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Get Prices → 📞 0121 268 0121Starlink has changed what's possible for businesses in rural and hard-to-reach locations. But is it really a match for fibre broadband? And when does it make sense to choose one over the other? Here's the full, honest comparison.
Starlink is a satellite internet service operated by SpaceX. Unlike traditional satellite internet (which used geostationary satellites 35,000km away with terrible latency), Starlink uses a constellation of low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites approximately 550km above the Earth. This dramatically reduces latency to 20–40ms — low enough for VoIP calls and video conferencing.
Starlink Business is the commercial tier, offering priority bandwidth, higher speeds and a flatter, less obtrusive dish compared to the residential service.
Starlink is a satellite internet service operated by SpaceX. Unlike traditional satellite internet (which used geostationary satellites 35,000km away with terrible latency), Starlink uses a constellation of low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites approximately 550km above the Earth. This dramatically reduces latency to 20–40ms — low enough for VoIP calls and video conferencing.
Starlink Business is the commercial tier, offering priority bandwidth, higher speeds and a flatter, less obtrusive dish compared to the residential service.
Starlink makes sense for businesses where fixed-line fibre is unavailable, impractical or too slow to install:
If full fibre is available at your premises, it's almost always the better choice for a business connection:
Yes — and for business-critical sites, we often recommend exactly this. A leased line or FTTP as the primary connection, with Starlink as a fully geographically independent failover. Our Assure X failover platform handles automatic switching between primary and backup connections with no manual intervention.
Generally yes, with caveats. Starlink's latency of 20–60ms is low enough for VoIP calls — BT's own threshold for acceptable VoIP quality is under 150ms. However, during heavy weather or peak satellite usage, latency can spike. For a business that depends heavily on VoIP volume (contact centres, busy reception lines), a fibre connection is more reliable. For occasional or moderate VoIP use at a rural site, Starlink performs well.
| Starlink Business | Full Fibre (FTTP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical download speed | 150–300Mbps | 100Mbps–1Gbps |
| Typical upload speed | 20–40Mbps | 100Mbps–1Gbps |
| Latency | 20–60ms | 5–15ms |
| Speed consistency | Variable (weather dependent) | Very consistent |
| Monthly cost | From £140/mo (Business) | From £39.99/mo (FTTP) |
| Hardware cost | £449 (dish + router) | Router provided |
| Installation time | Same day (self-install) | 10–30 working days |
| Contract | Monthly rolling | 12–24 months typical |
| Uptime guarantee | No SLA | SLA on leased lines |
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"Switched our entire office phone system and broadband. The team handled everything, zero downtime. Saving over £200 a month compared to our old BT contract."
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