Could Starlink Displace Business-Class Fixed-Line Broadband?
Thursday, November 25, 2021 | Chimniii Desk
Key Highlights
- The satellite constellation will give global internet connectivity via a satellite dish.
- Starlink to focus on 10 rural Lok Sabha constituencies for broadband connectivity - The Economic Times We would argue that Starlink is 'a' solution for rural enterprises, not 'the' solution.
- The monthly cost of fixed-line corporate broadband varies significantly.
- Is it possible to lower the cost of a leased line? Leased lines are a costly choice for enterprises, but they are frequently the only way to obtain greater speeds.
- By sharing a leased line with other businesses, you can lower the cost of the line.
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Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet project is being facilitated by his tremendously successful SpaceX enterprise. It is a collection of satellites, or'satellite constellation,' as SpaceX refers to them, that when completed will provide global internet access.
Which begs the following question: Will Starlink eventually supplant fixed-line business broadband?
What exactly is Starlink?
Starlink's mission is admirable: to bring internet access to everyone, everywhere.
The satellite constellation will give global internet connectivity via a satellite dish. Thus, regardless of your location or fixed-line speed, you will soon have another option.
The endeavour is a component of SpaceX, Elon Musk's commercial response to NASA. The company is steadily launching satellites into space to construct their constellation, which currently has a significant amount of coverage in orbit.
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Broadband data transfer rates
Given the critical nature of broadband, how will Starlink fare against fixed-line connections?
According to the Starlink website, download speeds would range between '100 and 200 megabits per second' and upload speeds will be 'approximately 40 megabits per second'.
When compared to the global average of 56.09Mbps download and 23.56Mbps upload, the difference is pretty significant.
Latency in broadband
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Starlink must overcome a number of obstacles, one of which being latency, or ping time. This is the time difference between your router and the destination.
The greater the delay, the longer you must wait between clicking a button or performing an action and seeing the result on the screen.
Satellite broadband has historically suffered with latency, owing to the enormous distances involved.
The greater the distance travelled by internet traffic, the greater the delay. While light travels at a finite speed, there is an inherent delay in transmitting data from your computer to the satellite, through the constellation to a ground station, and finally to the website or app.
Starlink claims to have a 'latency as low as 20ms in most places,' a major improvement over regular satellite broadband.
It accomplishes this by placing satellites in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO), whereas the majority of other broadband satellites orbit much further away. However, the disadvantage of this strategy is that more satellites are required to cover the same region, which is why Starlink must rely on massive constellations of satellites.
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Will the Starlink connection be the panacea for rural businesses?
We would argue that Starlink is 'a' solution for rural enterprises, not 'the' solution.
The majority of countries are constantly improving their broadband networks, but this takes time and money.
That time and money are naturally spent first in towns and cities, where suppliers can rapidly start recouping their investment. Rural areas typically arrive considerably later.
Starlink eliminates a portion of such delay.
Rural enterprises are critical to an economy's health but generate low returns on investment. That is something Starlink has the potential to actually alter.
Around 2% of rural businesses in the UK currently have broadband speeds of less than 10Mbps, with no prospect of this changing anytime soon.
Starlink gives tenfold that and will be available shortly.
How does the UK's fibre coverage compare to that of other countries?
The UK now has a 24 percent coverage of full fibre but lags behind a number of other countries.
Portugal has achieved 77 percent full fibre penetration, whereas Spain has committed to achieving 100 percent ultrafast internet access by 2025. The US now has a coverage rate of 43%, whereas Germany has a coverage rate of roughly 11%.
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What options are available for rural enterprises in terms of fixed-line connections?
Fixed-line broadband choices are scarce. Depending on where you live in the world. While Broadband Genie can help you evaluate fibre broadband deals, if none are available, you can always go for a private leased line, community fibre project, community WiFi project, or local fibre cooperative.
Private leased lines are extremely fast but extremely costly. Community projects are uncommon, and fibre cooperatives or neighbourhood fibre networks are extremely rarer.
This is an area where Starlink has the potential to meet a genuine need.
How do the costs stack up?
Along with speed, any broadband customer's key concern is cost. So how do fixed-line and Starlink do against one another?
Costs of setup
Numerous fixed-line household and corporate broadband contracts include no installation fees. The provider's costs are factored into the monthly charge to make it more palatable.
While business options such as leased lines may require additional setup expenses, they are being phased out for the same reasons.
Starlink does not publicise its setup or operating fees, but if you pre-order, you'll notice that the $600 (£439/€522) amount is frequently referenced. This includes the satellite dish, the WiFi router, the wiring, and the base. That's a quite significant sum in comparison to the relatively low cost of various other forms of broadband.
Costs per month
The monthly charge is the primary fee that we all see when comparing broadband services.
The monthly cost of fixed-line corporate broadband varies significantly. It may cost as low as £20 (€23/$26) for 50Mbps (UK pricing) or significantly more.
Leased lines start at £195 per month (BTnet Express), which equates to $262 or €232 per month.
Starlink is not advertising monthly fees at the moment, however the pre-order page indicates that it will cost approximately £89/€105/$119 each month.
Whether or not that charge will include data limitations is unknown. We believe it will, at least initially.
These are unconfirmed prices and may be lower in poorer countries. It's difficult to tell for certain until the corporation makes a public announcement regarding pricing.
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Is it possible to lower the cost of a leased line?
Leased lines are a costly choice for enterprises, but they are frequently the only way to obtain greater speeds. While many carriers are gradually eliminating installation fees, the monthly rate might be substantial.
By sharing a leased line with other businesses, you can lower the cost of the line. For instance, if you share a building with others, you could share a single leased line.
This would give the desired speed while spreading the cost over as many companies as possible.
Is Starlink broadband available for my business?
Because Starlink is not yet available everywhere, you may be unable to obtain it for your business.
The implementation is expected to begin soon, with a limited launch in the United States scheduled for Q4 2021. This is a limited rollout that will affect around 100,000 customers.
The response has been so positive that there are currently over 500,000 persons on the waiting list. As a result, Starlink has delayed open enrollment until mid-2022 or 2023.
A cursory check of the pre-order page for the United Kingdom indicates a release date of'mid-2022.'
Coverage and Access
Coverage is expanding as SpaceX launches additional satellites, but it is intermittent at the moment.
The company says the rollout has been slowed slightly by persistent global semiconductor shortages, but it is proceeding as quickly as possible.
Placing random addresses into the pre-order website results in the 2022 or 2023 dates, but others, primarily in the United States, result in the message 'Starlink is currently at capacity in your location, and your order may not be completed until 2023 or later.'
Your best bet is to enter your own location in the 'Service Address' field at the top of the Starlink website to determine when the service will be available in your area.
Business broadband via Starlink and fixed-line
Starlink will undoubtedly become a viable alternative to fixed line or mobile internet in the future, but not now.
Due to the project's enormous scope, semiconductor shortages, and large demand, you're likely to have to wait a while.
However, if you live in a remote place or a region with slow broadband, you're probably accustomed to waiting for stuff, correct?
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