2024-03-28 16:54:25
Starlink brings internet to even the most remote areas of the world. But how fast is the satellite network anyway?
When you look into the night sky, they can sometimes be seen as glowing, fast-moving dots: the Starlink satellites from Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. Thousands of these missiles orbit the Earth in low orbits, forming a network that enables Internet connections anywhere in the world.
How does Starlink work?
Unlike traditional geostationary satellites located in higher Earth orbits, Starlink enables faster signal transmission with low latency. Latency is how long it takes for data packets to travel from a computer to a web server and back again.
Starlink speed
The speed of the Internet connection via Starlink may vary depending on geographical location and network load. The location of the receiving stations plays a role, as does the satellite constellation above the user’s location.
According to SpaceX, the Starlink network transfer speed is between 25 Mbps (megabits per second) and 220 Mbps when downloading data. On average, users achieve over 100 Mbps.
According to SpaceX, users should achieve between 5 and 20 Mbps when uploading data to the Internet. The latency is between 25 and 60 milliseconds (ms) on land and over 100 ms in some remote areas such as Alaska or on oceans. The lower the latency, the less delay there is in transmitting data.
Where do I get Starlink internet?
SpaceX sells the starter set with the receiving device – the so-called terminal – and a subscription on its website. The standard subscription for private individuals costs 50 euros per month. The hardware costs a one-time fee of 225 euros. According to Starlink, internet coverage in Germany is almost 100 percent.