Simple, fast and stable
Stiftung Warentest surfs with Elon Musk's Starlink
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Internet via satellite can be a solution when little or nothing is possible via cable or mobile communications. Stiftung Warentest tried Starlink and found almost everything about the system to be good or very good – except for annoying or missing cables and operator Elon Musk.
Starlink has already proven how well it works in the Ukraine War, but providing satellite internet to the outskirts of Bochum or a village in Brandenburg may be a bigger challenge for Elon Musk's system. In any case, Stiftung Warentest set up antennas there for its test and tried out how easy Starlink is to install and how fast and stable the connection is.
Installed quickly, great reception
It was not the examiners, but a family of test subjects in the Brandenburg test village who found the installation very easy. It took her just 15 minutes to set up the antenna outdoors, connect the associated router to the power supply and connect both devices via cable. The Starlink app, which helps with step-by-step instructions and information, also received praise.
The technical measurements took place in Bochum. Warentest calls the reception quality “excellent”. The connection is stable, was very fast in the test at around 140 megabits per second (Mbps) and was characterized by a relatively low latency. This means Starlink can easily replace cable or DSL Internet.
The price for this is not too high. The testers paid 322 euros for the antenna, router and accessories; the package is currently offered for 225 euros. An unlimited data flat rate costs 50 euros per month, mobile with changing locations costs 56 euros.
Criticism of Kabel and Elon Musk
The test family found two points of criticism: It bothered them that the cable from the antenna to the router had to be routed through the wall of the house. They would also have liked to have had a stable connection via LAN cable. However, the router only offers WLAN without an adapter, which is available for 40 euros.
Stiftung Warentest also considers the “unpredictable” operator Elon Musk to be a problem. He is accused of politically polarizing and repeatedly making abrupt business decisions.
The auditors found the general terms and conditions to be good, but the data protection declaration lacked precise information about the recipients of the user data and the storage period. The Starlink app has proven to be quite data-efficient, they write.
Stiftung Warentest points out that there are alternatives to Starlink. These included Eusanet, Eutelsat, Novostream and SkyDSL. Prices, surfing speed and data volume differ depending on the provider.
