrentTelenko: This is going to be a long thread🧵 on Ukraine's unique 21st century fighting style based on Uber style C3I software, why Western intelligence is plug ignorant of it due to CROWDSTRIKE cybersecurity fi...…

threadreaderapp.com

 

[ponytug]

Thanks for the informative article. It also explained why Russian counter fire has been so ineffective, something that I had wondered about.

All the best,

Peter

 

[plowhog]

When the lasercom equipped SpaceX Gen 1.5 & 2.0 satellites come on-line,
The ability to move huge amounts of bandwidth with zero ground based infrastructure will utterly subvert the ability of national governments & corporations to block or surveil Starlink communications.

The only way the US Government will be able to monitor Starlink communications is with @elonmusk active cooperation.

The power shift involved in that fact is...profound...and something for another thread....

... Quite an interesting statement from the linked article ...

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Happy to see this StarLink thread, as a very new StarLink customer with a Gen2 system. It's been working for almost a week here, but with a few issues.

First off, I've been unable to log in to the modem using the username/password that works on the StarLink website. When I attempt to log in to the StarLink website, I get the "Invalid Credential" error message. I click the "Locked Out?" link, get the reset email from StarLink, and reset the password. I can then login to the website, but the username/password does not work from the iPhone app. And if I log out of the website, I can't log in again using those credentials without first resetting the password. I've sent email to SpaceX at the starlinkResolutions@spacex.com email address, only to receive a brief reply asking for my name, account number, and service address, all of which should have been available to them from my email address. And that reply took over a week to arrive. So for me at least, StarLink tech support is pretty much non-existent.

Connection wise, I'm using the optional StarLink Ethernet adapter, and running it to one of the WAN ports on a Unifi DreamMachine Pro. My home network has a gateway address of 192.168.10.1 so as to avoid conflicts with either the HughesNet or StarLink modems. I configured a static route to 192.168.100.1 and can access the StarLink modem via web browser at that address.

If I access the internet via the WiFi on the StarLink modem, I've seen download speeds of over 200 Mbps. However, when I access the home WiFi network through the Unifi access points, the best I've seen is less than 65 Mbps. I've verified that I'm using the 5.0 GHz band, and have tried disabling the WiFi based Protect security cams, and still can't match the StarLink direct speeds. That's also with all the fancy Deep Packet Inspection and other processor intensive features turned off in the UDMP. If/when I ever get log in to the modem working, I'll try disabling the WiFi and see if that improves WiFi speeds on the Unifi APs, but I'm not optimistic. I've already verified that the two WiFi setups are operating on different, supposedly non-conflicting, WiFi channels. But disabling WiFi on the StarLink modem might also change the way the modem handles NAT, but I'm not enough of a network guy to know how or why this might be the case.

I have the HughesNet modem hooked into the other WAN port of the UDMPro, and configured that port as a fail over. Several times a day the UDMP sends me emails that it has failed over, then less than a minute later, another email to let me know that the StarLink connection was back online. That same system was generating several dozen network failure messages a day when all that was available was the HughesNet connection, so again, that's a tremendous improvement.

The current configuration is not ideal, but even those lower speeds are ten times better than the HughesNet modem provides, and without the crippling data caps HughesNet imposes. For the first time in the twelve years I've lived here, I can stream video without buffering interruptions, which is fantastic!

I should mention that my only options for internet connectivity have all been satellite based. I'm not near any cellular antennas, and don't even have line-of-site to the closest ones. I have a copper telephone line, but it's too far from the station for DSL. And there's no way they'll ever string fiber to my little piece of heaven; there just aren't enough people out here that would use it. I waited fourteen months for my StarLink connection, most of that time because StarLink was over subscribed in my area. I find it very upsetting that StarLink is selling subscriptions to people that have lots of connectivity options, especially when they advertise that their target customers are those in rural locations with no real broadband internet options. That said, my only regret so far is that it took so long to get the dish. Even with the recent price increase, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[Roric]

Happy to see this StarLink thread, as a very new StarLink customer with a Gen2 system. It's been working for almost a week here, but with a few issues.

First off, I've been unable to log in to the modem using the username/password that works on the StarLink website. When I attempt to log in to the StarLink website, I get the "Invalid Credential" error message. I click the "Locked Out?" link, get the reset email from StarLink, and reset the password. I can then login to the website, but the username/password does not work from the iPhone app. And if I log out of the website, I can't log in again using those credentials without first resetting the password. I've sent email to SpaceX at the starlinkResolutions@spacex.com email address, only to receive a brief reply asking for my name, account number, and service address, all of which should have been available to them from my email address. And that reply took over a week to arrive. So for me at least, StarLink tech support is pretty much non-existent.

Connection wise, I'm using the optional StarLink Ethernet adapter, and running it to one of the WAN ports on a Unifi DreamMachine Pro. My home network has a gateway address of 192.168.10.1 so as to avoid conflicts with either the HughesNet or StarLink modems. I configured a static route to 192.168.100.1 and can access the StarLink modem via web browser at that address.

