Starlink is a satellite technology being pioneered by SpaceX and it has been one very interesting technology. It provides satellite-based internet in a similar fashion to what we are used to with VSAT but with much higher throughput speeds than traditional VSAT. It has almost fiber-like internet speeds over satellite.
“Starlink users typically see download speeds between 25 and 220 Mbps, with most users seeing speeds over 100 Mbps, and upload speeds between 5 and 20 Mbps.”
Starlink
Real-world Starlink speeds
Several tests that have been done on the technology have seen Starlink being the VSAT provider with the fastest internet speeds. In the Americas, Starlink’s download speeds are at least twice as fast as the competition. When compared to fixed internet providers (All providers combined) fixed internet solutions in North America are still comfortably ahead on upload and download speeds as well as having the lowest latency.
“Speedtest Intelligence data shows new Starlink data in three countries during Q1 2023, including Nigeria, Peru, and the Philippines, where Starlink is still a nascent provider with limited market share. Median download speeds for new Starlink countries were: 110.78 Mbps in the Philippines, 77.17 Mbps in Peru, and 61.75 Mbps in Nigeria during Q1 2023. “
Ookla.com
Zooming out to get a global perspective, the median download and upload speeds stand at 82.56Mbps and 36.80Mbps respectively. Starlink is able to match the global download speeds and even exceed them in a number of instances however upload speeds and latency are still found wanting. For real-time applications that require very low latency for the best results or scenarios where very large files need to be backed up to the cloud, fiber is still the better-performing technology.
Day-to-day activities do not need bandwidth that high
The top 10 most visited websites globally according to Similar Web are websites with very low bandwidth requirements. These are the minimum internet speed requirements for the top 10 most visited websites globally.
| Website | Recommended internet speed |
| google.com | 4Mbps |
| youtube.com | 15Mbps |
| facebook.com | 15Mbps |
| instagram.com | 10Mbps |
| twitter.com | 5Mbps |
| baidu.com | 5Mbps |
| wikipedia.org | 3Mbps |
| yahoo.com | 5Mbps |
| yandex.ru | 5Mbps |
| whatsapp.com | 5Mbps |
From this data, it can be observed that a connection speed of 15Mbps is sufficient for general internet browsing, social media, and video streaming. It is edge cases where large file downloads and uploads need to be made that higher bandwidth will be appreciated. It is always preferred to have internet speeds that are as fast as possible however the demands of the top 10 most used platforms show that 15Mbps is good enough speed for a single user.
Existing fiber internet customers do not need Starlink
Metropolitan fiber speeds are still edging out Starlink’s speeds. For this reason, the incentive for the metropolitan population to switch to Starlink is not present. The potential customer for Starlink is a fiber subscriber on uncapped packages. Taking South Africa as a case study, Metro Fiber, a local fiber operator offers packages that include 250Mbps speeds for both download and upload for R799 p/m (US$42). The cost of setting up such a service is R575 (US$30). This fiber package performs better than Starlink whilst costing less to set up (US$30 vs. US$500) and has cheaper monthly fees (US$42 vs. US$50 for Africa). Outside of Africa, Starlink’s monthly fees range from US$100 to US$150 for the residential package and up to US$300 for business packages and priority access.
Starlink’s biggest promise is providing an internet experience similar to fiber for existing VSAT subscribers. The current crop of VSAT providers making use of GEO (mid to high earth-orbiting geostationary satellites) are not offering very high download and upload speeds. Taking Zimbabwe as an example, a majority of VSAT is peaking at 25Mbps downlink with prices ranging from US$120 all the way to US$500 per month. In such a space, Starlink is a more viable alternative to existing VSAT providers. It is also a viable alternative for unlimited fixed internet subscribers who are paying more per month for internet access that is either unreliable or a worse performer than what Starlink offers.
