SpaceX’s Starlink Internet Just Got Some Serious Bragging Rights

Based on Ookla’s analysis, Starlink has left its competitors far behind when it comes to download speeds. The median speed increased from 87.25Mbps to 104.97Mbps quarter-to-quarter, whereas the average speeds achieved by HughesNet and Viasat oscillate around 20Mbps. This is a massive gap that certainly can be felt when using the internet, and also, a huge increase to achieve over just one quarter. The median download speed for all fixed broadband across the United States is still higher than Starlink, but only by a small margin, at 131.30Mbps. Starlink performs a little worse where upload speeds are concerned, and actually saw a drop in speed over the last two quarters, going down from 13.54Mbps to 12.04Mbps. In this regard, all fixed broadband metrics are still higher at 19.49Mbps. On the other hand, Starlink still vastly outperforms its satellite competitors who are trailing behind at 2.88Mbps and 2.54Mbps.

Starlink’s performance was not consistent across every region in the U.S. and varied on a county-to-county basis. Citizens of Miami Dade County in Florida had the best luck with Starlink, hitting high download speeds of 191.08Mbps, while Columbia County in Oregon was served with just 64.95Mbps, though such a speed is generally considered acceptable, especially in remote areas. Starlink saw similar success across the world, outperforming its competitors in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, and Portugal. In some of these countries, Starlink’s success applies not just to satellite internet, but also all fixed broadband options, meaning that it offers dominating speeds across the board.