Does the name “Elon Musk” ring a bell to you? How about Tesla, SpaceX, or Starlink? Elon Musk is 2021’s richest man on earth. He was the founder of X.com which later became PayPal. He also founded Tesla, an American manufacturer of clean energy, electric vehicles, and solar energy. In 2002, Elon Musk started SpaceX or Space Exploration Technologies Corp. It is an American manufacturer of aerospace and space transportation services. In 2008, NASA awarded SpaceX the contract to handle the transport of cargo on its International Space Station. In May 2012, the company launched a rocket that made headlines all over the world. Elon Musk plans the rocket to launch the first commercial vehicle in space.
SpaceX’s internet proposal was announced in 2015. The proposal plans to put 4,000 satellites in low orbit to regulate internet connection. Soon, the number grew to 12,000 satellites. This satellite network was named Starlink. Starlink’s first 2 test satellites, TinTin A and TinTin B were launched in 2018. In 2019, 60 Starlink satellites were placed in space aboard the Falcon 9 rocket. These satellites are equipped with broadband relay nodes. As of January 2021, there are 1,035 Starlink satellites launched in Space. Starlink started the beta test of its broadband internet service in August 2020. It was publicly tested by October 2020. As of February 2021, the company opened pre-order broadband services to the public. With new internet technology, is Starlink Better than NBN broadband?
How Does Starlink Satellite Broadband Work?
Each Starlink satellite has an internet relay node. A satellite will communicate with 4 others to beam internet signal via laser from the vacuum in space towards the earth. These laser signals don’t need electric cable to provide internet broadband. They also travel 47% faster than fibre-optic cables. Starlink’s satellite can carry a large amount of data rapidly at any point of the earth – even hard-to-reach places where optic cables can be very expensive to lay down. The pre-order Starlink broadband plan is priced at $99.00 per month with an estimated equipment price of $499.00. Its estimated internet speed is around 50 to 150 Mbps. What’s good about Starlink’s offer is its high-speed, low latency internet plan. This means that there is less delay for the signal to ping resulting in a better internet speed.
Starlink Versus NBN Broadband
Availability
NBN broadband is available to a majority of locations on the mainland. Since NBN Co has completed the fibre-optic infrastructure in 2020, there are around 1.5 million households connected via full-fibre with 6.5 million households connected via multi-technology mix. To be able to use Starlink broadband, you will need a clear line of sight to the sky. So, even though the satellites can reach even far-flung places in Australia, it may not be advisable for apartment blocks and renters. There’s also no guarantee yet that the service will be available on the mainland.
Installation Cost
Most Australian BN broadband plans come with a free installation fee. This is because it’s part of the government’s NBN infrastructure. There may be a cost for a modem or router but it sits around $100 on average. The purchase of a satellite installation kit for Starlink will cost around $709 plus a shipping cost of $100.This means that it has a higher installation cost than NBN broadband plans.
Plans
Most NBN broadband plans offer unlimited data at a reasonable price. Starlink’s satellite broadband plans may have data caps at a higher monthly price. This is because only a limited number of satellites can power Starlink’s internet. To service all subscribers, they may need to limit data usage for each subscriber.
In general, NBN broadband plans are still better than Starlink satellite broadband. Since the new technology is just starting, it still has to prove itself. With a limited number of beta users, it will still be hard to prove that the technology is way ahead of NBN Co infrastructure.
