Internet service providers may be one of the most hated business segments in America, but Starlink is firmly bucking the trend.
Starlink is the satellite internet service constellation launched and run by SpaceX. Unlike traditional satellite internet, Starlink is a low Earth orbit constellation, giving users speeds and latency on par with traditional broadband. According to new data from Ookla, the company behind Speedtest.net, customers love their Starlink service.
Ookla gives internet providers a Net Promoter Score (NPS) “based on Speedtest® user responses after being asked how likely they are to recommend their provider to friends or family on a 0 to 10 scale.” Detractors are those that respond 0-6, Passives are those that return 7-8, and Promoters return 9-10.
Ookla’s results show a stark difference between Starlink and other fixed broadband providers.
Interestingly, Ookla’s results demonstrate that there is not a direct correlation between Internet speed and customer satisfaction.
Starlink far outperformed metro and nonmetro ISPs combined for NPS. Metro Starlink had a score of 31.94 compared to -23.62 for all metro fixed broadband providers combined, despite Starlink having a median download speed of 65.29 Mbps compared to 203.93 Mbps for all metro fixed broadband providers combined. Nonmetro Starlink had an even higher NPS at 42.21 compared to nonmetro ISPs at -21.27 — that’s especially notable given that Starlink’s median download speed was much closer to the median nonmetro fixed broadband speed at 72.18 Mbps to 100.41 Mbps.
According to the company, Starlink’s speeds are still in flux, with some gains and losses over the last year:
In North America, all of the countries we surveyed saw slower median download and upload speeds during Q1 2023 than Q1 2022. However, Canada saw just about a 3 Mbps decrease in download speed from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023, with about a 28 Mbps increase over the past two quarters. The U.S., where Starlink has many more users, saw about a 24 Mbps decrease year-over-year for median download speeds, but at least a 13 Mbps increase during Q4 2022 and Q1 2023. Mexico, which saw 100+ Mbps median download speeds during Q1 2022, saw a roughly 49 Mbps dip year-over-year as more users signed up for the service; however, speeds leveled slightly with only an overall dip of about 8 Mbps during the past two quarters.
Despite providing slower speeds than its rivals, Starlink is clearly doing something right and has the customer loyalty to prove it.
