Editor’s note: This is not to be construed as product endorsement. Sometimes a new product or service becomes available and there’s nothing else available to compare it to. This is intended as information only.
My own struggles with internet began during the pandemic. We live in a rural area in Idaho. Our county is the No. 20 dairy county in the U.S. and cows outnumber people 6 to 1 where I live.
While we have fiber internet in some areas in town, it’s not available down my country road. Prior to 2020, I was using a cellular hotspot to connect to the internet.
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed this internet connection was not sufficient. Having my kids home and connecting to virtual schooling proved I needed something faster. What I was able to find was a radio signal connection that required a clear line of sight to a nearby tower. The cost: $95 per month.
About the same time I signed up for this internet, I also got on the wait list for Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet. The cost was a $100 deposit to get on the wait list.
My first interaction with Starlink was one summer two years ago when I watched from my in-laws’ driveway a mysterious group of stars in the sky. These star-like lights dropped from a certain point in the atmosphere, whizzed across the starry sky and then disappeared again across the horizon. They all followed the same path and were equidistantly spaced. We counted about 60 of them that night. We thought we were witnessing a missile test or maybe a UFO event. When I got home, I Googled the phenomenon and discovered it’s officially called the Starlink constellation.
Later, I was offered an invitation to be part of the beta group of Starlink users in my area. At the time, I didn’t want to be testing something while my kids relied on 100% uptime for school, so I passed. Now I’m glad that I did because I like the look of the second-generation receiver much better than the first-generation receiver.
Earlier this year, I got a notice informing me that general Starlink service in my area was now available. I signed up immediately.
Signing up requires paying the remainder of the $500 equipment cost and agreeing to a monthly internet charge. When I first signed up, the monthly charge was $99, but they recently increased the price to $110 “to keep pace with rising inflation.” They ship you your equipment and then you install the dish yourself.
Even with the price increase, this was still the best rural internet experience I have found. The equipment comes with a receiver, cable and wireless router. Set-up took me less than 30 minutes.
If you are serious about getting Starlink, I would recommend you download the company’s app first. Even without an account, you can test where on your property is the best location to place the small satellite dish they will send you.
I didn’t check my property before my equipment arrived and discovered that to permanently install my receiver in the most ideal location, I would need a bracket. The company sells brackets specifically tailored to fit their equipment. I found an L-bracket on their website and ordered it. I didn’t receive it for 10 days and had to settle for a temporary installation.
Most likely, your connection will require a position that is north-facing. Be aware that tall trees will disrupt the visibility of the receiver. You’ll likely want to install the equipment near the highest point of your home or property and away from trees.
After I got my equipment installed, I did a test of all three internet services while I was still paying for all of them to see how their speeds compared. Starlink had the fastest download and upload speed of the three internet options that I have had most recently. Starlink was far superior to the other two options I had available to me previously. All four of my kids can now be on the internet at the same time without any of them complaining.
In conclusion, if your farm or ranch has fiber internet access, you probably are still better served using it for connectivity. But if that option is not available, I would suggest you seriously consider this new option. It’s now available in most places in the U.S. and Canada or soon will be. You can get on the company’s wait list at any time with a $100 deposit. They will notify you when the service is available in your area.
This is really an exciting prospect for rural agriculture to finally be able to connect to the internet at speeds similar to those of other consumers who live in more populated areas. Finally, I know what it’s like to have a Netflix movie never pause while streaming a show for date night.
Author’s note: This is my personal experience signing up for and installing Starlink’s internet service. I did not receive any compensation or any special discounts from Starlink for this post. These experiences are my own and paid for out of my own pocketbook.
