Goodbye, Starlink, and thanks for all the bits.

Four years ago, we submitted an offer on a house in the far north of Wisconsin immediately after checking the final box on our search list: could we get internet service there? Because the house is up on a hill near lake, we had a fairly clear sight line to one of the towers operated by the local-area WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider). For $112 per month, they could offer us the federal definition of broadband: 25/3Mbps.

Last month, almost four years to the day of accepting the seller's counteroffer, a Spectrum salesperson knocked on our door. "Would you like to get rid of your Starlink?" he greeted me.

Yep, Starlink. Just a couple months after moving in, the WISP had a rough patch. We had extremely low speeds, and often no connection at all between 8pm and 8am, for weeks on end. In the midst of that, we got invited to the Starlink beta. With no other option for internet, we jumped in.

The experience was mixed. Video conferencing was a no-go for us for basically the first year, because of the few-second disconnection we would experience when the sparse satellite network disappeared behind trees every few minutes. But for less money per month ($99), we got a much better experience (faster speeds, and fewer hours-long outages) for all other internet activities.

A lot more money and time later (building a tower, cutting down trees, burying cable, subscription price increases, more satellite launches), Starlink service finally became stable for everything, including video conferencing.

Shortly after we stabilized Starlink (mid-late 2022), our neighbors heard from Charter that they would be bringing Spectrum service down our road … in another 18-24 months. I was skeptical. That seemed easily long enough for a budget to get redirected elsewhere.

But I spied a guy with a laptop in a Spectrum pickup prowling the neighborhood in March of this year. I caught him as he was packing up, and he confirmed that the crew would be out this summer. “Probably around July, is what I see,” he said. They showed up in June, and junction boxes lined the street by the end of the month. Vans would occasionally park at the larger ones throughout July. And finally in August, the salesman knocked.

We signed up immediately. I heard later in the day that we became part of the sales pitch farther down the street. “Even the guy with the Starlink tower signed up.” Let me give you a table of the offers, and I think you'll understand why:

Every person I know on this street who had Starlink, and now has the option to have Spectrum, has already had their fiber run and canceled their Starlink service. Every person on the short branch street a hundred yards away that Spectrum skipped, is absolutely pissed that they can't get rid of their Starlinks.

And that is the root of a thing that has aggravated me every one of these four years. There are so many articles about how bad Starlink is - ruining the night sky, creating space junk (“Kessler syndrome!”), creating other pollution, dropping debris on Canadian farms, being owned by a right-wing asshole. A number so vanishingly small that I will call it zero ever mention that the reason Starlink exists is because there is demand for it. Bring good quality internet to people and they ditch Starlink immediately.

So, I'm a bundle of emotions. In awe of, and thankful for, the SpaceX engineers that created a usable system for my region. Angry that I've contributed to a system that has so many negative externalities. Happy that federal grants have finally brought good internet to an extremely underserved area (in case you thought I believed that Charter buried this fiber out of the goodness of their own hearts). Annoyed that it took so long. Appreciative and amazed at the price and quality of the service that Spectrum is providing. Embarassed that I now have this resource, but many other folks in this region still don't. Conflicted on how strongly I can continue to recommend Starlink as a good option.

My Starlink service had just renewed a day or two before the Spectrum salesman arrived. That's the last time it renewed. After two weeks of smooth, fast service, I canceled Starlink. The service period expired this past Monday, and I spent the Saturday before uninstalling the equipment.

As for that equipment, I have to take just a moment to brag about my tower. I installed it in May of 2021. Except for adding an additional five feet of pipe to the mast a few weeks later, I haven't touched it. In the years since, we've had torrential rain storms, deep snow piles, and wind gusts over 40mph. Standing on a ladder leaned against it three whole years later, it felt as solid as the day of construction. The bolts holding the mast in place loosened easily, and I was able to lower the dish for removal without any issue. I rolled the pipes across the driveway afterward - they're as straight as the day I bought them. So an additional emotion I get to feel is just a touch of pride.

That pride was tempered by the weathering of the underground pipe. On one hand, it protected the cable from harm. From the picture, you can see that I was still running original beta equipment. In case you've forgotten, that cable was permanently attached to the dish. I've never had to replace mine. But on the other hand, the pipe prevented a harmless deinstallation. That damn EMI choke just wouldn't make it through the underground bends. I had to cut the wire to get it out. I have since soldered it back together, and it seems to work again - the dish does its boot up tilt calibration and aiming - but the visible sky from ground level is so small in the summer that it wasn't possible to get a full service test to verify.

What's going to happen to that dish (and router, etc.) is unclear. Starlink doesn't want it back. A friend initially expressed interest, but I think that interest has waned in the face of all the work necessary to make $120/mo. worth it. If you've read this far, and you have interest in it, reach out. I'm not looking to sell it. I'd rather pass it on to someone that needs it, or is going to do interesting research with it.

I expect this will actually be my last Starlink post. The closest I may come to another is if I decide to share what becomes of the tower. If my friend isn't installing the dish, I'm thinking of turning the tower into some sort of art-utility. Maybe a small raised garden. Maybe a solar light to illuminate my driveway and/or holiday decorations.

The other way I may approach the topic is by continuing to share developments in US internet availability. I know we talk about all the ways the internet has been ruined, and often serves only to bring us the next "torment nexus". But I believe it still provides valuable access to information, and ever more essential services, and that it is important to guarantee that access to everyone.

Categories: Starlink