Users around the world, especially in remote areas, who love to explore or want to experience, register for Starlink to connect to the Internet despite the high price.
Starlink is a project of SpaceX, a company founded by Elon Musk in 2002. The system uses a network of thousands of satellites orbiting the Earth in low-Earth orbit (LEO) to transmit signals. Although expensive and not as fast as fiber optic cables, Starlink is effective in helping to bring the Internet to remote, hard-to-reach areas where traditional fiber optic cables cannot be installed or maintain connections during incidents and natural disasters.
In Coconino, Northern Arizona (USA), before 2021, many families had to run around looking for places with wifi for their children to complete their homework or study online. "It's not easy, but if you don't do it, students risk falling behind," said one person. “That’s why when 80 Starlink kits were donated to communities in 2021, families eagerly lined up to bring internet to their homes. Now, many households have the connectivity their children need to learn.”
The Rwandan government also improved the country’s education system by deploying internet to more than 500 schools – a major challenge due to traditional internet infrastructure that involves expensive and difficult-to-install fiber optic cables in remote areas. The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a non-profit founded by the former British prime minister, saw Starlink as the solution and donated 50 kits to serve Rwanda’s goals. Similarly, schools in Haiti received eight Starlink kits and 400 Chromebooks for learning, donated by the Renand charity.
In July 2021, western Germany suffered a major natural disaster when record floods devastated Ahrweiler, Euskirchen, Eschweiler, Stolberg and Erftstadt. About 1,300 people were reported missing. But after local crisis management teams received 100 sets of satellite internet equipment donated by SpaceX and Tesla, communications were restored and the number of missing people dropped to less than 200, according to the Guardian.
Not only through organizations, Starlink is also gradually becoming popular with individual users.
Kozue Tobo, a furniture craftsman, moved to Oguni town in Aso district, Kumamoto prefecture, Japan four years ago to live and work in the middle of a forest to find inspiration for her work. With Starlink, Kozue can connect with relatives and customers. Meanwhile, Florence Komen lives on a coffee farm in the Iten mountains (Kenya) at an altitude of more than 2,400 meters. This is also a training ground for many runners, both amateur and professional. Therefore, she and her husband run a small resort, which attracts tourists and athletes who want to enjoy the fresh air and practice long-distance running.
"This is a place where traditional fiber optic Internet is hard to come by, so Starlink is the only solution for us to stay in touch with our guests, as well as provide educational opportunities for our children and entertainment," Komen said in a post to Starlink Stories - Starlink's website that specializes in posting user experiences of the service.
Explorers are also taking advantage of Starlink satellite Internet to explore new lands. With devices seamlessly connected to the Internet, they can record volcanic eruptions in Iceland or fly high above the Dolomite Mountains in Italy - places that are difficult for humans to set foot on.
Starlink is also used in war, where traditional network infrastructure is often destroyed, such as in Ukraine. Present since the beginning of 2022, 12,000 Starlink terminals have been sent to replace damaged signal transmission systems. The presence of Starlink is considered especially important when it helps unmanned systems, such as drones, operate well.
In Southeast Asia, countries using Starlink satellite Internet services include the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and East Timor, while in Singapore it only serves businesses. Of these, Indonesia is considered to benefit the most due to the characteristics of the "thousands of islands" country, which makes it difficult to deploy regular Internet services. According to East Asia Forum, Starlink has collaborated with the Indonesian Ministry of Health to deploy remote medical services, online patient consultation and monitoring, as well as providing access to specialized care for people living in remote areas. At the same time, it also allows for faster digital data entry when vaccinating, screening for non-communicable diseases and monitoring children's health.
According to Starlink's data, the company's satellite Internet service is currently available in more than 125 countries and territories. The number of users worldwide has increased to more than 5 million as of the end of February and the company is continuing to expand the market.
Starlink was also brought back to Vietnam for testing during the innovation event in October 2023. At that time, the test speed in the Hoa Lac area (Hanoi) was about 200 Mbps.
How Starlink Works:
SpaceX says it has launched more than 7,000 satellites and plans to launch 12,000 more this year. The Starlink service is not cheap. SpaceX currently offers four plans, divided into fixed and mobile, including the Standard plan for $120/month, download speeds of 25-100 Mbps, upload speeds of 5-20 Mbps; the Priority plan for $140-500/month, download speeds of 40-200 Mbps, upload speeds of 8-25 Mbps; the Mobile plan for $50-165/month, download speeds of 5-50 Mbps, upload speeds of 5-25 Mbps; and the most expensive Mobile Priority plan for $250-5,000/month, download speeds of 40-220 Mbps, upload speeds of 8-25 Mbps. The price does not include the cost of the device, which starts at $349. Unlike other companies like Hughesnet and Viasat, which charge installation fees (starting at $100), Starlink offers it for free. Late last year, SpaceX also launched the Starlink Mini package for $599 with monthly plans ranging from $50 to $165. The device fits in a backpack, and comes with a 30-day contract-free trial. Starlink also guarantees high-speed data even when traveling at speeds over 100 miles per hour.
Starlink plans include “unlimited data,” but will also include “priority data.” For example, the Priority option comes with 40GB, 1TB, or 2TB of “priority data,” which offers faster speeds and less congestion. But when that data runs out, users will have to revert to the Standard plan’s speeds.
In addition, users may still experience bandwidth throttling during peak hours. Elon Musk's company even applies "congestion fees," typically starting at $100, to some areas with higher demand than others.
Starlink is currently the only satellite internet provider that can reach speeds of up to 220 Mbps. However, this is the ideal number. In reality, the average speed is lower. The most recent data from Ookla in 2023 shows that Starlink users in the US experienced download and upload speeds of 65 and 10 Mbps, respectively. Starlink's service also falls short of the FCC's broadband standards, which define broadband as 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload.
However, according to Cnet, although there are no specific statistics for 2024 and early 2025, bandwidth speeds are currently improving. Last year, Musk also wrote on X that Ookla's numbers were "completely wrong" and that "Starlink has already surpassed that speed," but he did not specify. Although expensive and slower than traditional internet such as fiber optic or cellular networks, Starlink is still chosen by many places around the world to connect remote areas, islands, and war zones.