[masraum]

Originally Posted by tadd

How do you think this compares to starlink? Maybe this is in response to starlink? Supposed to be another 6 mo before service comes to my area, but I put a deposit as it is first come, first serve.

I am stuck as cable/fiber doesn't come to my street. Promised for near a decade, and nothing yet.

I got an email from starlink yesterday that they were accepting orders in my area. It's beta, they said some folks may get 50-150mb, but that there would be short periods of no service. $500 for equipment and $99/mo plus another $50 or something like that. I passed.

Usual satellite service (like Viasat or Hughes) has huge latency so you can do voice and/or video, but because of the delay, you'd almost have to say "over." If you are a gamer, the latency is way, way too high for gaming even if you get high bandwidth.

Starlink is a Low Earth Orbit (vs geostationary) so the latency can be very, very low (similar to DSL or Cable).

My guess is that T-mobile has enough bandwidth since they merged with Sprint, and are now selling Internet via cell. They already sell "hotspots." This is probably the same basic service, but a tiny bit more focused.

And yes, it is in some ways competition for Starlink. Starlink needs to have satellite "aimed" at your location to work. T-mobile needs towers close enough to cover your location.