New Speedtest Data Shows Starlink Users Love Their Provider

Satellite internet competition is heating up and Ookla has fresh data from Q4 2022 and Q1 2023 for HughesNet, SpaceX’s Starlink, and Viasat in North America, South America, and the Caribbean, as well as new Starlink markets. One finding is that Starlink users in metro and nonmetro areas love Starlink, while fixed broadband users dislike their internet service providers. Starlink speeds increased in Canada and the US over the past two quarters, but are mixed year-over-year. Starlink in Canada, Chile, and Jamaica, blazed ahead as the fastest satellite provider in mainland North America, South America, and the Caribbean, respectively. Some major updates about what’s next for various satellite competitors include:

• Amazon’s Project Kuiper showcases low-cost customer satellite terminals: These new terminals have different tiered models, which are promised to deliver 100 Mbps and 400 Mbps models for consumers and businesses, and 1 Gbps models for “enterprise, government, and telecommunications applications that require even more bandwidth.” 

• Viasat launched its Viasat-3 arrays: Viasat launched the first of three long-awaited Viasat-3 arrays, which aims to provide 1 Terabit per second (Tbps) of network capacity on each satellite, double that of the entire operating fleet.

• Eutelsat, OneWeb, and Intelsat are making big moves: While the merger of Eutelsat and OneWeb has yet to be fully completed, both satellite operators inked major deals with Intelsat to add more global satellite capacity.

• European Union (EU) greenlights multi-orbit constellation: The EU has approved its multi-orbit, €6 billion ($6.6 billion)constellation plan, which includes GEO, MEO, and LEO arrays, and will offer connectivity to all EU citizens. 

• HughesNet aims to launch Jupiter 3 array in Q2 2023: Incumbent satellite internet provider HughesNet has revealed its new Jupiter 3 array, new Jupiter 3 array, which is designed to offer 500 Gbps over Ka-band and will allow HughesNet to provide consumers offerings of 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps.