Starlink now available in Vermont -- my purchase, setup and speed test of beta Starlink internet.

Starlink internet has arrived in Vermont. Sure, it's in beta. And it's not the cheapest. But where we are in rural Vermont -- where there are no options for fiber or cable internet -- this is a huge deal. In this video I'll show you how I signed up for Starlink's beta testing, the unboxing of the satellite dish and gear, setup, and speed testing. (Spoiler alret: it's waaaaaay faster than our current 4G antenna and DSL).
I'm particularly impressed with the upload speeds (20MB and above). I was expecting to get good download speeds with Starlink, but I was skeptical of upload. However, I just finished uploading this video to KZbin and for a 1.2GB file, it only took about 12 minutes. That would literally take 5 to 8 hours with our old DSL internet.
Excited to see how this performs in the coming days and weeks.

[@jamesmatthew2677]

Thanks for the video. I'm in northeast Vermont and just ordered one of these. Hoping for results like yours.

[@jackwool2674]

Thank you Luke for posting this. Also live in rural VT with same issues.

[@lukeqstafford]

It’s literally the only thing I can complain about when it comes to where I live. We’re very lucky to live in VT so I try to keep my internet complaints to a bare minimum.

[@JayWeldy]

Best of luck with it, good video!

[@twilightgarrison3671]

Once they get more Sats up we won’t be seeing very many outages as well so that’s great news.

[@unknownwolf4046]

Its available in my area of hugo Oklahoma my current provider Bravado Wireless throttling me so bad 180kbps download and 210kbps upload i can't get my games going on my Xbox one S i have load it offline than turn it back on

[@allenpost3616]

Congratz! Yep I just signed up yesterday with the deposit even though I live in south central US. So they popped up a notice stating service well not be available until mid to late 2021. So hopefully this summer.

[@Bryan-Hensley]

By that time your local light and power system will have a grant from the government and should have fiber to every house in the USA by mid 2022.

[@purexroyalty20179]

Ordered mine a week ago for Michigan

[@celestinonieves13]

WOW. You received yours in 11 days from Feb 3 until Feb 14th? I ordered mine, and it told me it could take 4-6 weeks. I ordered mine on Feb 11th, they took full payment as my address was confirmed as available for. Very excited as my current IPS is hot garbage.

[@lukeqstafford]

I know I was surprised too. Just like you they had told me 4 to 6 weeks so you may get a surprise in the mail sooner than you think!

[@IamPotion]

How how long did it take to get yours ?

[@ParadoxPlays1]

man I ordered mine on Feb 27 I'm still waiting but I'm so impatient

[@colinsalem3972]

I ordered the pipe adapter on Feb 11th. Still hasn't shipped as of March 16th. I saw on the Starlink website today they don't expect the pipe adapters to ship until sometime in April. They do offer full refunds for those who want to go the DIY route.

[@theabcsoffrequencies3359]

Hi! Thank you! I am getting my hardware shortly. Do you know if there is an option to have it installed at my house? I am in Fairfax. Thanks again for all your help!

[@Animalwon]

Luke- You could have done much bettter on 4G if you had used a directional antenna instead of an omnidirectional antenna like you have done. A directional antenna would have increased your cell tower signal by as much as 5dB MINIMUM. That would have topped your speed to the maximum. I have a similar cellphone amplifier setup and am as far as you are to the nearest tower. I used the directional antenna and consistently get 4-5 bars on multiple phones. I ordered Starlink a couple of weeks ago (Feb 2021) BUT have not heard back from StarLINK. Glad you got yours SO quickly. I may have been lost in the crowd.

[@lukeqstafford]

So that antenna is actually both Omni and directional. If you tip it on its side and point it straight at an antenna it acts as directional. I tried for HOURS to get a good directional signal to no avail. Likely because of the mountain in between me and the tower. I called the manufacturer and they advised me to build a 100ft tower for it. Ha. Not happening. Thankfully Uncle Elon came to the rescue.

[@Animalwon]

@@lukeqstafford Ah.. i saw similar antennas for sale when i was shopping for a similar setup for home. I live on a Hill but didn't realize living far from the city meant all those beautiful trees I moved out here for would become the problem. Our nearest cell tower(s) are behind miles and miles of trees. I had to use a pole mount on the side of a projection from a 3rd story roof dormer to get enough clearance to get a cell signal, to be able to then use a Yagi directional antenna to make it all worthwhile. The mfg stated the Antenna/Amplifier needed to see 3-5 bars to make it work the best. The yagi worked best to avoid a feedback loop thru receiving antenna on roof and indoor antenna, as well as make up for obstructions (cell tower was behind trees and another hill top).

