Grimes' ex-boyfriend is well known for his interstellar adventuring, and the latest frontier Elon Musk has tackled is high speed satellite internet - Starlink.
Rural and regional Australians have drawn the short straw when it comes to the NBN rollout. Satellite NBN (Sky Muster) is the slowest and least reliable of all NBN technology types, and if you're not using Sky Muster you're probably on NBN fixed wireless which isn't much better. If you're wondering if it's worth exploring other options we don't blame you.
In this article we break down how Starlink compares to satellite and fixed wireless NBN, to help you figure out which one is the best choice for you.
Starlink vs. NBN: Price
Both satellite NBN and fixed wireless are significantly cheaper than Starlink, both from a monthly and set-up cost perspective.
Starlink has just one plan that will set you back $139 per month, while with NBN you can pick and choose depending on your budget and your needs.
You’ll also need to pay $549 in set-up costs for Starlink, which includes all the hardware necessary to be able to connect to the network and shipping. This is however sometimes discounted to $349.
View Starlink's Residential plans
If you decide to cancel within 30 days, you can return the hardware and get a refund. If you cancel after, you're stuck with it.
| Monthly fee | Set-up costs | |
|---|---|---|
| Starlink | $139 | $549 (discounted to $349) |
| Satellite NBN | $30 - $100 | $0 |
| Fixed Wireless NBN | $50 - $80 | $0 |
In saying that, Starlink’s plan is straightforward whereas satellite NBN plans can be confusing. For $139 per month, you’ll get unlimited data, at the highest possible speeds. Simple. Fixed wireless plans are similar, you pick your speed tier and you'll get unlimited data.
Sky Muster plans on the other hand have peak and off-peak data limits. For example, you may get a 300GB data allowance for $60 per month, but you may only be able to use 65GB of that during peak hours (between 4pm and midnight on Sky Muster Plus plans, and between 7am and 1am on standard Sky Muster plans). More on this in the data section.
Sky Muster Plus Premium plans have unlimited data, but are the most expensive satellite NBN plans. They'll typically cost around $100 per month.
Fixed wireless and satellite NBN installation is free, but some providers may charge you a modem fee.
Here's a selection of Fixed Wireless PNBN plans from our database:
|
iiNet
nbn12 Liimitless
$74.99/mth
Min. cost $74.99
|
|
#1
|
Southern Phone
nbn Fixed Wireless Basic
$45/mth
Min. cost $45
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
Moose NBN
nbn 25/5 Value FW
$46.80/mth
Min. cost $46.80
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
Dodo
Fixed Wireless nbn25 Plan
$53.90/mth
Min. cost $53.90
|
|
#4
|
Swoop
nbn® Wireless
$54/mth
Min. cost $54
Link not supplied
|
|
#5
|
iPrimus
Unlimited Fixed Wireless Standard
$74/mth
Min. cost $74
|
|
#6
|
iiNet
nbn25 Liimitless
$76.99/mth
Min. cost $76.99
|
|
#7
|
Telstra
Upfront Internet Plan Basic (Fixed Wireless)
$89/mth
Min. cost $89
Link not supplied
|
|
#1
|
Origin Broadband
Fixed Wireless nbn® 75
$95/mth
Min. cost $95
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
Telstra
Upfront Internet Plan Essential (Fixed Wireless)
$105/mth
Min. cost $105
Link not supplied
|
And here's a selection of satellite NBN plans from our database:
Satellite NBN plans on this speed tier come with a max download speed of 12Mbps.
|
Activ8me
Sky Muster 155GB Standard
$39.95/mth
Min. cost $39.95
Link not supplied
|
Satellite NBN plans on this speed tier come with a max download speed of 25Mbps.
|
#1
|
Activ8me
Sky Muster 155GB Sonic
$44.95/mth
Min. cost $44.95
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
IPSTAR
Sky Muster Plus Entry
$58/mth
Min. cost $58
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
Activ8me
Sky Muster Plus Premium 25
$59/mth
Min. cost $59
Link not supplied
|
|
#4
|
Skymesh
Skymesh Ultra 25 Plan
$64.95/mth
Min. cost $64.95
Link not supplied
|
Satellite NBN plans on this speed tier can burst up to a maximum download speed of 100Mbps.
|
#1
|
IPSTAR
Sky Muster Plus Entry
$58/mth
Min. cost $58
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
Activ8me
Sky Muster Plus Premium 25
$59/mth
Min. cost $59
Link not supplied
|
|
#3
|
Skymesh
Skymesh Ultra 25 Plan
$64.95/mth
Min. cost $64.95
Link not supplied
|
Starlink vs. NBN: Speed
Compared to the NBN, Starlink speeds blow both satellite and fixed wireless connections out of the sky.
