Starlink works. After a month of using the satellite-based broadband system, I can almost say it was worth the 20-month wait. Almost.
It will take time to get over the fact that despite being an early subscriber, neighbors around me signed up and got their equipment in a few weeks or even days.
A Quantum Leap
At the risk of sounding like an endorsement, for those truly rural (which I define as over 20 miles to a McDonald’s or Walmart), the ability to have something better than not-quite-enough-to-stream-television finally allows us to experience what is commonplace for most Am’'ericans.
Many of you might want hard numbers, but I’ve stopped checking speed tests obsessively. Readings are erratic to the point of humorous.
But, the performance on our computers and television is a quantum leap forward from the barely adequate internet we have endured and the fiber optic that will never pass our door.
We have experienced no buffering delays. We can download video in minutes not hours. Even graphic-heavy web pages open quickly. My uploading speeds have been unimpressive, but sufficient.
Installation is as close to foolproof as possible, unless you mount on a roof, at which point the working-at-a-height syndrome slowed me down.
With a smartphone and app, you can be up and running in minutes, but you might want to fiddle with your router’s location.
Three significant downsides exist:
1. Cost
Equipment is $600, not including a roof mount ($50), and monthly fees just bumped up to $110.
2. Latency (the time for a signal to roundtrip).
I’m not sure serious gamers will find Starlink adequate, although more satellites constantly improve performance.
3. Elon Musk
As much as I appreciate his genius, I am really tired of him (even as I send him my money).
Life-Enhancing Value
While streaming sports and movies will rule media attention, it overlooks deeper values of good broadband.
My neighbors have a son who helps care for them, enduring a 120-mile round trip each visit. His job as a senior programmer is now fully remote thanks to COVID-19, but until Starlink he could not work at his parents’ home.
Starlink eased an ever more common burden. Workable connection to the information universe adds life-enhancing value to rural residents far beyond entertainment.
The Connected Future
I knew when I watched a SpaceX rocket land on a barge and then woke at dawn to look for a satellite string last year, this was a future for which I had been hoping.
Starlink might be a fit for any user, but deep in the boonies it’s a near miracle.
More on rural connectivity:
Rep. G.T. Thompson Lists His 3 Farm Bill Objectives
Research in Ag-Tech Top-Of-Mind in Farm Bill Hearing
