What a time to be alive! Right above our heads, there’s a space race taking place in the skies between LEO satellite broadband providers Starlink and OneWeb.
Making space-based connectivity a reality, these 2 private satellite-broadband companies are building worldwide networks to provide global satellite internet coverage through LEO satellites.
You might think that they are direct competitors, but actually whilst Starlink and OneWeb are similar in many ways, they also significantly differ as well.
So let’s take a look at how 2 of the most innovative companies of our generation compare when it comes to LEO satellite broadband.
What is Starlink?
Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, Elon Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX has a division called Starlink. Starlink consists of a constellation of 6,078 Low Earth Orbit satellites that circle the Earth, aiming to make connectivity possible from anywhere for the average person.
2019 saw Starlink beginning to launch their first satellites, with their satellite broadband service now offering internet access to more than 30 countries.
What is OneWeb?
Founded in 2012 and with investors consisting of the UK government, the Indian telecom firm Bharti Global and Japanese investment group Softbank group, OneWeb is a UK-based broadband satellite organisation that is rapidly expanding connectivity across the globe. CEO Neil Masterson says OneWeb is striving to “provide fibre where there’s no fibre.”
How does Starlink compare to OneWeb?
Let’s take a closer look at the goals, technical specifications, constellations, performance and support of these satellite internet providers.
Business Goals
Whilst to some, Starlink and OneWeb may be considered “rivals”, they are actually more like peers. In fact, SpaceX have even assisted OneWeb by launching 40 OneWeb satellites into orbit using SpaceX rockets.
You may think this is odd, but actually they don’tsee themselves as direct competitors. They have differing business goals and objectives as well as target customers.
Starlink Business Goal
The business mission behind Starlink’s is to provide high-speed internet access to everyone. While that can and does include businesses, the primary aim for Starlink’s is to help residential customers. Especially those based in rural locations where the land-based infrastructure is lacking and connectivity is difficult. Of course, this applies to rural businesses as well.
OneWeb Business Goal
Whilst the business objective of OneWeb is similar, this UK-based company strives to supply high-speed internet to businesses across the globe (rather than residential customers) thus improving IoT. Consumers accessing OneWeb satellite broadband will do so through a secondary business.
Technical Specifications
We can’t host a Starlink vs OneWeb article without looking at the tech specs now can we?
Constellations
First let’s look at the constellations themselves. As we’ve already mentioned, both Starlink and OneWeb’s satellites are in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) – But interestingly they’re not anywhere near each other. Starlink satellites can be found at 550km/340mi from Earth, whereas OneWeb satellites orbit the planet at 1,200km/746mi from Earth.
Starlink has a current fleet of 6,078 satellites in their constellation. They plan to have 7,500 by the end of 2027. OneWeb currently has 648 satellites in their LEO constellation. Although this is the number required for global coverage, they hope to expand to 7,000 satellites in the future.
Whilst Starlink’s fleet might seem more impressive, let’s remember that both Starlink and OneWeb have different objectives and timelines – And both are currently on track to change connectivity through their satellite broadband offerings.
Latency
In simple terms, broadband satellites work by sending and receiving data from Earth. Latency is the time it takes for data to travel back and forth.
Starlink purport to offer a maximum latency of 20 to 40 milliseconds, with field testing finding an average of approximately 40 to 50 milliseconds. This is slightly lower latency than OneWeb, who promise latency of under 100 milliseconds.
Legacy broadband satellites generally have a latency of around 600 milliseconds or more, so both Starlink and OneWeb offer a significant improvement to the previous technology available.
Bandwidth
Starlink and OneWeb both offer substantial bandwidth but each with distinctive features.
Starlink Bandwidth
According to Starlink’s website, Starlink users can generally enjoy download speeds ranging from 25 to 220 Mbps. The majority of customers experience download speeds of over 100 Mbps. Upload speeds are usually found to be within 5 to 20 Mbps.
OneWeb Bandwidth
For those who have critical applications that require a certain bandwidth, OneWeb offers the option to purchase Committed Information Rate (CIR), which ensures a dedicated bandwidth for those applications that are business critical.
OneWeb users can also choose the location of their ground station, allowing the routing of traffic to a specific area.
As part of a demonstration prepared for the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA), the company conducted a Proof of Concept (PoC) test, establishing connectivity with its LEO constellation.
A recent Proof of Concept test for the NCIA saw OneWeb achieve seamless streaming of 4K video feeds and simultaneous operation of various applications, including Microsoft Teams, Twitch, and Google Earth. It also saw download speeds of 195Mbps, upload speeds of 32 Mbps and latency as low as 70 milliseconds. A pretty impressive result.
Reliability
Let’s remember that Starlink and OneWeb both have slightly different business goals, so looking at the reliability of each in critical scenarios will shine a light on the different user needs and thus the suitability of each.
Starlink has shown that it offers a highly reliable internet service, especially for users living in remote areas. It has been praised by reviewers worldwide for its high download and upload speeds. It has also shown itself to be a viable option for those where more traditional connectivity options are not available or reliable.
Whilst it has been reported that there are the occasional hiccups (as with all internet provisions, let’s be honest) and its suitability questioned for critical situations and disasters like fires, in ‘normal’ day to day residential life, it performs well and provides reliable broadband where services were previously unavailable.
For larger scale businesses that require a consistent and trustworthy internet experience for critical operations, OneWeb is committed to meet the demand.
It would appear that OneWeb can provide a dependable internet solution in difficult geographical landscapes where ordinary broadband wouldn’t be an option. Business users in hard to reach, remote locations can experience robust and consistent internet connections with OneWeb. Compared to terrestrial networks, OneWeb offers heightened reliability without susceptibility to weather-related disruptions.
Customer Support
If you’ve ever needed to speak to someone about an internet-related problem, then you’ll know how important good customer support is. This is no different in the satellite internet industry.
Starlink’s Customer Support System
The customer support system from Starlink relies exclusively on email support, which could present some problems when trying to provide real-time assistance to users.
OneWeb’s Support System
OneWeb offers an accessible and robust troubleshooting service with 24/7 customer support via telephone assistance.
Starlink vs OneWeb – Quick Recap
As we’ve seen above, the performance, bandwidth, reliability, support systems, and target customer do vary between OneWeb and Starlink. Having an understanding of these differences can help users to identify which reliable, high-performance satellite internet solution would be best for their needs.
| Starlink | OneWeb | |
| Number of Satellites | 6,078 | 648 |
| Bandwidth | Majority of users enjoy download speeds of 100 Mbps, ranging up to 220 Mbps | Download speeds up to 150 Mbps |
| Reliability | Reliable internet service, occasional hiccups reported | Consistent and trustworthy in challenging landscapes |
| Latency | Advertised: 20-40 ms, Field tests: 40-50 ms (Slightly better than OneWeb) | Sub-100 millisecond latency |
| Support System | Email support | 24/7 phone support |
| Consumer Base Dynamics | Consumer-oriented, focusing on residential users in rural areas | Business-focused with an emphasis on IoT |
Starlink Satellite Broadband with Geekabit
For many UK SME’s who operate in more rural areas, Starlink satellite broadband can offer reliable internet where more traditional methods of connectivity are not an option. If you would like to speak to one of our Wi-Fi experts about whether Starlink satellite broadband could work for your business, then get in touch with our friendly team today.
Starlink satellite broadband can also provide the ideal solution for outdoor events like festivals, shows and charity events – Especially if you have food and beverage vendors trying to take mobile payments! Here at Geekabit, we offer a Starlink broadband hired service – Find out more here.
