Let’s start from the bottom of the barrel, with the worst service, and show increasing value along the way. So, cable, yeah the most hated companies in America for nearly a decade, only recently under performed by banking. Enough said about the lack of customer service or support, on to the lies. You pay for 100M or 300M, or more! Do you ever actually get it? Nope! You get a fraction of the speed you’re paying for and let’s not even bother to get into the upload speed, which is usually about 15% to 25% of your actual download speed.. For example: if you pay for 100M, your typical download will be around 60M and your upload around 10M.. Many times (after school, around 8pm movie time, and 8:30am to 10am when remote workers actually work) speeds could even be half of those, or less! Yet, with cable you get to pay more and constantly be harassed to add additional things you don’t want! O’ and they’ll automatically increase those rates regularly as well. No thanks!!
Now let’s look at StarLink, pun intended. You can already see them floating around and disturbing the view of the night sky. Currently SpaceX has about 3,000 active, and plans to add 39,000! more. Yes, you read that right, 13 times more! Beyond the 12,000 previously approved; in 2019 the FCC filled with ITU on behalf of SpaceX for another 30,000! Here’s a hint, adding more satellites doesn’t speed up the time a signal takes to get from earth to space and back to earth again, twice! Latency will not be greatly reduced with more satellites. At least SpaceX is upfront about it’s service levels and it’s DIY install and setup, and has clear fixed (for the most part, except the recent increase) pricing. Along with better actual speeds than oversubscribed cable, the ability to move it without hassles or fees, and it provides coverage in many underserved or unserved areas. Yet, there is a cost, and it’s high! Most people don’t want to pay over $700. just to start using the service.
Now our favorite, WISPs! Wireless Internet Service Providers, provide direct wireless high speed internet for less than cable or StarLink. Along with speeds that are faster than both! If you get 100M from a WISP, it’s your connection, you aren’t sharing it with everyone on your street, or in your neighborhood. Which means you get the 100M down AND the 100M upload as well! Imagine, actually getting what you pay for?! Beyond the speed the service is typically top notch and WISPs have the highest customer retention rates industry wide! What about the cost, you ask? Again WISPs Win! The cost is typically cheaper than cable and definitely less than StarLink, and can be less than half as much in some markets! So, let’s summarize, faster speeds for less money, and the best customer service in the industry… Who’s ready to cut the cable?! Beyond these cost and speed comparisons, WISPs are also much greener alternatives! We’ll write about these details in another post. However, for now, just think; we don’t dig up the ground for cable or cut trees to string them everywhere, and we don’t burn fuel to launch rockets! Until next time…