Starlink Roaming (Internet Service)

I don't know how many here might be interested in Starlink internet service but thought I would at least throw it out there since I know that there are some who have mentioned gaming on breaks and perhaps others have need for high speed internet service that they presently aren't getting.

I rely on internet service for a large portion of my farm/nursery sales and had been stuck with Viasat (high orbit internet similar to Hughes) and a 4G hotspot (worked better for me than Viasat but I kept both since I need a back-up). SpaceX has been launching their Starlink satellites at a pretty fast pace but supposedly still have a waiting list of about 1 million people who have paid a $99 deposit. However, some people get their orders filled pretty quickly if the "home address" location is in a region that is not already crowded with customers. I had signed up for beta testing in August 2020 but never got equipment to try it out and then in early February 2021 paid my $99 deposit and had been told to expect service by the middle to late 2021. Due to supply chain problems, lots of us received emails in November to tell us that there were delays and told us to check our accounts for new estimated dates. I was lucky, mine said February 2022 and I received my equipment in January 2022 and it has worked great for me.

Initially all service was locked to the service address but this is changing. There is a Facebook group for Starlink RV customers who have reported that their system's settings have automatically been changed to "Roaming = Y" and they are now able to get service when they set up camp in a new location far away from their official service address. Starlink plans to eventually eliminate all roaming restrictions and this may be worth looking into for some drivers that have a desire for high speed and low latency internet. I typically get downloand speeds of 150-200 Mbps and latency 60ms (my latency is higher than what most others report but I'm going to try rebooting my system during off-peak hours so that it connects to a ground station 70 miles away instead of one 700 miles away). Newer satellites being launched use lasers to transfer data between satellites so eventually distance from the ground station will be less of a factor or maybe even seldom be a factor.

The service is not ridiculously expensive ($99/month) but equipment costs are high (about $500). No contract.

For what it's worth!

I definitely looked at it and honestly until they can get it settled down to where we can use it mobile I won't buy into it. I did think about using it at home, because we have crappy internet there too though so I am definitely interested in the speeds people are actually getting vs what they are claiming.

If you order Starlink today in many areas, you get the message:

"Order now to reserve your Starlink. Starlink is currently at capacity in your area, so your order may not be fulfilled until 2023 or later."

The fine print (from Starlink's Terms of Service):

4. Service Portability

4.1 Secondary Service Locations. If the portability feature (“Portability”) is available in your region, you may relocate your Kit and access Services at locations outside your registered Service address on your account (“Secondary Location(s)”). Service at Secondary Locations will be best effort and users may see slower speeds during times of network congestion. Starlink does not support in motion or mobility Services. Using the Starlink Kit in motion will void the Limited Warranty of your Kit. Visit https://support.starlink.com/ to verify if Portability is supported in a region.

If you use Starlink on the road you will be deprioritized behind Starlink customers who are using Starlink at their registered service address. Minimum speed guarantees will not apply and you may void your warranty!

The speeds I posted in my original post are pretty typical. Latency in the past couple of days has gone to over 100 ms for some reason in my area and others are reporting similar problems while others have no problem at all.

The Facebook group "Starlink for RVers and other mobile users" reports quite a few folks finding that roaming is working fine for them. This does not mean using while in motion. Starlink has indicated this is is being rolled out and it's hard to tell what areas it may or may not work in unless it is tried.

Long wait times are common while others order and get a kit in a week. Some people will use a service address other than where they plan to use it and get it quickly and then relocate it and it works out fine for them. For most folks, I think it's worth the $99 deposit to get your spot in line. I just waited my turn. If you've got a big budget, you can get a kit sooner and pay $500/month for the premium service that rolls out next quarter! :)

When it does become viable I would wonder what the best solution would be to set the dish up. If you’re on a 34 and have a ladder, you could set it on top of the trailer. Then route a cable in. Since it needs a clear line of site and you don’t want it stolen, I don’t see many other options.

When it does become viable I would wonder what the best solution would be to set the dish up. If you’re on a 34 and have a ladder, you could set it on top of the trailer. Then route a cable in. Since it needs a clear line of site and you don’t want it stolen, I don’t see many other options.

A large drone in a constant hover near the truck?🛰📡

On that Facebook site I mentioned above there is some third party guy that makes adapters for flag pole mounts that folks put on their RVs. I would think maybe a pole that fits in where you would otherwise put in load locks, if you have those.

I'm not a fanboy but sure liked how Musk helped out Ukraine with getting dishes delivered two days after promising to do so. Our farm is about two miles away from town where cable is available but I have no desire to move to town and Starlink had made updating web sites and streaming videos a breeze. I maybe average one 15 second outage a day and rarely notice it.

When it does become viable I would wonder what the best solution would be to set the dish up. If you’re on a 34 and have a ladder, you could set it on top of the trailer. Then route a cable in. Since it needs a clear line of site and you don’t want it stolen, I don’t see many other options.

I don't know how many here might be interested in Starlink internet service but thought I would at least throw it out there since I know that there are some who have mentioned gaming on breaks and perhaps others have need for high speed internet service that they presently aren't getting.

