FUD is Everywhere

This post was triggered by a snarky Twitter reply I received about the quality of our Starlink service compared to legacy terrestrial options. As with most transformations and disruptions, there is a significant resistance to change and this is manifested as Fear, Uncertainty and Dread (FUD) which is amplified in mainstream media, rampant in opinionated forums and is highly visible in marketing deception. My main gripe is that so many people struggle to make good decisions about technology.

Why am I writing about Satcom? I’m a licenced Amateur radio operator, I have Marine radio operator endorsements and I’ve been developing and testing communications systems since the 1970s. I was fortunate to work with an Army Cadet Officer, who was a Plessy executive by day, who gave us access to state of the art UHF hardware, including VHF Pye Pocketphones. My father also introduced me to General Electric CB 27MHz radio at this time and I spent time with 144 Signals squadron and became very familiar with the ANPRC 25/77 military radios. Since then I’ve operated commercial Satcom all over the world, listened in on cellular comms (2G and 3G), I’ve built and operated Marine SSB and HAM systems using Pactor modems to download weather forecasts offshore, and more recently used Marine AIS, Inreach, Iridium and Starlink Satcom for personal and Disaster Response work. I’ve also started to delve into Software Defined Radio (SDR) and look forward to renewing my Amateur Radio qualifications in the next year.

This post has two parts.

Part one describes LEO Satcom (think Starlink, Iridium, Globalstar, OneWeb and Project Kuiper) and compares it to geostationary Satcom. (think Telstra Skymuster, PayTv, Foxtel, etc) We’ll see by the numbers (hard data, good science and empirical evidence) why these services are different. We’ll also benchmark against terrestrial options.

Part Two is a list of my related comments in public news articles that are related to Starlink. I don’t include the original articles but this highlights the amount of FUD in the mainstream media.

Satcom Explained

I’ve produced two views in this section. They use some simple trignometry to visualise the differences in performance, coverage and complexity of the commercial satcom options available today.

TODO image1

TODO Test Data

TODO image2

Starlink Public Comments

Here’s my public comments on Starlink over the last 12 months. I’ve retrieved them from Disqus.

Defence wants to know if a space SDN will fly

a month ago

Any of the modern LEO options will work here. If you add in end to end encryption and zero trust then using commercial options provides more options. I can’t see any nation states building their own LEO satcom to the extent of Starlink, Project Kuiper or Oneweb.

The big concern I have for space based comms (I’m a Starlink, Iridium and Inreach user) is what happens when conflict moves to space?

We’ve already seen some demonstrations of kinetic strikes on space based assets. Even one incident creates a massive amount of debris. If a nefarious actor were to do this in any of the LEO orbiting bands then there is the potential for significant loss of the orbiting fleet. Unfortunately I suspect this concern is already close to reality.

For mission and safety critical use cases we still need terrestrial options like use of existing commercial fibre, microwave and amateur radio. The United States has this approach in depth and AFAIK is the only nation with this capability. I’m a Ham radio operator and have participated in these testing events in the US. Hams support first responders in the US and they have annual test days between Hams and the US military.

NBN Co labels exodus to Starlink ‘modest’

a month ago

The technologies, while having a common location (space) are vastly different in technical capability, performance and usability. LEO (550km) and Skymuster geo stationary at 38,000km are completely different and not comparable.

I don’t see Starlink as an alternative to Skymuster. Skymuster is unusable for my needs. (concurrent streaming, video conferencing, push and pull of large and streaming data sets). Skymuster is similar in performance (but less limited and less expensive) than my Iridium satcom service which gives me global connectivity but very low bandwidth. The portability of my Iridium service and hardware is good but their end user technical stack is clunky and archaic. But it works globally.

I see Starlink as an alternative to terrestrial fixed line options. I live outside of the metropolitan area (not ideal for Starlink at scale) and now I am not disadvantaged because I live outside the city.

As for Starlink costs this is a marketing furphy. Starlink support is awesome, I have access to performance data of my service and I don’t have to deal with installation scheduling, unanswered customer service and continual performance degradation.

Starlink’s portability is also unique and not met by any other option for remote area coverage. It works just as well in my RV wherever I park it. This benefit alone offsets costs compared to alternatives. Add in cell phone hotspotting which is the most convenient (when I have connectivity) and my main objective is achieved. Fast, reliable connectivity 24/7 wherever I am. This is the unique Starlink value proposition.

NBN Co labels exodus to Starlink ‘modest’

a month ago

Gov wants telcos to block SMS impersonation

a month ago

In the current climate I do not trust phone calls from outside my allow listed contacts. SMS has also become untrusted due to the same issues. Nearly unusable except for a few contacts.

I now use alternative channels to connect which support MFA, end to end encryption and other modern security mechanisms. These platforms also allow me to control all access, data visibility and retention.

