Might buy a house where no cable/fiber internet is available. Will Starlink be good enough for me?

[n0t4l0ne]

I want to make an offer on a house I viewed. It is in a semi-rural area about an hour north of Detroit, Michigan. There is no cable or fiber internet available there. My options are limited to standard satellite internet (Hughes/Viasat), 5G internet and Starlink (either Starlink Business or Starlink RV, at least until residential becomes available).

I am a data engineer and I work remote. I require my internet to be capable of handling daily video conferencing, music and video streaming, and occasional gaming. I cannot have my audio/video cutting out all the time during video conferencing while I'm at work. I'm thinking if I buy this house, my best option would be to use Starlink RV alongside 5G internet, using a peplink to allow for hot failover from the starlink to the 5G. The 5G plan I'm able to get will allow for an average of 30-80 download, 30-40 upload with uncapped data usage.  It's $329/month for the 5G on top of the $135/month for Starlink RV, so I'd be paying a total of $464/month for internet. Expensive, but if that's the price I have to pay for quality internet, then so be it.

What I'm wondering is whether this will be feasible with the requirements I described above. Is it a good idea to buy this house and move to a place where this is my only chance for reliable internet? If it proves not to be reliable, I could lose my job. I would be forced to move out. So I want to make sure this will work before I make a grave mistake.

[StuR]

Having used Starlink now for a number of months I can tell you that you can't always count on it. The download and upload speeds vary widely. The have now added a data cap of 1TB/month. And you'll experience rain fade signal loss during heavy storms.

If you can survive these limitations then I'd say good for it.

Stuart. 

[RicochetStarlink]

@n0t4l0ne,

While I am a fan of Starlink, I can corroborate @StuR's comments above. There will be times of no connectivity, minuscule download speeds, and signal fade/loss.

Now, I work from home as a software engineer in the cybersecurity industry. The 1TB/month data cap will be an issue for me some months. Most days, I participate in Zoom meetings and Slack Huddles with no issues. Download speeds can vary wildly from one moment to the next, but generally I get a consistent 20-30MBps download and 8-20Mbps upload.

And Starlink is the best option I've got here...

Of course, YMMV. I am in central New Mexico. Northern Michigan may be a different story entirely.

Edited February 1, 2023 by RIcochet
Reference to availability missing

[David Johnson]

Hello.  I just purchased a house up in Connecticut in an area with a good Starlink signal.  I am debating if I should go with the standard local internet provider (Xfinity) that is providing speeds up to 1200Mbps or go with the Residential Starlink.  We will have three or four security cameras (can be hardwired), four wi-fi tv's (only one will be used frequently, two teenagers with computers and one parent that works remote and requires a strong signal when home.  Do you think the Starlink will be sufficient and also reliable at all times?  Any advice is greatly appreciated. 

 

-David

[RicochetStarlink]

@David Johnson,

With the number of devices that will be connected, especially the parent that "works remote and requires a strong signal when home", if you have access to Xfinity at 1200Mbps, that seems like an easy answer to me.

Starlink Residential is up to 150Mbps. Xfinity looks to be 8X faster. Starlink is $90-120 month; Xfinity can't be much more than that. Also, Starlink Residential will cost your about $600-700 up front for equipment; I've no idea how much Xfinity charges, but I'll bet it's far less.

All of this assumes that you can even get Starlink Residential at your location. In many parts of the US, including here in central New Mexico, Starlink's network is near it's capacity (i.e., "oversold")". In these areas, Starlink is only offering Starlink Best Effort service. If I am not mistaken, both the up front equipment cost and the monthly charges for Starlink Best Effort service are the same as Starlink Residential, but the service expectations are far less.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Starlink fan. However, I live in a remote area where there really are no other viable options. I, too, work from home 5-7 days a week for 8-10 hours/day. I am a Software Engineer in the technology sector and I need a LOT of bandwidth -- on the order of 1TB/month -- and it's only me and my wife, who works outside the home.

If I lived in an area where there was an ISP offering cable or fiber, I would switch -- with no regrets. As it turns out, I am moving 1200 miles across the country to yet another rural area that has no other options for high-speed Internet. I'll be packing up my Starlink kit and moving it with everything else.

Hope that helps!

[David Johnson]

Thank you Ricochet.  You have confirmed my suspicions.  XFinity 1200Mbps is only $90 per month and that includes the equipment (repeaters, etc...) for a two story house.  It seems like a pretty easy decision for now.  I'll check back in on the Starlink option in a year or two. 

 

-David

[RicochetStarlink]

@David Johnson,

You are most welcome. Who knows how this new technology will evolve in the future? Truthfully, though, I think it's likely that wired connections (cable, fiber, etc.) will always surpass wireless connections (WISP, satellite, etc.) in price/performance.

Thanks!