General Boards > Off Topic
Bit late on the news towards starlink but it is now deploying
Bookleaf:
--- Quote from: WAI4WD on Apr 13, 2022, 04:12:12 PM ---For me and the wife, travelling in Victoria, its perfect. $140 a month is well worth it to us when we start travelling more, and the entire of Victoria is already covered with base stations, so no issues in Victoria and near half of NSW is covered already, all of Tasmania is also covered.
--- End quote ---
Just be aware that at the moment, roaming is not supported.
The problem is that Starlink, as sold, is intended for a single address, permanently fixed, solution, and sold on that express condition. The purchaser has to specify the address it will be installed at and Starlink then consults their distribution/spread/load and approve the install/purchase or not. Anyone can not just go and purchase one. Starlink is the only supplier and they control tightly everything.
Starlink has divided the world up into approx 200km across hexagons - called cells. They seem to allocate a certain number of users to each cell and when that cell is full then there are no more sales. They do not advise the what and why-for for approval or "just hang there and wait on the waitlist till some variable time in the future". So if your 1km away neighbor has a Starlink service and has had it for 10 months but when you go to purchase, you could be rejected (no advice given that you have been denied and put on hold) because the cell is full. Conversely, you could be in an adjoining cell that is not full and get approved almost immediately. There is no way of knowing if approval will be granted until you put down a reasonable (Starlink defined), deposit. The hardware is not shipped to you until they approve your connection and you pay the full amount for the hardware.
There are a number of conditions Starlink put on relocating your dish
The only way of moving around is to apply for a new connection in a new location (that you are going to), described by street address or geo-location. You may or may not be granted a connection in the new location. You could just move any rate as some have without advising Starlink. Some have found they have got to their new address (in an adjacent cell) and have been OK. Others have found it just does not work and Starlink is not helpful in enabling them at the new address. It seems some dishes are geo-locked to the sold address. Once you leave/transfer/move to a new address, there is no guarantee you can get back to your old address as your "spot" has most likely been now allocated to a new customer and you are out in the cold. A number of people have found themselves in this situation.
Then again, there seems to be different software loaded into some later supplied dishes that enable roaming (all the electronics are contained within the dish. There is only a special power supply/combination router on the end of the single cable to the dish). Some seem to have this roaming
function but still get no service if they move unannounced into a full cell.
The selling second-hand of your dish is also not allowed by Starlink. It must be returned to them, so there is not a second-hand market, though some people seem to be finding workarounds for this.
Keep hanging in there. By the time you are ready to roam, so may Starlink.
yvesjv:
Awesome info Bookleaf, thank you :cup:
Not sure if you have a finger on that pulse but I'd like to know what the plans are for remote locations?
We have staff visiting Yirrkala, Galiwinku, etc
Having a 50/50 would be enough for a couple of researchers visiting.
Bookleaf:
Nobody knows what Startlinks' plans are.
At the moment if you draw a rough line from north of Perth to about Marla to north of Brisbane and they currently provide service south of this line (except for the Nullarbor). It has not reached Alice springs. They seem to be concentrating on moving up the east coast.
If you google "Starlink coverage" you will find links to a map that shows the current coverage worldwide. Zoom in to Australia. Identify the ground station locations and which of those are live. This will give you an indication of the current coverage or planned coverage in the future.
Further to roaming capabilities - I read that in the USA there are more and more users finding the supplied dish has roaming capabilities. Don't hold your breath for roaming to be available in Australia any time soon as it requires more than just the dish software, but seeing it is becoming more prevalent in the USA, then it may be here sooner than earlier anticipated.
yvesjv:
Thanks for the info.
Just had a look at the first link google came up with: https://starlink.sx/
The satellites are above the HT... but no ground gateways.
NZ is laughing at us again... first they have their NBN done right and now with Starlink:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1H1x8jZs8vfjy60TvKgpbYs_grargieVw&ll=-25.89955160266103%2C135.09510049719665&z=4
Bookleaf:
Just thought I would update this thread with the latest info I have come across.
Starlink is now approved for roaming.
Some conditions
- It costs an additional $35Au/month to enable roaming, over and above the normal monthly fee.
- You can turn on and off roaming at your leisure
- you will be charged for a full month (billing cycle) for any part of any month (billing cycle) that roaming was enabled
- Service is on a "best-effort" basis. If you move into an area where there is a waitlist for new users, then your service will/may be degraded, disabled for short periods, or maybe throttled.
- If you remain stationary (remain in the same cell - even though you may move around?) for more than 2 months (billing cycles), you may be asked/forced to change your home address to your current location. This will disconnect you from your true home location which may cause problems if/when you return to your true home location.
- Use while on the move is not allowed.
- Is only available in the country of original registration (no international roaming)
- Is only available in enabled areas ( see Starlink coverage map)
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