Starlink: What Is It and What Does It Mean for Regional Australians?

Reliable internet and connection has always been a struggle for Australians, especially in rural and remote areas, but Elon Musk's company SpaceX has presented a solution through their new satellite service 'Starlink' that's now available across the globe.

Starlink is a developing constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites launched by SpaceX to provide global internet connectivity.

While Starlink is a significantly different form of satellite and internet connection than the NBN's Sky Muster, essentially the concept is the same. Starlink satellites in orbit communicate with ground transceivers to send a wireless signal to a terminal in your house (which plays the same role as a roof-mounted NBN dish).

Australians who rely on satellite internet are especially enthused about Starlink's launch since it provides unlimited bandwidth and has the potential to provide substantially higher speeds than Satellite NBN.

While you won't pay an installation fee for Starlink, you'll need to pay an upfront in hardware costs and in shipping fees.

This will you provide you with all the equipment to get started, including a satellite dish, mounting tripod designed for ground-level usage and a Wi-Fi router.

Although Starlink may be significantly more expensive than NBN's Sky Muster, Starlink's unlimited data and higher speeds compared to Sky Muster's limited data plans will now provide people living in remote areas with a reliable internet connection. When internet is becoming more and more of an essential tool for farming around the globe, a reliable connection becomes a necessity farm tool just as a tractor or cattle crush is.

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