Image credit: @Alex_Kump
With SpaceX’s Starlink satellite constellation growing by the month, internet users in remote areas continue to jump ship from legacy telecoms for better service.
One former Bell customer has cleverly found a way to repurpose their satellite dish from the company. The old Bell dish is now being used as a platform for their SpaceX Starlink satellite dish. It’s an ingenious way that also is a juxtaposition between legacy and new-age internet networks.
According to an image shared on Thursday by @Alex_Kump in Kelowna, BC, we see a Bell dish mounted to the side trim along the roof of a home, while sitting on top is the latest Starlink dish for residential customers.
“I found an excellent use for my old Bell dish,” said Alex, noting this was “another dish from a past era. A generic I used to pick up a couple of public tv stations.”
Starlink is a low-Earth orbit satellite internet service provided by SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk. The satellite constellations are able to extend high-speed, low-latency internet all across the planet, including areas that typically have zero connectivity.
Screenshots of Starlink speed tests show download speeds of 139 Mbps from Alex, compared to 233 Mbps for Telus PureFibre in his area.
Other former Bell customers that have switched to Starlink have praised their newfound high-speed connectivity, particularly those in remote areas. One former Bell MTS customer in Manitoba said their internet speeds jumped from 1 Mbps to now being able to play video games online and stream Disney+.
Thank you @elonmusk for @SpaceX Starlink internet, I'm able to game online and watch Disney+ movies/shows seamlessly 😁😁😁
Unlike the less than 1mbps turtle speed that @Bell MTS offers here on my rez community here in Manitoba 😁😁😁
— Trey (@VillainKing001) April 12, 2023
Others praised the price of Starlink as comparable to Bell internet, such as this user in Nova Scotia:
btw the reason i have starlink is a ) the nova scotia government gave everyone who got starlink a grant that covered the equipment ( $750+ ) and it’s literally only $10 more than what was normally being paid for shit-ass bell
— (=｀ω´=) ⎊ (@HEALORDER) April 8, 2023
Another Bell business customer said a price hike from the latter made it obvious to jump on Starlink instead:
Bell just cranked up my business fibre plan, it's $65 more than Starlink I guess they are going to lose another customer; I would rather support Starlink.
— Robert Warren (@ROBERTWARRENNB) March 30, 2023
Two years ago, Bell’s CEO said the company was ready to take on Starlink internet and other low-Earth orbit satellite services “any day”.
SpaceX recently launched a promotion on Starlink hardware for Canada, offering it up on sale for $350 (regular price $759), to go with monthly service fees of $140.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
That looks precarious. My guess is that the Starlink dish is one bad windstorm away from being sent to an electronics recycling plant (or a landfill).