[@joeldoyle6359]

Thanks for the video Luke, I’ve checked here in NE Arkansas should be here mid 2021 to late 2021. I have a couple of questions; the monthly cost is $99 in Vermont I assume it’s the same? Does the state, county or city charge fees beyond the sales tax on the equipment. Here they charge the fees, sales tax (state, county, city) ,etc monthly on cable and the cable also pays a franchise fee which they pass on to the customer. Starlink is accepting pre orders.

[@lukeqstafford]

Hey Joel, yes it’s $99/mo up here too. I haven’t received a bill yet though, so I’m not sure if any additional taxes/fees will be added to monthly bills. The total for my dish was $581.94 so they must have added some sort of tax but for the life of me I can’t find a detailed invoice, just the order confirmation with the total.

[@joeldoyle6359]

Thank you for the prompt response, what the site says for me is $499 +$50 shipping + “calculating taxes” $99/mo (pre-order) $99.00. Our state and local sales tax is 8.5% then they tack on another $20 or so fees. I’m presently assessing my ability to get 100 degree open sky . I live in a 100 year old home with very large trees around my place on the edges of surrounding properties. When we had satellite several years ago getting a shot was difficult especially after winter. Again thank you for your help. “Uncle Elon” is way up on the game!

[@robertlindefjeld9022]

Great video. Question: If you place the dish up on a pole and the dish is facing upward, won't it collect snow and rainwater, thereby ruining your Internet connection?

[@lukeqstafford]

Good question. It produces just enough of its own heat that it melts snow and and ice.

[@Bryan-Hensley]

The only problem with starlink is the government is giving out grants like crazy to light and power systems to send fiber to every house in the USA. They have sent fiber to houses 15 miles from society around here. I was fixing to start a wireless fixed internet company and found all this out.

[@karl2051]

Would LOVE to see your connection set up with your own modem?? I too want to use a different one but have no clue how or what brand?? Thanks !

[@lukeqstafford]

Hey Karl, I’ll try to make a video of the setup ASAP.

[@karl2051]

@@lukeqstafford that would be great...thank you !

[@luketheamerican8015]

Does anyone know if there's an email or a phone number to call customer service? We put in a pre-order and we're supposed to get a confirmation email. We got the charge but we didn't get the email. We looked on their website for any contact information but there's nothing. it seems to be the right website but it's very bare-bones.

[@Bryan-Hensley]

I haven't ordered anything but it plainly says on the website you'll get a confirmation email PRIOR TO shipping. 1-855-753-2495

[@frankstone]

Can you please provide the link for me to purchase the "pipe adapter"? This is just what I need in a snow belt area. Thank You!

[@lukeqstafford]

Not sure if you need to be signed in to a Starlink account to view this, but try this link shop.starlink.com/products/us-consumer-mount-pipeadapter

[@YoungBoomerlol]

@@lukeqstafford it asked me to sign in when I tried

[@legaleagleandpaws8198]

Is there a monthly charge or just the cost of the equipment and is that equipment yours...where in Vermont are you and is it available throughout the whole state? Thanks

[@tylersuwoop]

$500 and the dish is yours to keep with $100 a month for service. Not available in entire US making its way down from the north.

[@legaleagleandpaws8198]

@@tylersuwoop Thanks for answering sounds like a good deal!

[@lukeqstafford]

Yup Tyler nailed it.

[@poopahskoopahh8563]

650$ in canada and $129 a month

[@SomeRandomPerson]

Nitpicky moment, but it keeps grinding my gears: The POE Injector is just a POE Injector, not a Modem. It's just a whole lot more powerful, and has two outputs, than pretty much any other POE Injector out there. It's not a satellite, those are in orbit. It'd be somewhat correct to call it a satellite dish, although it has more in common with those big flat panels on the side of an Arleigh Burk-class destroyer, than a regular satellite dish.

[@johnnyblaze9217]

yeah, so what im a techie and i get what you mean but you cant keep expecting the average person to get all the right terms correct. i hope you get used to it you got people out here who call MEGABYTES megabits.

[@unknownwolf4046]

My isp Bravado Wireless throttling me 150kbps download and upload 230kbps

[@garthologist1628]

Does anyone know how much it disconnects?

[@LilSk1tty]

I've heard from some other people that it's about 10-15 minutes total per day, however it's in increments of a couple seconds to a couple minutes per time

[@15Redstones]

It depends on whether you are, how the satellite orbits are, and how many obstructions there are. Some people only have a few seconds per day.

[@TheKronpowkid88]

Just got my email saying it will be here in 3 days ive got 1 tree that will be coming down