February 20, 2022 8.00 pm This story is over 25 months old

Game changer: Lincolnshire man praises speeds of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite broadband

Starlink involves satellites in a low orbit around Earth to boost broadband
Ian Randall has said the Starlink satellites from Elon Musk's SpaceX company could revolutionise broadband speeds in Lincolnshire and beyond. | Photo: Ian Randall
By Local Democracy Reporter

A Lincolnshire man who bought a satellite dish from Starlink, a company run by Elon Musk, has said the broadband speeds he now gets make the device a “game changer”, boasting 600% faster internet coverage at times.

Starlink provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the world with the help of advanced satellites in a low orbit across the outer perimeter of the Earth.

It has been manufactured by aerospace organisation SpaceX, fronted by the world’s richest person, South African businessman Elon Musk.

The Starlink constellation started in 2019, with 60 stacked satellites sent into low orbit to offer boosted speeds globally. | Photo: Ian Randall

Ian Randall in Waddington purchased a satellite dish and router for £495, and pays £89 a month for unlimited data, at speeds typically between 150 and 250 Mbps.

He said that despite the long wait for his dish to arrive, a whole year to be precise, he has been “delighted” with the results and has even been witnessing broadband speeds of 284 Mbps.

In comparison, the Lincoln area averages speeds of around 35Mbps from major providers such as BT, Sky, Three and EE (Virgin fibre users get 100Mbps+), meaning Starlink can produce speeds over 600% faster than other competitors in our county.

Ian’s broadband speeds will be the envy of his neighbourhood as a result of the Starlink satellite. | Photo: Ian Randall

It is reported that over 145,000 people use Starlink internet service across 25 different countries, and Ian is proud to be one of those.

He said: “In areas where there is no other decent broadband offer, this could be a game changer. For some users though, it might be possible to defray some of the cost through the Government’s Project Gigabit voucher scheme.

“The main snag, other than cost, is that there is a bit of a waiting list. I ordered my dish in February 21, and it only arrived this week (a whole year later!).

“Thus far I’ve been delighted with the product and service, the best speed I have seen being 284 Mbps.”

The Starlink satellites lining up the sky in Lincolnshire in April 2020. | Photo: Tom Edwards