Sky Muster NBN plans can typically achieve maximum speeds of 25Mbps down and 5Mbps up, but Sky Muster Plus Premium plans can burst up to 100Mbps in the right conditions.
Fixed Wireless Plus NBN plans allow a maximum of 75Mbps down, but in the latest ACCC report of the fastest NBN connections the average download speed was actually 57.2Mbps.
Meanwhile, Starlink plans promise download speeds between 20Mbps and 100Mbps. Data from Ookla in quarter two of 2022 shows Starlink plans achieving 102.76Mbps down, and 10.45Mbps up on average.
| Download speeds | Upload speeds | |
|---|---|---|
| Starlink | 102.76Mbps* | 10.45Mbps* |
| Satellite NBN | 100Mbps max speed | 5Mbps max speeds |
| Fixed Wireless NBN | 57.2Mbps** | 7.4Mbps** |
*Data comes from Ookla speed testing report: Q2, 2022
**Data comes from ACCC Measuring Broadband Australia Report - 18
Starlink vs. NBN: Coverage
Starlink is now able to deliver service Australia-wide. Anyone, anywhere in Australia should now be able to order a Starlink plan. That being said, Starlink is recommended for those in rural and regional Australia, rather than those living in major cities - even if you can order it.
You can take a look at Starlink's official coverage map here.
Conversely, fixed wireless and satellite NBN cover around 500,000 and 100,000 Australian households respectively. With the rollout all but complete, if you’re on one of these technology types you probably know by now. Hence why you’re here.
If not, you can use our coverage checker. Go to the Internet Plans page, enter your street address to the search bar, and press search. You'll then see all the plans available at your address.
For more information click on More Filters, and navigate to Connection. The checked boxes will show you which internet types are available at your address.
Starlink vs. NBN: Latency
Satellite internet is notoriously slow, but the ping is literally out of this world. Latency or ping is how long it takes for a web application to respond to a user’s action. The lower the latency, the less lag you’ll experience.
Here are how the three compare.
| Average latency | |
|---|---|
| Starlink | 49ms* |
| Satellite NBN | 600ms |
| Fixed Wireless NBN | 10-20ms |
*Data comes from Ookla speed testing report: Q2, 2022
Traditional satellite internet has high latency because the data has to travel about 36,000km to hit the satellite. For Sky Muster, the average sits at 600ms, compared to 42ms for Starlink. Starlink is able to achieve lower latency because the satellites are significantly closer to Earth at just 550km.
According to its website, some Starlink connections can achieve a ping between 25 and 50ms. For reference, fixed line NBN has an average of 10.8ms ping, and fixed wireless NBN ping sits between 10ms and 20ms.
Starlink vs. NBN: Data limits
Both Starlink and NBN fixed wireless offer unlimited data, regardless of the time of day. There are now some satellite NBN plans with an unlimited data allowance, but many still have a download limit.
Many satellite NBN plans split data allowances into peak and off-peak usage, with sub-limits on these within your overall data limit.
Peak hours are between 4pm and midnight on Sky Muster Plus plans, and between 7am and 1am on standard Sky Muster plans.
Starlink vs NBN: Data limits
| Data limits | |
|---|---|
| Starlink | Unlimited |
| Satellite NBN | Up to unlimited |
| Fixed Wireless NBN | Unlimited |
The more you pay on a Sky Muster NBN plan, the more data you’ll get to use. You can get up to 300GB of data to use for as little as $49.95 per month. This should be more than enough for a small household, however, in this instance, you can only use 65GB of that during peak hours.
|
#1
|
Activ8me
Sky Muster 300GB Sonic
$54.95/mth
Min. cost $54.95
Link not supplied
|
|
#2
|
IPSTAR
Sky Muster Plus Entry
$58/mth
Min. cost $58
Link not supplied
|
On a Sky Muster Plus plan, you essentially have unlimited data for 16 hours off the day - during off-peak hours. During the remaining eight hours, most content is still unmetered, but you'll still eat into your data allowance for video streaming anything that goes over a VPN.
Sky Muster Plus Premium plans have genuinely unlimited data, and can be had for around $100 per month.
Starlink vs. NBN: Contracts
Apart from a couple of exceptions, NBN plans are generally all contract-free and so is Starlink. Despite the hefty set-up cost for Starlink, you’ll have 30 days to return your equipment and have the whole hardware fee refunded back to you. If you stay longer than the initial 30-day period, you'll be stuck with your Starlink equipment, even if you decide to leave.
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