Starlink

awheelterd

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Location
Kenly, NC
Who got it?

I'm stuck with century link dsl and it stinks. Last quote from spectrum was $20k. Hard pass. CL is like 10/10 up and down best case scenario. Rain = dead.

CL is only $45/mo so for a poor like myself that is obviously a plus. A message with a pic or picture upload to Google photos debilitates it, especially if someone is streaming something which is all the time now as my kids get older.

SL is $120/mo so that is a bummer. Equipment buy in is $350ish. No personal experience with speeds.

What say the group?
 
We used it on a jobsite in Cashiers earlier this year as there was no other cell signal or internet.

I bought the mini roamer…it wasn’t as stable as fiber, but we didn’t have a clear view in all directions as we were deep in a valley.

Stablity wasn’t horrible mind you but occasionally uploads would stall.

Speed was very good and we could host or join zooms, upload cad files etc. I was impressed.

That said, have you looked into one of the cellula plans? Assuming you have good cell coverage I’ve used both Tmobil and ATT whole home solutions…and they are damn near hard wired
 
Are there any options for 5g home internet available at your address? I was in a similar position because my long driveway and Spectrum wanted several thousand to run a cable to my house. I have Verizon 5Ghome for 25 per month and it works great
 

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Ditto on 5g if possible. I was recently very pleasantly surprised to get 350 mb through speedtest.net using a Verizon hotspot. I'm sure the equipment matters (this was a pretty new model device). This was in an area generally considered not-great coverage.in the middle of an Army base.

Same location we've used a Starlink to support our robotics teams in the evenings. Speed never an issue, it routinely hits >125 mbit. I'm fairly sold on it. We'd uset hat as our full time service if it weren't WAY more expensive for business use... and they don't have a diferent/discount rate for nonprofits...
 
I am in an almost dead zone. No spectrum (1/2 mile down the road). DSL only runs about 1-2Mbps. Verizon, other cell providers don't offer home internet here. (My cell is Verizon, and I get 1 bar inside or out).

So, I got 5g internet from Calyx Institute www.calyxinstitute.org $500 a year (pay annually). I have used them several years now. It's an unlimited plan thru T-Mobile. I connect at 100-200 usually (5GUC). Uploads usually 4-8Mbps.

Calyx just started what they call Bring Your Own Device. Prior, you had to use the hotspot they provided, and none had an external antenna. I just swapped out for a GL.iNet GL-X3000. Speed more than doubled (was getting 50-75 down) with just the on-board external antennas. I plan to add an outside MIMO antenna at some point.

EDIT: If I walk a couple hundred yards from the house, there is a spot I can hit 300-350.
 
I installed Starlink at our LEGO facility down in Florida. The shop was outside of town with not many options. We ran a business account with 50+ people streaming music, video, cad files… it did fine.

Granted we were on flat ground with clear line of site in all directions to the horizon. But God forbid a storm of heavy cloud cover came in. Signal went to shit.

Remember DirectTV satellite service? Ya….
 
Timely thread as I was just thinking about this earlier today. I’m in basically the same situation as @awheelterd. Spectrum is $$,$$$, ATT has us on DSL. It sucks, but it’s $50 month and the only option. Verizon signal is 1-2 bars, never had T-Mobile but when the outside sales team at work had it, it was terrible, so my confidence is low. @Scott86MJ how is Verizon signal at your house on your phone? Does the hotspot device get better signal than a regular phone?
 
We had Starlink for about a year and a half until Spectrum got some grant money and they buried fiber right in front of our house about 6 months ago. We hit it just right and got Starlink about the same time as most folks who had been on the waitlist for a couple of years here. I don't remember speed numbers but they were pretty solid considering we were just getting coverage here. Really heavy rains would affect it sometime, but it was pretty stable in my opinion. Wish it was cheaper, but we did have internet when the rest of the world around us was down for weeks after Helene though.
 
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FWIW, T-mobile is a MVNO that operates on Verizon’s network. I think Verizon has their own subsidiary MVNO now (like AT&T has had for years with Cricket). If your Verizon service is only 1-2 bars or is slow in your area, I would imagine the T-mobile service could be worse.
 
We got Verizon internet at the house. But they put up a new tower and I can see it from back porch. Best internet ive ever had.
My job requires me to be somewhat connected all the time. Some of the places I like to go hunt and camp can be real hard to get service. Once my personal business grows I'll get starlink and probably hard mount it to my truck.
 
