Key Takeaways
The internet in Australia sucks. Large swathes of it are built on half-century old copper phone lines, making it both unreliable and slow. After years of suffering with this, I decided to try Starlink. I was actually surprised at just how well it works.
A Lot Of People Are Stuck With 1990s Internet Speeds
This isn't (much of) an exaggeration. While many countries were enjoying high-speed broadband internet way back in the early 2000s, as of 2024 there are still huge areas even in developed nations that just have really, really slow internet. In some places, it's just rural areas that suffer. In others (like Australia), you can be stuck with 1990s internet speeds, even when you're just a few minutes from a major city center. I fall into the latter category.
Of course, I've called my internet service provider over the years to see what can be done. While my ADSL connection was poor, it did (nominally) work, and as far as most ISPs are concerned, working is working. Intermittent faults can be "fixed" only to re-appear later under the exact same circumstances as they did before.
Tethering or using a 5G router was also not an option. Surprise! There's no reliable cellular data coverage here, either. So it was a case of put up and shut up—until Starlink arrived.
Starlink had me up and running with a fast, stable connection in under 48 hours. I just put the order in, waited by the post box, and when it arrived, slapped the Starlink dish on my roof. Instant broadband! Also, it's much, much faster and more stable than my old ADSL. It's like magic, and is a stark contrast to all the hours on hold with my old ISP, waiting for telephone company engineers to check connections, and all the hassle around (trying) to get my long-time faulty ADSL fixed.
Don't Put Up With Poor Internet Service
Starlink is surprisingly affordable, especially if you work remotely and factor in the loss in productivity that slow internet causes. If you've tried everything to speed up your internet, and your ISP isn't pulling their weight, give Starlink a shot if it's available in your area.
Side note, this may seem like an ad, but it's not! I'm just really impressed with this tech, and being able to watch Netflix without everything buffering constantly.