I have zero control or ability to manage my SMS and phone calls. The other constraint with SMS and phone calls is they are tied to a nation boundary. I work in a global space and not being constrained by these legacy constraints is key to productivity.

There is a dependency for MFA from numerous entities like banks which leverage SMS for second factor authentication. This is also a security issue (but convenient) with codes coming in via unverifiable sms. This is a huge security risk IMHO.

SMS, as a technology, is also becoming obsolete and is being replaced globally by RCS in phone hardware. This move away from SMS will allow for global satcom connectivity. The telcos are not building out these global LEO constellations. I can see mass disruption coming for the 800+ telcos globally. Finally with RCS (we’re not there yet) we’ll be able to move away from a phone number / sms tied to a nation state’s border.

NBN Co renews bid to force ACCC review of mobile threat

a month ago

And how do any of those approaches benefit the actual users of connectivity? All very anti competitive. It’s 2023 and NBN co seem to think we’re all chained to a desk or a home. I require reliable connectivity everywhere I go.

After years of frustration with outages, underperformance and poor customer service by the NBN and most other terrestrial providers we switched to Starlink a year ago. Since then we’ve had a frustration free experience.

Even when we experienced cable damage due to an extreme wind event (of our starlink ground terminal to modem) they shipped a replacement cable and modem, at no charge.

I also use my mobile to hotspot when commuting, working at customer sites, travelling etc. The coverage, even in urban areas, is woeful but I can work around that.

Flying Doctor takes on Starlink for regional access

2 months ago

Have been using Starlink for a year now, as our primary connectivity. It’s proven to be far superior to all the terrestrial options. It happily supports concurrent streaming, video conferencing and large data upload and download with much better performance and reliability than Optus, Telstra and NBN options. And we have the same experience in our RV.

NBN Co wants to lift 50Mbps prices but not service quality

3 months ago

In all sectors that aren’t dominated by consumer unfriendly monopolies it is an expectation of consumers and providers that you should get better at doing the same thing over time. This is called continuous improvement.

Perhaps we should just fully commoditize connectivity and we’ll let those best placed to deliver a continuously improving service stay in business. Mandatory penalties, payable to consumers, for failing to deliver a service would also be a good motivator for NBN.

Thankfully I remain on Starlink, which for over a year now has performed far better than any of the terrestrial options. Nearly flawless.

NBN Co warns of copper network’s mounting costs

4 months ago

Just in the last month I’ve had to fail over to tethering due to a wind damaged Starlink cable. Also had to replace a phone and esim while travelling. Have also leveraged Airola data sims to work around archaic Telco delays in provisioning me a replacement esim. Transferring 200+ apps, their data and my backups on Google Pixel phone was flawless.

Starlink shipped me a replacement cable quickly but of course it’s now in the Australian parcel delivery quagmire. 2 days from the US to Aus and 3 weeks to get from Syd to Adl.

Also finding out that I can’t get a replacement esim quickly because I have to prove my ID to Optus (they wanted to take photos of my ID just 3 weeks after the data leakage announcement. They also wanted to see my passport while I was travelling domestically)

Thanks Starlink, Airola and Google. No thanks to Optus (an esim should not be wrapped in paper and your 5G is less impressive than Starlink) and parcel delivery in Australia is archaic. Our telco issues are broader than just NBN…

Vocus to sell Starlink’s business services

4 months ago

Great news. Vocus are a key infrastructure provider in Australia. Whenever I come across Vocus in my daily work good things happen.

Telco giants fined $33.5 million

4 months ago

Neighbour - I see you have Starlink?

Me - Yes, after outages, unusable services and zero support from all the telco and NBN options we switched to Starlink.

Neighbour - What about the latency?

Me - So here is the FUD. First hop latency on Starlink is a magnitude greater than terrestrial options, but here’s where Starlink is far superior (after nearly a year on Starlink). Starlink routes up to satellite, down to ground station and then straight to their Sydney POP. Telstra, Optus and NBN all have at least 30 hops where they shape, block and buffer your traffic and you have no visibility or control. They really don’t get data - their business model is stuck in last century.

Neighbour - Any issues with Starlink?

Me - Ummm, none. In fact its so reliable its boring. Streaming, video conferencing and large file upload all together work fine with no issues. I work for a tech behemoth and I’m busy pushing lots of data around and continuously using latency sensitive services and I can’t fault it. The proof is in the numbers. You also deal direct with Starlink, direct access to their support folks, simple setup and no middle entity charging you for doing nothing.

Neighbour - races off to order Starlink and abandon NBN.

I even take Starlink in my RV and in the recent lightning storm, where my neighbours lost connectivity, I saw only one blip of lost connectivity (12 sec) during a close lightning strike. This was the first time my wife has had a streaming outage or issue in many months.

