How much faster Starlink become during the previous year is demonstrated by a new analysis.
Friday, July 1, 2022 | Chimniii Desk
In recent months, Starlink has received both praise and criticism for its assistance to Ukrainian civilians and for potentially endangering humanity by complicating astronomical work.
There is no doubting the impressive experience it offers; a user recently told IE that it enabled him to live an enviable off-grid lifestyle with 300 watts of solar power.
A recent review of Starlink internet's speed performance by Seattle-based internet performance testing company Ookla demonstrates significant improvements in the service over the previous year.
This is encouraging for Starlink users, but SpaceX recently asked them to challenge Dish Network's plan to use the 12 GHz frequency for terrestrial 5G, warning that it would render Starlink inaccessible to many Americans.
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Starlink in the U.S. and Canada
Ookla also published a speed analysis of Starlink last year, and its Q1 2022 analysis of speeds in Europe, Oceania, North America, and South America now offers a new update. Compared to previous year, the new research includes results from 10 more nations. Starlink is now accessible in 32 nations, and SpaceX recently stated that it will soon be available in many more.
The report also looks at how internet performance has changed in the U.S. and Canada over the past 12 months. It reveals that median download speeds grew by 38 percent in the U.S. and by nearly 58 percent in Canada respectively, from 65.72 Mbps in Q1 2021 to 90.55 Mbps.
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Source :Ookla
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On the other hand, Starlink's upload speeds fell by nearly 33% in the United States (from 16.29 Mbps in Q1 2021 to 9.33 Mbps in Q1 2022) and by at least 36% in Canada (from 16.69 Mbps to 10.70 Mbps). In both nations, the median latency rose by a comparatively insignificant 4 ms.
In several continents, Starlink offers the fastest satellite internet.
According to Ookla's investigation, Starlink in Mexico offered the region's fastest satellite internet service in Q1 2022, with a median download speed of 105.91 Mbps. Starlink in the US and Canada (97.40 Mbps) came in second place (90.55 Mbps).
Average fixed broadband download speeds in Mexico are 40.07 Mbps, which is significantly lower than Starlink's national average. However, fixed broadband is faster than Starlink in the US and Canada, with average speeds of 144.22 Mbps and 106.86 Mbps, respectively.
With a median download speed of 110.49 Mbps throughout Q1 2022, Starlink in Chile offered the fastest satellite internet service in South America. With a median download speed of 206.97 Mbps, Chile is the second-fastest fixed broadband internet in the world. Singapore has 209.21 Mbps fixed broadband internet, which was the fastest in the world.
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The fastest satellite internet service in Europe during the first quarter of 2022 was supplied by Starlink in Lithuania, with a speed of 160.08 Mbps. In fact, according to Ookla's data, every European nation where SpaceX's internet service is commercially offered attained a median download speed of 100+ Mbps.
Spain was the only nation where fixed broadband outperformed Starlink for fastest median download speed, with a speed of 131.99 Mbps as opposed to 108.43 Mbps for Starlink in the nation. In general, Europe's fixed broadband for satellite internet lagged behind in terms of upload speeds and latency.
The fastest satellite internet service in Oceania was offered by Starlink in Australia, which also had median download rates that were faster than fixed broadband in both those countries. The median download speed for Starlink in Australia was 124.31 Mbps, which was significantly higher than the fixed broadband download speed of 50.87 Mbps for Q1 2022. The median download speed for Starlink in New Zealand was 118.70 Mbps, while the fixed broadband speed was 116.83 Mbps.
Many people who may not have previously had access to high-speed internet are now receiving an excellent new service from Starlink. Amazon, which recently signed a sizable launch contract for its own Project Kuiper satellite internet constellation, will soon be a competitor.
With all of that competition, high-speed internet will only grow more widely available and less expensive, albeit the mega-constellations that make it possible may also cause significant issues for the scientific community.
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