Recent Ookla data measuring the performance of Starlink's low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband network shows the prudence of the FCC's swift approval of LEO constellations. SpaceX's Starlink, the only operational satellite broadband network in LEO providing home broadband, posted industry-leading speeds and latency for Q3 2021. Most notably, Starlink's speeds and especially its latency are generally comparable to that of many fixed broadband networks, showing that, once sufficient LEO satellites are deployed, LEO constellations, realistically, can provide high quality connectivity to rural and hard-to-serve areas where building physical networks is cost-prohibitive.
Starlink posted 87.25 Mbps / 13.54
Mbps median broadband speeds with a median latency of 44 ms, far outpacing
competitors HughesNet and Viasat, which operate broadband networks at higher
orbital altitudes than LEO. Starlink's speeds are over 4.5 times faster than
HughesNet (19.30 Mbps/ 2.54 Mbps) and Viasat (18.75 Mbps/ 2.96 Mbps) for both
download and upload. And while fixed networks have superior speeds, Starlink
comes far closer to the median fixed network speeds of 119.84 Mbps / 13.54 Mbps
than its higher orbit competitors, which offer speeds that are roughly a fifth
or sixth of median fixed network speeds.
But latency is where Starlink especially stands out. Starlink's median latency, 44 ms, is about 15 times smaller than the median latencies of its satellite competitors, and only 2.9 times larger than the median latency for fixed networks. High latency – meaning signal delay – has long characterized satellite networks, and this makes them less attractive options than terrestrial and wireless broadband. Broadband with high latency makes certain applications that depend on split-second connections like video games, voice and video calling, and livestreaming less usable and reliable. As Commissioner Brendan Carr noted in a 2018 statement approving part of Starlink's constellation, "[LEO satellites] promise lower latency connections because they typically orbit only a few hundred miles above Earth, as opposed to many thousands." Starlink's network is delivering on that promise at an early stage.
Starlink's high speeds and low latency are important because satellites generally provide global coverage, which makes Starlink a serious contender for providing affordable, high-quality service in rural and other hard-to-serve areas. Users simply need to install a dish on their home to receive satellite broadband, avoiding the expensive and often cost-prohibitive infrastructure buildouts needed to reach rural and other hard-to-serve areas. This is precisely the consumer demographic Starlink targets with its marketing. Its website states: "Starlink is ideally suited for areas where connectivity has been unreliable or completely unavailable." So far, Starlink has 145,000 customers, a figure that's quickly grown from the 90,000 it reported in July 2021.
Ookla does note that Starlink's service performance varies by region in the United States, ranging from about 45 Mbps download in some areas to 145 Mbps download in others. But as Starlink continues to launch satellites, its coverage and network capacity will improve. Starlink has FCC approval to deploy 12,000 satellites, but so far it only has roughly 2,000 in orbit. SpaceX has already launched more Starlink satellites this month.
Even though Starlink hasn't deployed its full constellation, its broadband performance is already stronger than median fixed speeds in multiple developed countries. Starlink's median speeds for Q3 2021 in Australia, Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom outperformed median speeds for fixed networks in those countries. This is largely because fixed broadband is much slower in those places than it is in United States, according to Ookla's measurements.
Starlink, the first operational LEO constellation, first applied for FCC approval in 2016. Nothing guaranteed a swift approval, and the Commission could have chosen to wait longer before approving the application. Such delay often denies lifechanging technologies to Americans. Thankfully, the Commission approved LEO constellations for Starlink and potential competitors Amazon, OneWeb, Boeing, and others, including some that already have exited the market.
Free State Foundation Director of Policy Studies Seth Cooper supported Starlink's approval back in 2018. I previously highlighted a planned backhaul deal between Amazon and Verizon that will start once Amazon's LEO constellation reaches orbit in the next few years.
Starlink's early performance
metrics suggest that the FCC was smart to quickly approve LEO satellites. The Commission's
swift approval and support for market competition has allowed Starlink and
potentially others to serve the unconnected Americans our federal government
has spent billions trying to reach over the last decade.
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