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Starlink vs. Fiber Optics

M

Mary Terry

Well-Known Member
V.I.P Member
We live in a rural area and have Starlink satellite internet. A company is currently burying a fiber optics cable along our road. Is one better than the other? Starlink goes out sometimes in bad weather when the signal gets blocked by storms but it always comes back on. I assume storms wouldn't affect the cable. Starlink is expensive but I don't know what cable would cost.

Any suggestions or recommendations? I'm very ignorant about stuff like that.
 
Although the cable companies use very large dishes compared to home dishes, so the storm dropoff is much less
 
Mary Terry said:
We live in a rural area and have Starlink satellite internet. A company is currently burying a fiber optics cable along our road. Is one better than the other? Starlink goes out sometimes in bad weather when the signal gets blocked by storms but it always comes back on. I assume storms wouldn't affect the cable. Starlink is expensive but I don't know what cable would cost.

Any suggestions or recommendations? I'm very ignorant about stuff like that.
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We have fibre at home and use Starlink while traveling. No comparison between speeds, especially uplink as it is symmetrical. Ditch Starlink if you have the option.
 
I used to have cell internet. Slow, and glitchy. Finally Spectrum put in fiber optic in our rural area. (Thanks to the Infrastructure Act of 2021.) I rarely have issues with the service, it is far cheaper than cell internet, and it is nice to finally be able to stream movies etc. I paired the FIOS modem with a couple of mesh routers so we get good signal everywhere in the house.
 
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So far, fiber optic lines have only managed to ruin my yard and the end of my drive way. The ground is sinking. Granted, if one satellite crashed into my yard, that "would" be worse.
 
Mary Terry said:
We live in a rural area and have Starlink satellite internet. A company is currently burying a fiber optics cable along our road. Is one better than the other? Starlink goes out sometimes in bad weather when the signal gets blocked by storms but it always comes back on. I assume storms wouldn't affect the cable. Starlink is expensive but I don't know what cable would cost.

Any suggestions or recommendations? I'm very ignorant about stuff like that.
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Quoted from this link: Starlink vs. Fiber: Which is the best internet option for 2025?

Our internet experts Max McCaskill (that's me) and Lauren Hannula have used Starlink and fiber internet for years for tasks like gaming, streaming, and remote work. For most customers, fiber internet is the cheaper and faster option. Looking at the two services, we've found:
  • Starlink is best for customers in remote areas who need high-speed internet.
  • Fiber internet is best for customers who need incredibly fast download speeds, a cheaper internet plan, or who struggle to understand technology.
 
Australia laid out the majority of it's optic fibre network in the 80s, but then it sat there not connected to anything for 25 years. It's only in the last decade or so that homes and businesses in cities have been getting optic fibre connections.

Now the government is desperately expanding that fibre optic network as quick as it can and rolling connections out to rural areas to stop people from signing up to StarLink. The US has become an unstable trading partner and Musk has previously threatened to cut services in some countries for the sake of his radical political views. We want none of that here.
 
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Australia laid out the majority of it's optic fibre network in the 80s, but then it sat there not connected to anything for 25 years. It's only in the last decade or so that homes and businesses in cities have been getting optic fibre connections.

Now the government is desperately expanding that fibre optic network as quick as it can and rolling connections out to rural areas to stop people from signing up to StarLink. The US has become an unstable trading partner and Musk has previously threatened to cut services in some countries for the sake of his radical political views. We want none of that here.
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Yes, I have some concern that Musk could decide to just turn off Starlink. Like in exchange for guaranteed government subsidies for his various companies or in lieu of deportation back to Africa.
 
Mary Terry said:
Yes, I have some concern that Musk could decide to just turn off Starlink. Like in exchange for guaranteed government subsidies for his various companies or in lieu of deportation back to Africa.
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I wouldn't put it past him to threaten individual states within the US, that seems to be the way politics is played over there in the last few terms.
 
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I wouldn't put it past him to threaten individual states within the US, that seems to be the way politics is played over there in the last few terms.
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I'm thinking of his threatening to turn off the entire country if the federal government stops giving him billions of dollars in free government subsidies or deportation back to Africa or Canada or wherever, as Trump has recently threatened. I don't see much potential for his threatening individual states.
 
Mary Terry said:
Yes, I have some concern that Musk could decide to just turn off Starlink.
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We have the same issue in Canada. He backed the U.S. president on his comments about making our country the 51st state and has stated we are not a real country. I would have purchased anything other than Starlink if there were real alternatives to it.
 
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I wouldn't put it past him to threaten individual states within the US, that seems to be the way politics is played over there in the last few terms.
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Bad idea.

"The Lincoln Administration required us to raise three regiments. Tell them we have done so."

-Thomas J. Jackson, Army of Northern Virginia ;)

Between a choice of the two, I'd prefer fiber optics myself...which is what we have here. But then you have to be on the modern side of the local infrastructure to get it. My cousin lives on the opposite side of town where the same utilities source is unable to provide fiber optics and not in any hurry to do so. Reminds me of that saying, "Smoke 'em if ya got 'em!"
 
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Mary Terry said:
We live in a rural area and have Starlink satellite internet. A company is currently burying a fiber optics cable along our road. Is one better than the other? Starlink goes out sometimes in bad weather when the signal gets blocked by storms but it always comes back on. I assume storms wouldn't affect the cable. Starlink is expensive but I don't know what cable would cost.

Any suggestions or recommendations? I'm very ignorant about stuff like that.
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Fiber will mostly likely work best. Also, it may even use less power.
 
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