High-speed Satellite internet is a dream of people living at remote locations or out of cable coverage, that too with low cost. Satellite internet is not a new concept, and it’s been with us for a long. The serious problems are the cost of operating and the speed we get. Starlink in India can solve it little.
Traditional internet satellites are located at GEO (or geostationary Earth orbit) around 35,700 KM from the Earth, giving high Latency and low-speed connection. Starlink satellites are installed at LEO (low Earth orbit) between 550 to 1200 KM from the Earth’s surface.
Currently, 1000 Starlink satellites are revolving around Earth, target to place 12,000 satellites in the coming years, and the planned numbers are 30,000. SpaceX is constructing the satellite constellation.
It is not just Starlink that is working on LEO satellite internet. OneWeb and Amazon Kuiper projects are running, but Starlink is open first for users to experience high-speed satellite internet, including India.
Speed and latency
LEO (low Earth orbit) satellites are located near the Earth’s surface, resulting in a high-speed and low latency connection. According to the company, speed is between 50 to 150 Mbps, will upgrade to 300Mbps later, and Latency is between 20 to 40 ms, targeted to reduce more in coming days.
Both speed and latency numbers feel promising what the company says. Indeed, both may vary from place to place in terms of user experience. But the initial impression of what the users are sharing online is very appealing.
Cost of Setup
Apart from performance, cost plays an important role in the consumer end. Starlink first release pre-order at $499 with a $99 monthly charge. That includes the small satellite dish, mounting tripod, router, and power supply to set up at customer premises.
In India, the pre-order cost $99 (Approx ₹7300). Although, the company yet not revealed any monthly charges. Estimated cost when Starlink service starts in India.
- Monthly subscription fee – $99 (Approx ₹7300).
- Hardware cost – $499 (Approx ₹36000) + shipping +(maybe custom charges).
How to pre-order Starlink in India
Visit the Starlink official website and follow the instruction to pre-order. On the website, It mentions that the service will start in 2022, and the pre-order amount is refundable.
So after pre-order, you have to wait quite some time and see if it comes.
Comparision and Usage
So now, how can we directly compare it with existing internet infrastructure? The backbone of the internet is the underground and undersea cables laid to connect country to country and continent to continent. This backbone is not going anywhere.
Things are changing to the consumer end. If a user wants to take an internet connection and a physical cable line is not present in the same area, the user gets stuck with no internet connection or mobile internet. With Starlink, this issue solved.
A remote area or rural area can take good advantage of the satellite internet. We know that the development is those areas are not well, especially for high-speed internet. Users can take internet connections theoretically from anywhere around the globe.
Overall the price of the traditional cable internet is much lower compare to Starlink. Speed-wise, cable internet is again ahead, offers up to 1 Gbps+ connection. Despite the satellite internet, the speed of Starlink is promising, and later it will upgrade more.
According to India, operating cost is higher than any other cable broadband. For some area, it will work well despite the increased operating cost. But not sure about the urban areas where the Fiber internet penetrated so well.
Reliability
One other questions that also arise is how reliable the Starlink satellite internet. Starlink Beta FAQ tells us about this
I live in an area with heavy rain, snow, or wind—can I still use Starlink?
Your Starlink will detect and melt snow that falls directly on it, however accumulating snow around your Starlink may block the field of view. We recommend installing Starlink in a location that avoids snow build-up and other obstructions from blocking the field of view. Heavy rain or wind can also affect your satellite internet connection, potentially leading to slower speeds or a rare outage.
I live in an area with lightning—can I still use Starlink?
Starlink meets the U.S. National Electrical Code (NEC) grounding requirements and includes the necessary lightning protection. However, any user who lives in an area with lightning should have the appropriate lightning protection installed in accordance with your local electrical code prior to using Starlink.
You will face a slow speed or complete outage if the weather is not proper for Starlink.
Conclusion
Starlink satellite internet connection is no doubt is an excellent service without the hassle of wires. However, the technology is costly for India, considering the price.
Yes, it is an excellent option for the rural area or less developed area. Indeed the sales number will hit by Reliance Jio 4G coverage and data plans. Practically it will not make any sense everywhere until Elon Musk brings India specific competitive plans and overall price.