August 19th  2021 - News

Starlink: Internet by satellite

Designed by the American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, Starlink offers the world's most advanced low-latency broadband Internet system. This project plans to provide high-speed Internet service around the globe, especially in areas lacking Internet access.

At Aqua Ray, we recently decided to subscribe to this service and test the beta version.

Designed by the American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, Starlink offers the world's most advanced low-latency broadband Internet system. This project plans to provide high-speed Internet service around the globe, especially in areas lacking Internet access.

At Aqua Ray, we recently decided to subscribe to this service and test the beta version.

The promise of the Starlink service

  • High speed internet access all over the world;
  • Transfer speeds between 50 and 150 Mb/s;
  • Latency of 20 to 40 milliseconds due to the short distance of Starlink satellites from the Earth (60 times closer than traditional satellites);
  • Continuous improvement of the networking software;
  • Preservation of the night sky by reducing the brightness of the satellites.

What are the benefits for Aqua Ray?

The Starlink link for our offices and our data center can be used in a crisis situation as a back-up for maintenance of our network equipment, should it become inoperable. Since it does not rely on physical network links, the antenna could be used in all types of situations where a traditional backup link relying on another operator's physical fiber could also be impacted along with our own network.

The Starlink link for our offices and our data center can be used in a crisis situation as a back-up for maintenance of our network equipment, should it become inoperable. Since it does not rely on physical network links, the antenna could be used in all types of situations where a traditional backup link relying on another operator's physical fiber could also be impacted along with our own network.

Installation of the satellite dish

The contents of the Starlink kit

The Starlink kit

A. Starlink satellite dish;
B. Starlink external power supply;
C. Wi-fi router.

A. Starlink satellite dish;
B. Starlink external power supply;
C. Wi-fi router.

Start-up process

To start the satellite dish, it is very simple, just connect the power source and then connect the dish located outside on the roof and the wifi router through RJ45 cables.

To start the satellite dish, it is very simple, just connect the power source and then connect the dish located outside on the roof and the wifi router through RJ45 cables.

Connecting the satellite dish

Once switched on, you have to go to the Starlink application to connect to the Wi-Fi and let the satellite dish pick up the nearest Starlink satellite.

Once switched on, you have to go to the Starlink application to connect to the Wi-Fi and let the satellite dish pick up the nearest Starlink satellite.

Wi-fi connection via the mobile application
Positioning of our satellite dish on the roof

Our feedback after a first test

Speed Test Starlink

Overall, considering the connection speed offered by our ADSL, Starlink is a good alternative.
To get a general idea of Starlink's capabilities, we have added it to the table of average speeds by technology (source: DegroupTest:

Overall, considering the connection speed offered by our ADSL, Starlink is a good alternative.
To get a general idea of Starlink's capabilities, we have added it to the table of average speeds by technology (source: DegroupTest:

Type de connexion Débit descendant moyen
Fibre Optique entre 300 et 8000 Mb/s
5G entre 300 et 2000 Mb/s
Câble entre 100 et 1000 Mb/s
Starlink entre 50 et 150 Mb/s
4G entre 20 et 300 Mb/s
VDSL entre 25 et 90 Mb/s
3G entre 2 et 30 Mb/s
ADSL entre 1 et 20 Mb/s

At this time, Starlink does not offer a public IP address, which makes it difficult to host a backup service. To get around this, we will implement a dynamic DNS system so that we can know the current public IP address of the service and update it when it changes.
Also, the router provided by Starlink does not have « Port Forwarding » functionality, which would allow us to forward an SSH connection to a server connected to our network. We are thinking of getting around this by setting up a third party router, not supported by Starlink. Only this alternative is not guaranteed to work.

See you in a second article to learn more about our attempt to make Starlink a backup service for the maintenance of our network equipment.

At this time, Starlink does not offer a public IP address, which makes it difficult to host a backup service. To get around this, we will implement a dynamic DNS system so that we can know the current public IP address of the service and update it when it changes.
Also, the router provided by Starlink does not have « Port Forwarding » functionality, which would allow us to forward an SSH connection to a server connected to our network. We are thinking of getting around this by setting up a third party router, not supported by Starlink. Only this alternative is not guaranteed to work.

See you in a second article to learn more about our attempt to make Starlink a backup service for the maintenance of our network equipment.

Contact us

Contact us

Any question ? A doubt ? A particular request ? Do not hesitate to contact us by clicking on this button below, we will answer you as quickly as possible.

Any question ? A doubt ? A particular request ? Do not hesitate to contact us by clicking on this button below, we will answer you as quickly as possible.

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