How Does Satellite Internet Work?

It’s by no means the fastest internet connection type, but satellite internet offers a lot of reliability and convenience. Satellite internet is the only connection type available across all 50 states, making it a top contender for rural customers with few options.

Although it’ll be a little longer before Amazon’s satellite home internet Project Kuiper goes live, customers still have a few different satellite internet options, with Elon Musk’s Starlink being one of the most popular. Satellite internet is expensive and can come with long-term service contracts, so in most cases, you’ll want to consider it a last resort for your home internet needs. Here’s everything you should know before you sign up.

Read more: The best internet providers for 2024: Cable vs. fiber vs. satellite and more

How does satellite internet work?

Like satellite TV, satellite internet requires radio waves transmitted from satellites in low- or high-Earth orbit. Internet service providers use data centers, which are connected to an internet network, to funnel information back to your receiver dish. You must place the dish in a position with a clear line of sight to work effectively. You’ll connect a modem to that dish to translate the incoming signal into a workable internet connection.

You’ll need electricity to keep the receiver dish powered (and, again, a clear view of the sky), but that’s really about it. Satellite internet isn’t dependent on cable, fiber or phone lines. Ground-based technologies like those aren’t as well-developed in rural areas because the lack of population density means ISPs must spend more to cover the increased ground to bring the same number of households online. Satellite internet sidesteps that problem by skipping ground-laid infrastructure altogether, making satellite internet a convenient option for an internet connection.

Launching satellites into space is expensive, but once a sufficient network is available, companies can offer broadband satellite internet to customers over a wide swath of the planet, even in pretty remote places. 

Who currently offers satellite internet?

The top satellite internet providers in the country are Viasat, Hughesnet and Starlink. Viasat and Hughesnet have been in the business of satellite-based communications for decades. Starlink is a relative newcomer to the industry, but a strong contender. To keep up with the competition, Hughesnet launched its JUPITER 3 satellite in 2023, one of the largest commercial communications satellites built, which allows for improved download speeds of up to 100Mbps satellite internet customers. Meanwhile, Viasat has started offering a plan with download speeds as high as 150Mbps, but that speed is not available in all locations. According to Ookla’s Q1 2024 report, Viasat averages around 34Mbps in download speeds, with Hughesnet offering a mere average of 15Mbps. Starlink averages 64Mbps, beating out both Viasat and Hughesnet speeds.

Starlink already boasts more than 6,000 satellites in orbit and reaches millions of customers in the US and beyond. It doesn’t come cheap, but with a constellation of satellites flying through low-earth orbit, Starlink’s network promises faster speeds and lower latency than we’ve traditionally expected from satellite internet.

In July 2020, the Federal Communications Commission approved Amazon’s Project Kuiper to deploy thousands of satellites to create its own satellite-based broadband service. As many as 83 launches are planned over the next five years.

Where is satellite internet available?

Due to the proliferation of satellites attuned to those latitudes, most areas of the US can receive satellite internet signals. Hughesnet and Starlink, for instance, offer services in all 50 states. Viasat offers near-complete coverage in the US, except for Alaska, where service is only available in certain regions. Meanwhile, Project Kuiper is getting closer to getting off the ground.

Some satellite internet companies are also exploring coverage in other parts of the world and experimenting with new deployment approaches, like using community hot spots instead of residential dishes and connections. Starlink recently rolled out Starlink Mini, a portable satellite dish for internet on the go, expanding the reach of the internet to rural areas and for travelers.

How does satellite compare to other internet connection types?

Recent advancements have helped satellite internet hit baseline broadband speeds. It’s still more expensive than most other common modes of internet, and in most cases, other options will offer better speeds with lower latency. If you aren’t sure what your current internet speed is, you can check your connection to put the various numbers in context; uploads and downloads are measured in megabits per second, or Mbps. 

For instance, DSL and cable internet are very common, with DSL download speeds ranging from 3 to 140Mbps and cable typically providing anywhere from 10 to 2,000Mbps, depending on your plan. Satellite internet generally comes in at 12 to 200Mbps, although Musk promised that speeds of up to 300Mbps will be possible.

Fiber internet, which uses fiber-optic cables, can offer blazing-fast download speeds as high as 5 or even 10 gigabits per second (5,000 or 10,000Mbps). With fiber, your uploads will typically be just as fast as your downloads, which isn’t the case with cable, DSL or satellite. Installing fiber cable is expensive, and deployments aren’t cost-efficient in areas with low population density, so there’s no telling if or when fiber will become a viable option across most of rural America.

Here’s a quick rundown of the pros and cons of a satellite connection

Pros

• Waiting for broadband internet to be provided in your area could take a long time, and satellite internet is available now.
• Satellite internet is relatively simple to acquire: find a company that offers it, rent a receiver dish or buy it upfront, and sign up for the right plan for your needs.
• Major companies like SpaceX and Amazon are bringing new competition into the satellite internet market, which means better speeds and value over the long term.

Cons

• Typically more expensive than other forms of internet, with the potential for steep upfront costs for your receiver dish. The cost-per-Mbps, a rough indicator of value with home internet plans, is relatively high with satellite internet.
• With many satellites located in far-away orbit above Earth, high latency is a common issue with satellite internet. Your traffic will need a few extra moments to make it up to outer space.
• Satellite internet can be finicky if there isn’t a clear connection with the constellation overhead. For instance, satellite dishes must be aligned well with a “clear view of the Southern sky,” as Hughesnet says. Snow buildup or other kinds of bad weather can create spottiness or even an outage.

Satellite internet FAQs