I've had Starlink since March. Figured I'd chime in with my experiences -
- I've yet to mount the dish permanently (it will end up on the roof using their volcano mount), it's still sitting in our yard on the ground. I just move it to mow. It is heated, so I have no concerns about snow. Indiana isn't exactly Arizona, but it still gets warm here in the summer - no issues with overheating.
- Outages are minimal. Had more outages when we first got it - typically ~15-30min/week if I had to guess. There was a single 4hr outage right after we got it. Outages were usually no more than 2 minutes back then, with the rare longer one. For the last several months - I have never noticed an outage in usage. The outage tracking in our app shows about 4 per day, but they're like 2 seconds each. They do sometimes push updates - this is typically around 3-4am, and one or both of the dish or router will reboot/update - this is typically in the 15-20min range. The app is used to control both the dish & router - they've consistently updated it to add functionality over time. I can reboot both the router & dish remotely. It has stats and you can run a speedtest.
- The included router is pretty decent. It originally had almost no user controllable features - now it has a few more via updates, but still not very many. It works great though - I've kept the 2.4ghz signal on my cell phone mowing our 5acre yard for example. I've had it in our garage, so it's pretty tolerant of heat as well. The 5ghz signal penetrates to our bedroom - furthest away from the garage you can get, so it doesn't propagate too bad either. You can replace it with your own router if you want. I've so far seen no reason to dig out a more advanced router I have from our last residence.
- Speeds are very good. There is some variation. The outer range limits are typically about 50-300Mbps download and 10-35Mbps upload. Ping is typically in the 25-60ms range. I'd say the average is typically in the middle - I almost always hit the 2.4ghz bandwidth limits on the wi-fi (50-80mbs in the house, depending which room), and I'd say 80-120mbs is the typical download range (15-25ish upload). Ping tends to hang closer to 45ms on avg. All of these speeds have improved since we first got it.
- We live on a hill in the middle of a field - there are no obstructions close except the house, and I didn't put it close enough for that to be an issue. The app has a few ways to help check for obstructions/monitor for them. Users who have obstructions can still get service - just with some limits due to the arcs - lots of reports in other locations of people with some very tall trees around them - would be worth reading up on those. You still need line of sight to enough of the sky though. Some reports of people who have put it on the top of telephone poles and such. Rain has yet to cause any interruptions - the satellites are only around 250 miles up or so. Snow shouldn't cause issues either, nor should any accumulation (the dish is heated).
The service is a game changer in rural areas IMO. My only internet options are cellular and a local WISP. I can see the interstate from my house and a small town - I'm within 20 miles of three different small cities (pop 20k-60k each). I can see two cell towers from my front porch. The cellular - our local towers are not upgraded for any of the Home Internet options, and two of the cell companies are in a position that we can get good high speed service with an exterior antenna, but inside the house (and neighbors not on the hill) service is much slower. Plus, since there is no home internet option, we'd blow through cell data caps instantly. Prior to Starlink we were doing illegal tethering to our cell phones vis usb. Traditional sat internet is just bad. The WISP is pretty decent, but I'd have to put up a 30-40ft tower to get over some treetops to get line-of-sight with some of their equipment. They have speeds slower than Starlink for less, but for $100/mo I'd be getting speeds 1/3rd the speed of Starlink. Plus there is sometimes weather related issues with the microwave dishes. Starlink, at this point, is functionally identical to our old Comcast cable internet in town - the speeds are almost the same. Comcast had a slight edge in latency and price, but even those differences weren't super large.
I can't wait to see their mobile options. While nice for RVers, it could also be a game-changer for boats. The technology behind the dishes, satellites, and how they work is pretty amazing. Musk can be controversial, but SpaceX and Starlink are a lifeline to a ton of underserved rural areas & remote workers. I would highly recommend Starlink based on our experience to anyone in similar circumstances.
