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Ask HN: Satellite ISPs Worth It?

7 points by the_only_law ↗ HN
I’d kill to ditch my current provider, but the only other provider in my area that offers DOCSIS or fiber broadband appears to be unavailable at my address.

I’m curious whether satellite providers are worth looking at. It seems that some of them offer similar “up to” speeds as my current provider, but at a significant cost increase.

But I never get close to the “up to” bandwidth my ISP advertises and a cheaper plan with a Lowe “up to” from a different provider could be fine if in effect I get the same speeds (from memory it’s rare to get more then 50-60mbps down”.

I’ve also have read about higher latency with satellite connection, and am not sure offhand how much that would effect me.

6 comments

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Rottweiler
What speed, cost, data caps do you get from your current provider? I'd be surprised if any of the conventional (GEOSAT) offerings could beat it.

The only satellite ISP worth considering, IMHO, is Starlink. But you'll have to be patient. The wait could be months.

the_only_law
My current provider offers up-to 1gbps, but I’ve never bothered upgrading from the 100mpbs that was the only thing available when I first signed up. It’s not great, but has been fine for all but a handful of applications that have other bottlenecks besides home internet speed.

The satellite providers I looked at offer 100mpbs for twice the gigabit plan of my current provider, but ’the current provider has shafted me on more than one occasion.

tantony
Is Starlink available in your area? Their satellites are in a much lower orbit (not GEO) and so the latency is much lower. It is supposed to be around $100 per month with a $500 up-front cost for the terminal.
the_only_law
The site says mid-late 2021, but here we are. Otherwise I’d consider it.
giantg2
I've always heard of more issues with satellite, like lower speeds and storms blocking reception.

100mbps sounds like a good service. I think I'm on 35mbps and haven't had any problems.

trompetenaccoun
I agree. Doesn't seem worth switching unless one has no other option, or can't get regular broadband in the first place.

Where I see a giant market is places with crippling internet restrictions. But we'll have to see how that will play out and how much energy authoritarian governments will invest in finding people "illegally" accessing the free web.