If I access the internet via the WiFi on the StarLink modem, I've seen download speeds of over 200 Mbps. However, when I access the home WiFi network through the Unifi access points, the best I've seen is less than 65 Mbps. I've verified that I'm using the 5.0 GHz band, and have tried disabling the WiFi based Protect security cams, and still can't match the StarLink direct speeds. That's also with all the fancy Deep Packet Inspection and other processor intensive features turned off in the UDMP. If/when I ever get log in to the modem working, I'll try disabling the WiFi and see if that improves WiFi speeds on the Unifi APs, but I'm not optimistic. I've already verified that the two WiFi setups are operating on different, supposedly non-conflicting, WiFi channels. But disabling WiFi on the StarLink modem might also change the way the modem handles NAT, but I'm not enough of a network guy to know how or why this might be the case.

I have the HughesNet modem hooked into the other WAN port of the UDMPro, and configured that port as a fail over. Several times a day the UDMP sends me emails that it has failed over, then less than a minute later, another email to let me know that the StarLink connection was back online. That same system was generating several dozen network failure messages a day when all that was available was the HughesNet connection, so again, that's a tremendous improvement.

The current configuration is not ideal, but even those lower speeds are ten times better than the HughesNet modem provides, and without the crippling data caps HughesNet imposes. For the first time in the twelve years I've lived here, I can stream video without buffering interruptions, which is fantastic!

I should mention that my only options for internet connectivity have all been satellite based. I'm not near any cellular antennas, and don't even have line-of-site to the closest ones. I have a copper telephone line, but it's too far from the station for DSL. And there's no way they'll ever string fiber to my little piece of heaven; there just aren't enough people out here that would use it. I waited fourteen months for my StarLink connection, most of that time because StarLink was over subscribed in my area. I find it very upsetting that StarLink is selling subscriptions to people that have lots of connectivity options, especially when they advertise that their target customers are those in rural locations with no real broadband internet options. That said, my only regret so far is that it took so long to get the dish. Even with the recent price increase, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I tried to get a Unifi USG gateway to play nice with Starlink and it was a rabbit hole. Even had my
very highly credentialed network IT pro son give it a shot. His advice was to watch if anybody has a
solution on reddit else you will have to invent it yourself.
So I took the gateway out of the picture. I have 4 unifi access points that I can manage through unifi
downloaded software. These are running via a wired network that comes from the Starlink ethernet adapter and 3 switches over 3 buildings. The Access points and about 13 other wired and wireless
network devices show up on the starlink page.
I am coming from Century link 6.5down/.5mbs up speeds.
Some times of day I have +200 from starlink, sometimes alot less but never down to C-L levels.
I would not toss an expensive device like the dream machine but you might try omitting it to see if the devices will work and play well with star link.
You Milage May Vary.


(I never bypassed the starlink wifi as many said to try; you have to do a factory reset to undo that.)

 

[BigBlue1]

RedNeckGeek:

Do you see any obstructions showing in the app? That may account for the brief drop-outs that are causing network failover.

To address your other issues (speed via different networks/routers) you may want to pare things back to just the Starlink system, using its wifi in close proximity to the router, or using ethernet. Then check speed and make one change at a time until either an issue is noted or you get to the configuration you ultimately want.

Rob

 

[California]

Connection wise, I'm using the optional StarLink Ethernet adapter, and running it to one of the WAN ports on a Unifi DreamMachine Pro.

Just a thought, I haven't had to wade in deep into networking since the early TokeRing vs Ethernet, Novell Netware, and pre-Windows era:

I have my home second router set up as an access point and as a peer to the fiber modem, not cascaded 'downstream'. The cable at the remote end of an EOP link is cabled into a LAN port at the destination, not its WAN port. All DHCP is done at the primary modem.

Your system sounds a lot more complex, maybe this wouldn't work for you.

 

[ponytug]

@RedNeckGeek what you are trying to do is doable. My guess is that you need to change browsers on your phone, and allow cookies to login. Other folks have reported that issue. I would disconnect everything, including the Ethernet adapter until you login normally.

On your UDM Pro, you want Starlink on WAN1, port 9, and Hughes on WAN2 port 10.

If the Starlink router is operational (I.e. not shutdown), you need to have your Hughes and your home network off 192.168.1.0/24. That belongs to Starlink. I suspect that the switch to Hughes and back is causing that issue. You don't need a static route for 192.168.100.1. Your UDM will automatically send it out the WAN port. (If you want Starlink stats when you are on Hughes, that isn't going to work, as you can't have both WAN ports active on a UDM PRO.)

With the hardware you have, you should have no trouble hitting 150-200Mbits/s on a modern tablet/phone/PC.

Finally, I would suggest moving your antenna (Dishy) to get fewer obstructions. We see an interruption a week for two minutes tops.

All the best,

Peter

 

[sodamo]

Still waiting, but my patience is running a bit thin.