About Starlink Competitors, With nearly three years since its inception, Starlink has amassed over 2 million subscribers in more than 60 countries.
Thanks to its low-earth satellite tech, most people enjoying their service come from rural areas.
But like many service providers, Starlink has its issues. Questionable customer service and hardware costs, among other complaints, still make it hard to get new customers.
That said, there are plenty of alternatives to Starlinnk.
In this article, we’ll review Starlink’s competitors and determine how they match up regarding connectivity and reliability.
Satellite Internet Competitors: Satellite Internet
Satellite internet is slowly gaining traction as it offers a new way to connect without relying on fiber, DSL, or 5G wireless technology.
While it has been around for ages, the service has only been recently offered by Starlink. Here are other companies that have satellite internet.
HughesNet
HughesNet is probably Starlink biggest competitor and one of the oldest satellite companies in the world.
It started in 1996 and, over the years, has gained close to 1.5 million subscribers, generating up to $2 billion a year.
HughesNet tech relies on a few geosynchronous satellites orbiting the earth instead of Starlinks LEO satellites.
However, HughesNet has slower internet speeds compared to Starlink. Plans start from 15 Mbps up to 50 Mbps.
There are no data caps, although speeds can be throttled once you reach the threshold.
Viasat
Viasat is also a significant competitor in this space, with customers from the commercial space such as airlines, defense, marine, and various businesses.
While it has only four geostationary satellites, two of them Viasat-1 and Viasat2, provide internet services to the US, Mexico, and Brazil.
However, Viasat offers a lower broadband connection than Starlink, with 12 to 100 Mbps speeds.
OneWeb
Spaceship in orbit
OneWeb is a new satellite internet provider with about 428 satellites in orbit.
The company uses similar technology to Starlink by deploying low earth orbit satellites, about 700 miles from the earth’s surface.
Though the two use similar tech, OneWeb focuses more on corporate clients like government agencies and businesses.
The current plans provide internet speeds of up to 165 Mbps and an average latency of 50 milliseconds.
Kuiper
Amazon’s Project Kuiper is set to become the largest Starlink competitor when it fully launches.
The project is in its early phases, and they have only deployed their first few satellites late this year.
Kuiper uses LEO satellites which should be closer to the earth than Starlink, hence a lower latency.
Also, Project Kuiper will have several dishes depending on the customer’s plan.
And if everything goes as planned, Project Kuiper will be a fierce Starlink competitor by early 2025.
Telesat
Telestat is a satellite internet provider with about 15 geosynchronous satellites in orbit.
Like OneWeb, its main focus is enterprises such as military, defense, government, and others.
However, early in 2022, Telesat announced its new constellation, Lightspeed, featuring 1,500 LEO satellites in orbit.
The project might be a game changer for future customers and new competition to Starlink.
Once the project is complete, Telestat wants to deliver internet speeds in “gigabits per second” and latency similar to fiber connections.
Freedoms at
Space satellites orbiting the earth
While Freedomsat is largely based in Africa, the Middle East, and South America, the satellite internet provider has a huge presence in the UK.
It provides speeds of up to 30 Mbps, although you won’t be able to stream smoothly due to latency delays.
The provider has data caps, so you may start experiencing slow internet once your allocated data is depleted.
Freedomsat offers a range of corporate packages and is widely used in government agencies and education institutions in Africa.
NBN Sky Muster
NBN is an Australian company with two geosynchronous satellites in orbit. The two satellites are responsible for internet services across Australia.
NBN has six internet plans ranging from 12 Mbps to 100 Mbps. We recommend the top tier if you’re using it for business or heavy streaming.
Like Freedomsat, NBN Sky Muster has data caps instead of charging extra for excess data.
The company throttles download speeds as low as 128 kbps until the next billing.
Telstra
Telstra is a giant internet provider and the largest in Australia. Established in 1975, it offers almost every imaginable connectivity service, from broadband internet to business plans.
The company’s satellite internet services are almost exclusive to businesses, thanks to over 60 satellites hovering around Australia.
Interestingly, it took Starlink about a year and a half to achieve complete coverage.
The two companies have since announced working together to provide internet to rural Australia.
Satellite Internet Competitors: 5G
Man holding phone with 5G image
5G Wireless internet is a great alternative to Starlink, although not widely available.
It is more common in the city or populated areas where there is a likelihood of internet traffic.
But 5G is rapidly spreading to rural areas and small towns away from the busy cities.
However, it is yet to hit rural areas as the infrastructure cost is quite high.
5G wireless is supplied by two main companies in the US, T-Mobile and Verizon. Each company has an unlimited data plan, among others.
To opt for 5G internet, purchase a SIM card from the provider and a 5G modem.
Satellite Internet Competitors: Fiber And Other Broadband
Technician installing fiber internet
It is obvious that fiber internet is the best alternative to Starlink and probably the only reliable option regarding latency.
It is a recommended internet alternative due to some unrivaled benefits. Fiber’s performance is excellent as the internet travels efficiently through cables instead of wireless communication with satellites hundreds of kilometers away.
Latency, speeds, and other performance pointers are better than Starlink because of the fiber connection.
The only way Starlink supersedes fiber is coverage. Since satellite is wireless, it can easily reach different places of the world in less than a second.
Such global coverage makes it more difficult for fiber to penetrate households.
I think satellite internet companies are keen on coverage because they understand how competitive it could be if fiber were in every home address in the US.
Despite the tech rivalry, you’ll still get good internet coverage and speeds depending on the provider.
Conclusion
We can agree that Starink’s current major competitors are Viasat and HughesNet.
The two might be popular in the US, but Starlink has proven to be much more reliable and faster.
However, Viasat and HughesNet internet plans are affordable and immediately available after order.
We’d add Project Kuiper to this list of fierce competitors, but I’m yet to see its full capacity.
Two prototype internet satellites are not enough to gauge Kuiper’s performance.
But it looks like a future alternative if all goes well. Despite these alternatives, Starlink has achieved major milestones by connecting people in the most remote areas.
We hope alternative tech companies are busy working to improve coverage across the globe without compromising on quality, performance, and longevity.