Historically, satellite broadband (and satellite calling) has been provided by a handful of satellites in geostationary orbits that rotate with the Earth's rotation, at an altitude of about 20,000 miles. Musk's Starlink involves a constellation of about 6,000 satellites (and counting) clustered at altitudes of 210 to 400 miles above Earth. The close proximity of the satellites improves broadband performance and minimizes latency.
Ivory says latency isn't an issue. Fletcher runs a high volume of Microsoft Teams calls across all Starlink locations without issue, and he finds latency to be typically between 20 and 40 milliseconds, which he says is “not that noticeable.”
“We've never seen any contention,” he added. (Contention is when more people join the service or use it all at once, which reduces bandwidth and degrades performance.)
Advertisement Advertise on NZME.
While the weather disasters of early 2023 brought attention to the need for communications resiliency and redundancy, Ivory said Fletcher's everyday Starlink usage scenario is more basic.
Where there is no coverage or it would be too expensive to lay fibre Manufacturing and distribution sites require an always-on network, with Starlink adding a back-up option Residential greenfield sites have no broadband or mobile provision to begin with when subdivision works begin Workers at Fletcher-owned Higgins Road Improvement Works need high-capacity broadband, but are constantly on the move
Fletcher is aggressively expanding its use of Starlink, Ivory said.
Related article
Starlink for Business offered much better performance than traditional satellite broadband, and while it was much more expensive than the residential version (see below), it was an economical service compared with bespoke microwave broadband or custom fibre links.
“If it costs more than $30,000 to deploy fiber over three years, Starlink is [is] Probably even better,” Ivory said.
“Not to mention the cost. Losing communication to a critical site could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.”
And while fiber requires long wait times, Starlink can be shipped in days and set up in minutes.
A more powerful Starlink
Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have signed up to Elon Musk's satellite broadband service and installed Starlink antennas on their roofs over the same period, and the Commerce Commission recently said it is the fastest growing internet service in rural New Zealand (outside of regulatory oversight).
For home, camper, or boat installation, the antenna costs $599, and monthly service is $159 for unlimited data or $79 for “deprioritized” unlimited data (Starlink doesn't quantify speeds for either).
Advertisement Advertise on NZME.
The more capable Starlink Business comes with larger, higher gain antennas and costs $4,567, can support more users at once, performs better in bad weather, and offers performance speeds on par with entry-level fiber optics, with download speeds ranging from 40 megabits per second to 220 Mbps, upload speeds between 8 and 25 Mbps, and latency between 25 and 60 milliseconds.
Fletcher didn't get a bulk discount. “It's like buying a Tesla — the price is the price,” Ivory said.
Business plans are data-based and cost $196/month for 40 gigabytes, $426/month for 1 terabyte (1000GB), $840 for 2TB, or $2507 if you buy it directly from Starlink. (For reference, a fibre-optic household with heavy Netflix viewing, including a few avid gamers and work-from-home Zoomers, would easily get close to 1TB/month.) Local resellers 2degees, Spark and One NZ have bespoke bundles of services.
Separately, Starlink plans to launch a service later this year that will allow users to use regular smartphones to send texts over its satellites, effectively eliminating mobile black spots, and will add data and voice calling next year. In New Zealand, One NZ will have the initial exclusivity, but Spark and 2degrees are preparing to launch a similar service through Lynk, a Starlink rival.
Fletcher uses Spark for its main mobile and broadband in New Zealand, and Optus across the Tasman Sea.
Why was 2degrees chosen for the Starlink business?
2degrees was the first to sign on as a NZ reseller of the service in late February, following Gabrielle. (Spark signed on as a Starlink Business reseller in April, with One NZ joining in May.) It also benefited from its connections to Vocus, which handles Starlink across the Tasman. (Vocus is the former owner of Orcon Group, which merged with 2degrees in mid-2022. Through the deal, 2degrees also inherited three ground stations built and managed by Vocus, which connect Starlink satellites to the terrestrial internet; Cello manages another three.)
2degrees, Spark and One NZ are all bundling Starlink Business with a range of value-added services.
Ivory's Fletcher division, FletcherTech, engaged 2degrees to assist with governance, and 2degrees helped manage the deployment, maintenance and support of its growing fleet of Starlink devices. The telco is providing Starlink services including managed installation, relocation, performance reporting, stock replenishment and 24/7 New Zealand support.
“2degrees has demonstrated it is serious by independently testing and using Starlink in the Chatham Islands and Gisborne after the hurricanes. 2degrees has also quickly established appropriate financial and governance structures,” Ivory said.
Chris Keel is a member of the Herald's business team based in Auckland. He joined the paper in 2018 and is technology editor and senior business writer.