My First Day With Elon & Starlink

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This has been going on for almost a month now but....We're almost 100% moved into our new home!

We decided to take our time and stretch the move out over a month instead of packing everything up in a truck and moving all at once. It's a different way to approach it but let's be brutally honest...The main reason I didn't make the move all at once is because...I had no internet out where the new home was!

It's in the middle of West Bubble, Alberta! Literally the closest cell phone tower is like 10-15 kms away so not only is there no cable companies coming to hook me up with some fiber optics, getting cell reception is a challenge itself.

So I needed an option...

And it comes thanks to Elon Musk!

After a little over a week or ordering it, I got my Starlink satellite system today!

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Starlink?

What's the big deal...Isn't there like a million different satellite internet services to choose from?

Yeah but see, they all suck lol. Because of how satellite internet works, lag and high latency are major issues. And I need high speed for everything I'm doing, especially for all the live streams I co-host. So along comes Elon and creates this brand new internet service called Starlink - Which brands itself as "high-speed, low-latency broadband internet in remote and rural locations across the globe..."

So the box showed up and I have to admit...The set up was stupid simple.

I found a great spot with open skies around my home, and temporarily drilled the dish into my deck for the time being. I'm going to get the dish on my roof in the next few days but for now, I just wanted to try the service out:

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Of course, a thunderstorm passed through so all the cloud cover would hurt reception right?

Not at all...But more on that in a second.

The box came with the satellite dish, a 150 foot cable, the router and a power cable. Even I didn't mess up the set up. I had to download an app to get things set up, but it was as straight forward as could be. Literally, follow the steps, plug it in and presto....

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The router is pretty slick and my wife thought she would be decorative and....Put a plant behind it?

Hey, happy wife, happy life....

But let's get down to the facts...How does Starlink perform?

The Good

  • Crazy simple set up

  • Almost 100 MBPS download speeds

  • I have been running it for a few hours now, and so far 100% uptime

  • Low latency! No buffering at all.

The Bad

  • Upload is still pretty slow. I didn't notice it too much when I uploaded a short 30 second video to Twitter (see below), but it's just above 4 MBPS upload. Not sure how that'll go with my live streams...

  • The costs are high. $599 USD for the initial set up and dish. And monthly it's $110 USD per month as well. Which is around what I'm paying for my current internet but then again...I'm getting massive speeds both upload and download with it.

The Curious

  • When you order Starlink, you have to put the mailing address it the field so they see if service is available where you live. I did and got my dish but the app says I'm not in the right geographical location...So this means, I might get better service when I recalibrate...If I can?

Still....The service so far, has been flawless. And the router does a pretty good job of covering my home, but I might buy one of the signal boosters they offer to make sure I'm fully covered.

The big test...Is next week for a lot of my live streams because I'm fully moved on Sunday! But here's what I uploaded on Twitter this afternoon...It took about 30 seconds or so to upload this, which might be a little slow but not too bad at all:

https://twitter.com/Jon_G_Olson/status/1539734198914646016

We'll see how it goes but so far....

Starlink wins! lol


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65 comments
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My cousin just got Starlink out here in rural Saskatchewan too, and he's also loving it. They're getting much better speeds than any other option, so despite the price tag it's been a great investment for them. Hopefully your streaming won't be too impacted!

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That's what everyone told me too when I asked around. Funny thing, one of the rural internet providers out here that I was going to go with, told me where I was they couldn't offer service...But I should go with Starlink because it's superior lol

So far, so good!

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Great to see you got it and it is set up and running, I have been looking at as Sharon and I are looking to move to the country side as well and by what you are saying it sound like the way to go.

!CTP

!PIZZA

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It really is, especially here in Alberta. Xplornet is apparently the worst choice and that's about it lol

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Cool to see someone using it. I hope the service stays good.

!PIZZA

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So far, so good. We'll see how it goes down the road!

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Hoenstly, I wasnt aware of that it was available already for the 'normal' people, but for some reason though t is was still in testing modus for the big masses.

And the price sounds reasonable if you live really rural and have option with either this or nothing (or a ground cable of of miles and miles and digging and the costs that come with that)

Cool to hear that it actually works!

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I didn't either. Saw it in the news and figured that was a few years away...But checked and wow, it was ready for me to buy right now.

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I'm going to blame the plant the first time I see your live stream lag... lol :)

That's freakin awesome! I get to watch the 2 or 3 rockets they send up each month now packs with these small satellite 50 or so per each! The upload speeds could be an issue but you should be alright at 1080p or 720p depending on your encoding but honestly should be plenty since you're not gaming on it as well. Pretty cool though! my upload speeds here are pretty slow being that I'm on cable. Download is good upload is 1/10th of it so that hurts with these long .mov files uploading to youtube! 1 hour+

Keep us updated! Congrats on the move and starting to get setup!!

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Yeah man, I have been spoiled with the upload speeds at my home right now...Crazy fast to upload stuff. But yeah, I will blame the plant too....Fake as well, she loves those fake plants, I dunno why lol

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I think once the starlink gets some competition, there is going to be price war. Till then I suppose you would have to pay this much. In near future a lot of things may change with fibers being taken to the places in the mountains. So surely other options may open up too. Good to see you are going to be out of that Cafe routine for connecting to internet.

