STARLINK

Introduction

                             Starlink is a SpaceX-operated satellite broadband constellation that provides satellite Internet connectivity to the majority of the Earth’s surface. By mid-2021, the constellation will have grown to over 1600 satellites, with tens of thousands of mass-produced tiny satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) communicating with authorised ground transceivers. While satellite internet service is technically feasible for the majority of the world’s population, it can only be supplied in nations where SpaceX has been granted a licence to provide service inside a specific national jurisdiction. The beta service is accessible in 14 countries as of August 2021.

Starlink          

                       According to telecom speed tracker Ookla, Starlink’s broadband internet speeds continue to exceed those of rival satellite broadband internet providers Viasat and HughesNet.

                             Given that satellite internet is almost the only option for those in rural or underserved regions with little or no fixed broadband connectivity, the Q2 2021 Speedtest® findings from HughesNet, Starlink, and Viasat were positive. HughesNet came in second, with 19.73 Mbps (15.07 Mbps in Q1 2021), while Viasat came in third, with 18.13 Mbps (17.67 Mbps in Q1 2021). None of them are as fast as the 115.22 Mbps median download speed for all fixed broadband providers in the United States in Q2 2021, but they are better than digging a twenty-mile (or more) trench to connect to local infrastructure.

                             In addition, during Q2 2021, Starlink was the only satellite internet provider in the US with fixed-broadband-like latency numbers and median download rates high enough to fulfil most of the requirements of modern online life at 97.23 Mbps (up from 65.72 Mbps in Q1 2021).

Starlink vs. Broadband Wireline Networks:

                             In the upstream route, there is just a little difference between Starlink and broadband wired networks. According to Ookla, Starlink’s median upload speed in Q1 2021 was 13.89 Mbit/s, compared to 17.18 Mbit/s for fixed landline broadband networks in the United States. Viasat and HughesNet, on the other hand, lagged with median upload rates of 3.38 and 2.43 Mbit/s, respectively.

The problem is that the more people that use it in one place, the slower it becomes:

                             The hitch is that the bandwidth is at its peak when you are the only person in the footprint who is using it. It’s a classic case of the “early adopter.” The more people that sign up for service in your area and receive a beam from the LEO system at the same time and in the same place as you, the more the beam must be split up into smaller pieces to be shared around. This is known as’multiplexing,’ and the only fair consequence is nearly equal shares in the end. So, if you have 100mbit throughput now, it will most likely drop to 50mbit by the time five of your neighbours join the network. It could yet reach 100, but it could possibly be only 25. It’s all right.

Advantages of starlink :

• Even if you’re not happy with the service, Starlink will refund your hardware in full if you contact them inside the first 30 days. Because to the low orbit and large number of satellites, the satellite network has considerably less delay than predicted.
• Almost all rural regions have costly, sluggish, and unreliable internet. Maine, Vermont, Alaska, South Dakota, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, and other states in the United States have average download speeds of less than 25 Mbps. With the rise of the work-from-home lifestyle, Starlink’s satellite internet will provide these locations with quicker internet at lower costs.
• Privacy , There will be a more open media environment since IP cannot be identified and states cannot readily get IP data through Starlink’s Satellite internet.

Disadvantages of the Starlink:

• Not portable,

Starlink is not as portable as standard cellphone internet. We can carry our cell phones wherever and access the internet, but the Starlink dish is clearly not portable. Although the dish may be mounted on an RV or a boat, it is not small enough to be carried easily.

• Slower internet in cities,

 Another significant drawback of Starlink over cable internet is that it has a set number of satellites over a certain place at any one moment, and all customers in that location share the same bandwidth. As a result, in cities, as opposed to rural regions, the same bandwidth will be shared by more individuals. As a result, Starlink’s speed in cities will be slower than in suburbs.