I recently moved to an area where the internet isn’t exactly great, so I found myself needing to rethink my connection. In this post, I’ll walk through what I needed, the options available to me, and ultimately the choice I made.

I recently moved to an area where the internet isn’t exactly great, so I found myself needing to rethink my connection. In this post, I’ll walk through what I needed, the options available to me, and ultimately the choice I made.

A Tale of Two Locations

I was quite spoiled in my old house. It was on a council estate in a small town, and the connectivity options were excellent. We had a strong mobile signal, BT copper connections, and even Virgin fibre, pretty much everything you could want.

Now, in contrast, I’m in a more rural spot. The phone signal is patchy at best (4G only), there’s no Virgin, and I’m limited to slower copper lines. One of the “joys” of being out of town, I suppose.

That’s when I discovered Starlink, and it seemed like a perfect fit.

What is Starlink?

Starlink is satellite internet provided by SpaceX. If you’re into space like I am, you’ll know them for their missions to the International Space Station and the Starship launches.

They also offer a consumer service where you can buy a satellite dish and modem. As long as you’ve got power and coverage in your country, you can get internet pretty much anywhere.

First Impressions (and Concerns)

I’ll be honest, I was hesitant at first.

As someone who grew up in the 80s with Sky TV, I remember all too well what happened when the weather turned bad, signal gone. So naturally, I had concerns:
• Would rain knock the internet out?
• Would cloud cover affect speeds?

I did a fair bit of research, blogs, YouTube videos, real-world experiences. What I found was reassuring. People in far harsher climates than the UK (think deep snow in the US and Canada) were still getting solid performance.

I was also seeing reported speeds of 200–300 Mbps, which is more than enough for my needs.

Then there was the cost. I managed to get a decent deal at the time, £150 for the kit and £75 per month. Installation cost me another £250 to get it mounted in a clear, obstruction-free spot. Definitely not cheap.

Everyday Use

I work from home regularly, so I need a connection that’s reliable all day, especially over VPN, which can be demanding on both download and upload speeds.

I’m also looking to get back into YouTube, and I regularly transfer large files. For me, upload speed is absolutely critical.

In practice:
• Around 250 Mbps during the day
• Around 150 Mbps in the evenings (when usage peaks)

I do get the occasional brief dropout when the system switches between satellites, but I only really notice it on Teams calls, and even then, it’s minor.

There has been one full outage (July 2025), where the entire network went down for about three hours. Compared to previous providers, where I’ve had outages lasting days due to cable faults, that’s honestly not bad at all.

The hardware itself has been rock solid. It’s been mounted on a mast for nearly two years, through all kinds of weather, and hasn’t missed a beat.

At home, I’ve got around 35 devices connected, laptops, iPads, cameras, and everything runs smoothly.

Thoughts on the Company

It’s hard to talk about Starlink without mentioning Elon Musk. There’s definitely been some controversy around him.

Personally, I find him an interesting and charismatic figure, even if I don’t agree with all of his views. And that’s fine, differences of opinion are part of what makes things work.

At the end of the day, Starlink is much bigger than one person. It’s thousands of engineers and technicians doing some genuinely impressive work. As someone who works in tech myself, I can relate. You don’t always agree with leadership, but you still take pride in what you build.

And it’s worth noting that Starlink has been a game-changer in places where traditional internet simply isn’t possible, Ukraine being a prime example.

Final Thoughts

So, would I recommend Starlink?

Yes… and no.

If you can get a solid fibre connection (say 300 Mbps or more), go with that; it’ll likely be cheaper and more consistent.

But if, like me, you’re in an area with limited options, Starlink is absolutely worth considering.

It’s still not the cheapest solution, but prices have come down significantly. There are now deals with free hardware and plans starting from around £35 per month, making it far more accessible than before.

It’s a premium service for a specific need, and it won’t be for everyone.

But for me, it’s been spot on.