I rely on internet service for a large portion of my farm/nursery sales and had been stuck with Viasat (high orbit internet similar to Hughes) and a 4G hotspot (worked better for me than Viasat but I kept both since I need a back-up). SpaceX has been launching their Starlink satellites at a pretty fast pace but supposedly still have a waiting list of about 1 million people who have paid a $99 deposit. However, some people get their orders filled pretty quickly if the "home address" location is in a region that is not already crowded with customers. I had signed up for beta testing in August 2020 but never got equipment to try it out and then in early February 2021 paid my $99 deposit and had been told to expect service by the middle to late 2021. Due to supply chain problems, lots of us received emails in November to tell us that there were delays and told us to check our accounts for new estimated dates. I was lucky, mine said February 2022 and I received my equipment in January 2022 and it has worked great for me.

Initially all service was locked to the service address but this is changing. There is a Facebook group for Starlink RV customers who have reported that their system's settings have automatically been changed to "Roaming = Y" and they are now able to get service when they set up camp in a new location far away from their official service address. Starlink plans to eventually eliminate all roaming restrictions and this may be worth looking into for some drivers that have a desire for high speed and low latency internet. I typically get downloand speeds of 150-200 Mbps and latency 60ms (my latency is higher than what most others report but I'm going to try rebooting my system during off-peak hours so that it connects to a ground station 70 miles away instead of one 700 miles away). Newer satellites being launched use lasers to transfer data between satellites so eventually distance from the ground station will be less of a factor or maybe even seldom be a factor.

The service is not ridiculously expensive ($99/, a month) but equipment costs are high (about $500). No contract.

For what it's worth!

Keep me in the loop, Harvey. We have crap internet in the boonies in Ohio, but ... the outlay of denero is kinda high for Starlink. I've looked at the Fb site; not much more than you've said. Probably a year (or so) out, improved. (?!?)

Wonder if this'd be something Brett might be interested, in the NY boonies, however.. if he isn't already researching, himself.

I (we) appreciate!

~ Anne ~

When it does become viable I would wonder what the best solution would be to set the dish up. If you’re on a 34 and have a ladder, you could set it on top of the trailer. Then route a cable in. Since it needs a clear line of site and you don’t want it stolen, I don’t see many other options.

A large drone in a constant hover near the truck?🛰📡

There's already one (or 3?) there... so .. what's the dif ?!?!? Hehehehe.....!

~ Anne ~

ps: Hughes Net has something similar here, in Ohio. Not so good. Neighbors have it , and borrow 'our' WiFi (CenturyLink) when it storms, LoL!

pps: Bruce K., aka BK . . . I'M NOT BRETT !! (That was so left field, hahaha!) << [PackRat is!] << J/K!!

I don't know how many here might be interested in Starlink internet service but thought I would at least throw it out there since I know that there are some who have mentioned gaming on breaks and perhaps others have need for high speed internet service that they presently aren't getting.

I rely on internet service for a large portion of my farm/nursery sales and had been stuck with Viasat (high orbit internet similar to Hughes) and a 4G hotspot (worked better for me than Viasat but I kept both since I need a back-up). SpaceX has been launching their Starlink satellites at a pretty fast pace but supposedly still have a waiting list of about 1 million people who have paid a $99 deposit. However, some people get their orders filled pretty quickly if the "home address" location is in a region that is not already crowded with customers. I had signed up for beta testing in August 2020 but never got equipment to try it out and then in early February 2021 paid my $99 deposit and had been told to expect service by the middle to late 2021. Due to supply chain problems, lots of us received emails in November to tell us that there were delays and told us to check our accounts for new estimated dates. I was lucky, mine said February 2022 and I received my equipment in January 2022 and it has worked great for me.

Initially all service was locked to the service address but this is changing. There is a Facebook group for Starlink RV customers who have reported that their system's settings have automatically been changed to "Roaming = Y" and they are now able to get service when they set up camp in a new location far away from their official service address. Starlink plans to eventually eliminate all roaming restrictions and this may be worth looking into for some drivers that have a desire for high speed and low latency internet. I typically get downloand speeds of 150-200 Mbps and latency 60ms (my latency is higher than what most others report but I'm going to try rebooting my system during off-peak hours so that it connects to a ground station 70 miles away instead of one 700 miles away). Newer satellites being launched use lasers to transfer data between satellites so eventually distance from the ground station will be less of a factor or maybe even seldom be a factor.

The service is not ridiculously expensive ($99/, a month) but equipment costs are high (about $500). No contract.

For what it's worth!

Keep me in the loop, Harvey. We have crap internet in the boonies in Ohio, but ... the outlay of denero is kinda high for Starlink. I've looked at the Fb site; not much more than you've said. Probably a year (or so) out, improved. (?!?)

Wonder if this'd be something Brett might be interested, in the NY boonies, however.. if he isn't already researching, himself.

I (we) appreciate!

~ Anne ~

The wait times vary a great deal. A good friend of mine has a farm in upstate NY and after I explained to him my experience he placed his order in January and had his kit about a month later. He will use it largely to install a security system.

I paid Viasat about $125/month for really lousy service and have paid around $85/month for AT&T 4G hot spot service at the same time (used Viasat as primary at one time but then only as back-up since I sometimes cannot got without service during busy sales/shipping seasons. We don't have an satellite TV service and stream shows and movies extremely well with Starlink and it's a bargain for me compared to what I've paid for other services. Yesterday Starlink announced price increases due to high inflation. I don't think the will be like cable companies that continue to jack up prices. Starlink is still spending a lot more money than it's bringing in for SpaceX but that will eventually change.

I don't know how this third party site appears to someone on a computer when not using Starlink but it's pretty cool to see all the satellites moving around me (WILL NOT DISPLAY on a phone, only use on a computer): Starlink