Federal government taking a look at LEOsats

5 months ago

With a year of Starlink experience as my prime home and RV connectivity - it is far superior than all the terrestrial options. We’ve cycled through Optus, Telstra and NBN in South Australia; and all have been dreadful in terms of multi hop latency, outages and poor support. Large file downloads, streaming, videoconferencing and heavy duplex traffic are all handled excellently by Starlink.

While the Starlink home and mobile (in RV) connectivity is superb, what is really innovative and disruptive, is how Space X (Starlink) sells direct to consumer, have superb support via in app chat and can deliver over the air updates at scale without disruption. What is also innovative is the rapid increase and replacement of the satellite constellation which delivers near 100% launch and deployment success. The space industry norm is around 30% for satellite deployment success.

The installation of the Starlink ground terminals is also super simple and done without the need of non existent technical support from the incumbents. The user manual is two pages, the location is confirmed using their app and total setup time is less than 10 minutes.

And for those interested in reducing waste and contributing positively to the climate mess we are in, the Starlink constellation is solar powered, the launch rockets use low emission Methanol; and are reusable; and our Starlink ground terminal is also solar powered. We can now survive without any grid connected services; electric, water and connectivity.

The Federal Government should acknowledge that innovation and rapid improvement in services to citizens does not come from the incumbents. Fanciful announcements from Telstra on OneWeb MoU do not and may never actually be realised. Starlink sell direct to consumer with a fraction of the workforce of the incumbent telcos. This results in much cheaper, much faster and better citizen experience.

I’ve just had to replace a mobile phone while travelling. What a nightmare. Luckily I also travel with Iridium Go satcom as a backup. While I was able to buy a phone within a few minutes I was stifled by the archaic process of purchasing and transferring a phone number by our Telcos and their inefficient and very customer unfriendly processes.

Optus eSIM is a paper envelope, and it took me two days to transfer my eSIM from one phone to another. This is absurb as the whole purpose of an eSIM is to allow fast digital provisioning. This is the typical nonsense we see from obsolete organisations and businesses. Luckily I was able to purchase a data only eSIM from Airolo (telco digital innovator) online in just a few minutes; but our archaic telco legislation does not allow to purchase or port a mobile number without providing way too much information. Optus copied my drivers licence, credit card and medicare card and then had to email them somewhere; because their app didn’t work and also required my old phone to work. All this just a few weeks after the recent data leakage. Absurd.

So Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, please don’t fall into the trap of driving further lockin and stifling of innovation. Better citizen services comes from disruptors and innovators, not from monopoly behaviour.

NSW Telco Authority taking a look at LEOsats

7 months ago

With 12 months of Starlink use as primary internet connectivity the proof is in the data. Starlink is more reliable, more performant for not only internet use but especially streaming, videoconferencing and high bandwidth latency sensititive use cases.

The concerns with ‘…interoperability, latency, capacity, cost, and reliability…’ are areas where Starlink excels.

The lessons in Ukraine highlight how effective commodity (direct to consumer) solutions can be when leveraged by citizenry. Australia could heed these lessons in leveraging non governmental solutions for critical services like comms during emergencies. Australia lags in this area for policy, first responders and spectrum usage.

Telstra, TPG Telecom, Optus assess NBN Co price model rejig

7 months ago

“Prices will rise every year till 2040…”. That statement is a red flag for any Australian.

A key benefit of technology and continuous improvement is that the costs to do the same thing will decrease over time. When costs increase that is a clear sign that inefficiencies dominate. Those inefficiencies are business models, manual processes, outdated management thinking and are exacerbated by a lack of competition.

NBN Co says almost one-third of users on the wrong plan

8 months ago

Starlink beams straight from satellite to level 3 backbone, direct to Sydney, avoiding all the buffering, shaping and blocking via terrestial telcos. I find streaming performance much better and large downloads much quicker than NBN, Telstra and Optus terrestial options. Typical speed tests only consider unloaded pings and do not reflect actual usage. It’s the hops on terrestial connectivity that is the real problem. Even video conferencing on Starlink is now excellent after frequency hopping enabled due to Ukraine deployment and Russian EW actions. View in discussion

8 months ago

Switched to Starlink 6 months ago. Zero outages, great performance and I even take it with me in my RV with roaming now enabled.

Vocus urges incoming government to refocus NBN policy

a year ago

FTTP is not the answer to the end game. Australia’s ability to innovate and endure major events and incidents will progressively require robust connectivity everywhere. For example I have recently shifted from terrestrial infrastructure to Starlink. After poor service, constant outages and having traffic shaped, buffered and dropped by legacy telcos (Optus, Telstra and NBN) I now have better performance, less outages and zero dependency on the fragile terrestrial infra.

Continue reading articles in my Communications series