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I mean, the upfront costs were steep, but the monthly fees are basically what I pay already...A little bit higher, so I wont complain if they go down in the future lol

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Love the idea of Starlink, and they have coverage in Hungary too. Unfortunately they didn't match prices to Hungarian salaries, so the prices are double compared to other providers.

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Yeah it's steep for sure. I had to do it, just because all other options wouldn't have cut it for my business.

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I'm still waiting to see when Starlink will be extended to Ghana for my usage. Congratulations, sir, and best wishes for a more enjoyable online experience.

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I'm sure it's coming sooner rather than later!

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The download speed is decent but really not like, mind blowing. I also think the monthly charge, especially at that speed, is quite high.

Anyway, the device is designed for people that are remote areas, so I guess it serves it's purpose

Posted using LeoFinance Mobile

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Yeah I had basically two choices out here....Starlink and then a satellite company that had speeds from like 1995 lol

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It has finally arrived and been set up! Maybe over time the price will decrease and become more affordable for almost everyone. Do you think that it's 5G?

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

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Nah, it's satellite internet, nothing to do with 5G...as far as I know lol

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Starlink looks to be too expensive but it might work out for rural areas. I hope it does work out for your live shows and that everything goes smoothly.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

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No other options, and when you are in business online...You have to pay the cost.

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The item you put on your 'curious list makes me also very curious. Will the connection improve once you will be properly located on their system? Please let us know.

Cheers!

PS: They designed a very nice router!

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Hope so, and I think it'll improve the more satellites Elon throws into space lol

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Elon to the rescue. I get it that you think your upload is slow, but it really isn't too bad. Your upload speed is my download speed, and my upload speed is only 1mbps ... it's really annoying! Living in the countryside also has drawbacks.

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That's the sacrifice for sure...We'll see how it goes, but if it works out, it'll be worth every penny.

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That looks like a great solution for rural Alberta ;-). Hope it will be fast enough for the live shows.

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Yeah man, we'll do the big test on Monday or Sunday!

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Very interesting… especially when you are so remote, there are options. And so far this sounds great.
Will sure think about it when we move, as it could be remote.
Thanks for the info, looking forward to how the live stream goes.

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

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Pros and cons to living out in the middle of nowhere...This is one of the cons lol

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Glad to hear Musky boy's internet is working out for you :)

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Nice Elon came through for you, lol.
There wouldn't be any slow downs now, I guess your move now would be initiated faster.

The dish looks very fancy and that touch of flower behind the router is explosive, I mean the bomb.
Have it all set up so that you'd be all top notch as usual.

Posted using LeoFinance Mobile

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ha ha ha ha yeah, I'm ok with the decorations my wife did...As long as it works lol

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This is my first inside look at how Starlink actually works. I've known about it of course, but have no need for it where I am currently. I have always thought it is a pretty great option for people in rural areas.

The router definitely looks cool and I think overall with the setup being simple and stuff, it really is a solid internet choice. It's bound to only get better too I'm sure. Sounds like your speeds are already decent to good. Let's hope it works well for your livestreams. I have a feeling it's going to be fine.

Congrats on your new home by the way! Moving is a total pain, but splitting it up as you did surely made it a bit more tolerable.

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Yeah it's so far, been awesome. But with satellite internet, it's always a toss up. Hoping things continue to improve!

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Starlink looks great; unfortunately their monthly fee is extremely expensive here where I live, so it's better to stay with a cable still :(

!1UP

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If I could have gotten cable, I would have lol

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$110 a month...
When I think of it I realize how cheap internet we have in here, but on the other hand, can't compare Romania with the US.

Posted using LeoFinance Mobile

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Yeah and it's actually $140 here a month in Canada...Which is roughly 110 american, but still pricey

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That's pretty exciting - I'm tempted by Starlink myself, but I'm a couple of years off needing it!

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

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Yeah I got starlink in Feb this year. No cable in our area. So far it's been bloody brilliant. Minimal downtime and fast speeds. The only downside is that my kids moan about the lag / ping when gaming...

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I don’t know this is out already, I have watched many video about starlink and I’m happy that they are already living up to that promise. Good to hear you are enjoying it

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I'm dying for an internet like this, but honestly I can't afford it, since $700 the first month and then $110 every month is crazy, of course I know it's quality because I've seen how people on the internet see how fast it is.

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Elon saw opportunity and run with it.
It feels like starlink has no competition around the world with low latency.

!BEER

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

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The set up was stupid simple.

Apple is still the best, right?

Congrats on your new connection! The router really looks cool, that's true.

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Pretty cool! Do you know if they sell these overseas? I know Musk gifted some to Ukraine, but maybe that's an exception.

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It's like if anything related to Elon, there might be a news lol. I was like wooo First day with Elon jk.
From what I have heard Starlink would be coming to my country after a year or two. Will get it myself as well!

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