About Starlink Low Capacity vs High Capacity: Starlink continues to improve its internet coverage by occasionally launching satellites to ensure reliable service in underserved areas.
However, since the company has yet to achieve its target, the places it covers experience different internet performance.
For example, places with many Starlink users may experience lower internet performance than those with a few users.
To understand this better, we will compare Starlink’s low capacity vs high capacity in terms of speed, latency, and cost.
Starlink Low Capacity vs High Capacity: Definition
Starlink dish
What is Starlink’s low capacity and high capacity?
Starlink high capacity areas refer to regions where more Starlink satellites are hovering above, while low capacity means the opposite.
Considering we said that each satellite can serve a limited number of users, areas with few satellites have a limited bandwidth.
It, therefore, means only a limited number of users can access satellite internet at its best performance.
If users using the network simultaneously increase, the network gets congested, thus lowering the performance
. While such a performance may be enough for most online activities, it can be detrimental to real-time videoconferencing and gaming.
Conversely, high-capacity areas experience minimal network change even if multiple users access it simultaneously.
Starlink Low Capacity vs High Capacity: Speed
Although low-capacity areas have few satellites hovering above, their speed is not bad.
It is still better than other conventional satellite ISPs such as Viasat.
Starlink says the download speed in these areas is between 20 and 100 Mbps, while the upload is 5 to 20 Mbps.
This speed is decent enough for many household internet usage and recreation gaming.
Interestingly, the speed only falls to the above levels when several users access the network simultaneously.
In contrast, high-capacity areas have sufficient brandwidth due to many satellites hovering over them.
Consequently, the network can support the dense population network traffic without performance-lowering congestion. While it might drop slightly, be sure it can support high usage and retain high speed for many simultaneous users. With that said, expect the download speed in these regions to clock about 220 Mbps while the uploads are 40 Mbps.
These speeds surpass conventional satellite internet and only compete with cable and fiber optics.
Internet speed reprisentation
Starlink Low Capacity vs High Capacity: Latency
Generally, Starlink’s low and high capacity have the same latency of between 20 to 50 milliseconds.
However, it can be higher in low-capacity areas, especially during peak hours when the network is congested.
Another factor affecting latency in both cases is the weather, such as hail and snow.
Starlink Low Capacity vs High Capacity: Data Cap
Data capping means Starlink limits the amount of data you can use per month to ensure fair usage.
Since areas with low capacity have limited bandwidth, Starlink introduced a 1TB monthly data cap.
For this reason, if you live in such areas, you may experience low speed in peak hours when you exhaust this monthly allocation.
In contrast, high-capacity areas have enough capacity and, therefore, no data cap.
In such regions, you can use your internet without speed throttling, even during peak hours.
However, note that speed may go low due to congestion rather than throttling.
Slow internet speed
Starlink Low Capacity vs High Capacity: Costs
Due to the low performance in low-capacity areas, Starlink ensures fair pricing by lowering the subscription cost compared to high-capacity areas.
Therefore, high-capacity areas pay $120, $30 more than the 90 paid by low-capacity regions.
However, the price of the Starlink kit, which includes a dish, router, mount, and ethernet cable, is the same ($599).
The company also charges the same option charges, $12 per month, as equipment damage and theft insurance.
Starlink RV High Capacity vs Low Capacity
Starlink RV is an internet plan introduced to help campers, RVers, and other nomads access reliable internet.
This plan costs $599 for the equipment plus a $150 monthly subscription, regardless of whether you are in low or high-capacity areas.
Generally, you will experience internet speeds that occur in the area where you reside.
For example, if you live in low-capacity areas, that’s the speed you get on your RV Starlink.
Additionally, compared to the residential plan, RV Starlink users get deprioritized during peak hours regardless of where they live.
I recommend checking the Starlink map to know if the area where you intend to park your RV is low or high capacity.
RV with a satellite dish
Conclusion
While there are low and high-capacity areas, you can expect Starlink to equal them soon once it deploys its maximum satellites.
Additionally, the company ensures no extreme internet degradation in all areas by limiting the number of users.
For this reason, you may be put on the waitlist if you order the Starlink kit and your region is at full capacity.