Product test
Devolo 5G router: fast, stable Wi-Fi using the mobile network
by Lorenz Keller
Starlink satellite internet review: up to 250 megabits from space
18/8/2023
Translation: Megan Cornish
Elon Musk’s SpaceX sent me a Starlink Standard Kit. The satellite dish has been on my roof ever since and does a good job – for a hefty price.
Who exactly is SpaceX’s space internet for? Anyone who can afford it and has no other option for «fast» internet. So, a mountain cheese dairy, or globetrotters who want to explore the most remote corners possible in their campervan. By the way, it’s not really suitable for online gaming, but more on that later.
Caution: you’ll need approval for roof installation
Depending on the state and municipality, installing a satellite dish on the roof of a house requires a permit. In Switzerland, you usually need a permit from the relevant building authority. You also need your landlord’s written consent for any change to a rental property according to tenancy law (Article 260a of the Swiss Code of Obligations).
How Starlink works: once to space and back
Starlink is currently available in most countries in North and South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, as well as a few countries in Africa and Asia. You can find detailed status information and countries to follow soon here.
What you need for Starlink and how much it costs
As I have access to four sides of the roof from two floors at home, I only place the dish where it’s most convenient. I attach it a bit above the first attic floor on the south side. However, that means it’s too far from the gable for smooth reception. And too close to the west side of the roof, which forms a cross gable above it with the south side.
Admittedly, I didn’t use Starlink’s location scan feature prior to deployment. The Starlink app alerts me to the issue as follows:
In addition to the information that I should expect an interruption every five minutes, I’m also shown exactly where any problems arise on the mirrored surface. The dish is slightly obscured to the north and east by the higher roof at times, so I pack everything up again and place it back on the higher second attic floor on the west side. So, the problems are history.
As you can see, the dish is provisionally placed on the snow guard for my test and secured with cable ties. It’s far from a recommended method. The stand provided is stable and the dish weighs more than six kilogrammes. But if an autumn storm approaches, I wouldn’t bet on it actually holding up.
Not exactly cheap
The Starlink dish has built-in heating so you can even surf in winter despite snow flurries. Then it’s important to make sure that cats don’t have access to the dish. There are enough stories of Starlink dishes filled to the brim with four-legged friends.
In addition to the hardware, you need a Starlink internet subscription. The costs for this differ depending on the country. In Switzerland, SpaceX currently charges 65 francs per month. The subscription isn’t limited in terms of data. There’s as much speed as the satellites can deliver based on their workload.
Accessories: missing Ethernet ports, Wi-Fi extensions and dish mounts
You can’t connect the Wi-Fi router to other network devices via Ethernet because there’s no connection. There’s only one input on the device for the long cable from the dish and a second for the power connection. I’ve never come across another router like it – what’s the point? But there’s a remedy in the form of an Ethernet adapter that you can hang in front of the router:
As this article goes live, the network adapter isn’t yet available in this country. It has previously sold for $25 in the US. There’s a gigabit RJ45 port for that – not two or three, which I think makes more sense. If you have this port, not only can you connect a network device (I recommend a switch), you also have the option of running the router in bypass mode. This disables the device’s router tasks and enables you to use a better Wi-Fi router.
If you want to buy an official Starlink mesh repeater to extend the Wi-Fi, it’s not available in our shop yet. We’ll do our best to deliver these and other accessories as soon as possible. This means that even longer cables (22.8 and 45.7 metres) and mounting accessories will follow.
Take a chance and install Starlink on the roof with the following mounting options:
For anyone wanting to drill a hole, Starlink has also developed cable routing solutions:
How easy it is to install
What might not be easy when installing Starlink is laying the cable connection between the dish and the router. Since I can’t drill a hole in the wall for my test without my landlord getting angry, I use an open skylight.
Once the dish is in place and the cable is laid, Starlink can be started up easily and in minutes. I simply plug the cable from the dish and the power cable into the router.
It’s best to place the router in the centre of your home so that the Wi-Fi signal covers as many square metres as possible. After two minutes of waiting, looking out the window, I notice that the dish has tilted from its vertical installation position to a horizontal one. I then launch the Starlink app and follow its instructions. I choose what my Wi-Fi network should be called, define a password and link the app to my Starlink account.
As soon as that’s done, I’m online. A first speed test reaches almost 200 megabits per second. But that might not be the end of the story: the app tells me that it needs 15 minutes for the signal to stabilise for the time being. After that, Starlink collects five more hours of data to guarantee that there are no blockages.
Starlink’s downstream and upstream speeds (August 2023, near Zurich)
During the test week, the weather’s autumnal, although it’s still the height of summer. There are 30-degree days with blue skies and sunshine, as well as 14-degree days with heavy rain and a thick cloud layer. It’s also a bit stormy at times, which my makeshift installation survives perfectly.
Does weather have an impact on speed or latency? Definitely not in my tests. Although I got different results on different days and at different times, it was independent of the weather conditions. Nevertheless, raindrops on the mirror could reduce performance. Strong winds could also cause the dish to vibrate, which can also result in a loss of signal.
I tested the speed and latency as often as possible over seven days at various times of the day and night. I used a current laptop in the same room as the Starlink Wi-Fi router. The following is the cumulative result in terms of speed when tested with Ookla’s Speedtest:
Ping: why Starlink isn’t suitable for online gamers
If you want to test how long it takes for a data signal to travel from the computer to the server and back, you can do this with a ping. This allows you to identify latencies. If a signal takes too long, it can be very disruptive when playing online games.
SpaceX itself writes that Starlink should have low latencies. The company considers 20 to 40 milliseconds of delay to be low. I put these theoretical values aside and use the console to check for myself how quickly the internet responds to my calls. To do this, I ping google.com. For comparison, I also tested cable internet:
Relatively high power consumption
Depending on the model, a Wi-Fi router normally requires between 12 and 30 watts when it sends or receives data. My power meter reads more for the Starlink router.
I started measuring watts right after starting Starlink for the first time. In the first 15 minutes, it consumes up to 97 watts during calibration. After that, consumption drops. If no device is currently active, the power consumption fluctuates every second – it moves between 43 and 61 watts. If I do a speed test, it fluctuates between 62 and 76 watts.
What really shines here in winter is the heating of the dish. It should be able to draw an additional 90 watts. Since snow is currently rare below 2,000 metres of altitude, I can’t check that.
Verdict: the space internet works well; the price and router equipment could be better
To be honest, SpaceX surprised me. I didn’t doubt before the test that satellite internet would work. But I’d have expected less speed. With 205 megabits per second, I can do a lot and also get larger downloads in a reasonable amount of time. I knew in advance that the upload figure was comparatively measly, but that doesn’t make it any better. Luckily, I download a lot more than I upload.
Header image: Martin Jud
Martin Jud
Senior Editor
martin.jud@digitecgalaxus.chI find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.