Andy J. said:
FWIW, T-mobile is a MVNO that operates on Verizon’s network. I think Verizon has their own subsidiary MVNO now (like AT&T has had for years with Cricket). If your Verizon service is only 1-2 bars or is slow in your area, I would imagine the T-mobile service could be worse.
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T-Mobile isn't an MVNO. The 4 networks are Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Dish (Boost Mobile)

Verizon has Visible which they own for an MVNO
 
I’ve been very impressed with starlink. Used it out at hammers in the desert with several of us connected and live streaming 2 TVs. Use it at a buddies shop as their primary business internet due to availability as well. I got one to take camping as I like the cut it on and off. 50$ for 50 gigs if you don’t want or need unlimited. My family doesn’t game or anything, so not sure how that would work. If it weren’t for my cameras and stuff I’d probably go starlink at home and take when we travel.
 
We've had Verizon 5g home internet for a few years and have had great luck with it. I now work mostly from home and haven't had any issues with myself working, my wife being "super busy" during the day (on FB 23hrs), two 9yos doing 9yo things. Plus all our BT bulbs, alexa(s), simply safe, etc.
 
Starlink is pretty great. 200-300 MBs bidirectional with the big dish. It's slower when it rains hard, but you can still stream video on it, maybe just only one or two HD streams at a time. Cost can be a bit much depending on your use case, but compared to dsl it can't be beat. I've been wanting a mini for the car, but can't quite justify the $50/mo.
 
DSM Turbos said:
T-Mobile isn't an MVNO. The 4 networks are Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Dish (Boost Mobile)

Verizon has Visible which they own for an MVNO
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Beat me to the punch. T-Mo is its own private network.
And their network strategy is....weird but improving pretty rapidly.

There are numerous places Ive seen when Tmo has signal and neither ATT nor VZW do....and just s many or more places Ive seen in downton areas where everyone is full bars and Tmo is dead.

(Never been a Tmo customer - just used to work on all the carriers equipment)
 
shawn said:
Starlink is pretty great. 200-300 MBs bidirectional with the big dish. It's slower when it rains hard, but you can still stream video on it, maybe just only one or two HD streams at a time. Cost can be a bit much depending on your use case, but compared to dsl it can't be beat. I've been wanting a mini for the car, but can't quite justify the $50/mo.
Click to expand...
It’s pretty sweet for traveling. Even shoved in the jeep dash it’s reliable
 

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jeepinmatt said:
Timely thread as I was just thinking about this earlier today. I’m in basically the same situation as @awheelterd. Spectrum is $$,$$$, ATT has us on DSL. It sucks, but it’s $50 month and the only option. Verizon signal is 1-2 bars, never had T-Mobile but when the outside sales team at work had it, it was terrible, so my confidence is low. @Scott86MJ how is Verizon signal at your house on your phone? Does the hotspot device get better signal than a regular phone?
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This is outside my house with WiFi off. The Verizon modem seems to have better antenna than a cell phone. The tower I connect to is beside the middle school.
 

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Scott86MJ said:
This is outside my house with WiFi off. The Verizon modem seems to have better antenna than a cell phone. The tower I connect to is beside the middle school.
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Dang. I never realized how close you were to the middle school in a straight line. You're about 2/3's of a mile, and I'm 2 miles. I would have guessed we were both about 1.5-2 miles.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Timely thread as I was just thinking about this earlier today. I’m in basically the same situation as @awheelterd. Spectrum is $$,$$$, ATT has us on DSL. It sucks, but it’s $50 month and the only option. Verizon signal is 1-2 bars, never had T-Mobile but when the outside sales team at work had it, it was terrible, so my confidence is low. @Scott86MJ how is Verizon signal at your house on your phone? Does the hotspot device get better signal than a regular phone?
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have you thought about trying a weboost to see if it would make it good enough for Verizon 5G at home?
 
jeepinmatt said:
Dang. I never realized how close you were to the middle school in a straight line. You're about 2/3's of a mile, and I'm 2 miles. I would have guessed we were both about 1.5-2 miles.
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Yes, I can hear the PA announcements sometimes but can't make out what they are saying. :laughing:
 
DSM Turbos said:
have you thought about trying a weboost to see if it would make it good enough for Verizon 5G at home?
Click to expand...
They will not offer it at my address. In the house, I’m seeing one to two bars out of four, and outside anywhere from 2 to 4 bars with just a standard iPhone antenna, which I’m sure would be good enough with the proper antenna. But Verizon does not give the option for my address, nor my parents about a mile down the road, nor any of my neighbors. I did some Reddit research, and that either means the strength is not good enough, OR they already have too many people signed up for it given the availability of towers.
 
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