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Starlink is a big deal. For many people, it’s the first time satellite internet seems like a reasonable alternative to ground-based broadband. For businesses operating in remote or underserved areas, it’s even more exciting. Can Starlink for Business handle the demands of industrial communication? That’s what we’re here to figure out.
If you run a mine, an oil rig, or a large construction site, the problem isn’t just having internet. It’s having internet that always works. And for critical operations, where uptime matters, “just enough” is usually not enough.
Key Takeaways
- Starlink for Business offers high-speed satellite internet with impressive performance, particularly in remote areas, but it lacks enterprise-grade reliability guarantees.
- Critical industrial operations, such as mining, maritime, and construction, cannot afford downtime, making a backup/failover solution essential.
- Combining Starlink with alternatives like OneWeb provides both high bandwidth and enterprise-grade reliability, ensuring near-constant uptime.
- Tools like private splicing and pooled bandwidth optimize connectivity by blending multiple connections into a seamless, resilient network.
- While the upfront cost of Starlink Business is several thousand dollars, its affordability compared to traditional ISPs makes it a viable solution when paired with redundancy strategies.
What Starlink for Business Gets Right
Starlink for Business is a step up from Starlink Residential in several obvious ways. First, it’s faster. Depending on conditions, speeds range from 40 to 220Mbps . Second, it’s more durable. The Starlink Business dish is larger, has better technology for tracking satellites, and can handle harsher weather. It’s rated IP56 , meaning it can endure stronger winds and heavier rain.
Latency—the delay between sending a request and receiving a response—is also impressive for satellite internet, averaging less than 99 ms in optimal conditions. However, customers in remote or extreme locations, such as oceans, islands, Antarctica, and Alaska, will experience higher latency. This can impact real-time applications, making it crucial for businesses to plan accordingly.
Plus, Starlink gives businesses priority access. In congested areas, business customers see better performance than residential ones. If you’re an industrial operation, that’s what you need: performance that doesn’t degrade when everyone around you is streaming Netflix.
For businesses in remote locations, Starlink can feel like magic. But when your internet matters that much, you need to look at the gaps. Because there are gaps.
Why “Just Starlink” Might Not Be Enough
The biggest problem with Starlink isn’t the speed or latency—it’s consistency and customer support. Traditional ISPs, especially fiber or dedicated broadband providers, often promise 99.9% uptime with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to back it up. While Starlink excels at providing high-speed connectivity in remote areas, it doesn’t yet offer such guarantees ( However, it’s scheduled for 2025 ).
This distinction matters for critical operations, where a few minutes of downtime can halt production or compromise safety. In industries like mining, a brief outage can halt production, costing thousands of dollars per minute. In maritime operations, where crews rely on real-time navigation and weather updates, unreliable connectivity can jeopardize safety and efficiency. These environments can’t afford interruptions, no matter how short.
Satellite internet has a natural vulnerability: the signal travels through the atmosphere. Bad weather, solar flares, and unexpected hardware issues can all interrupt service. Starlink has improved significantly here, but it isn’t perfect. For critical operations, a 10-minute outage isn’t just inconvenient. It’s a real problem.
Customer support is another consideration for businesses relying on Starlink. While Starlink offers a streamlined approach, support is primarily text-based, often without direct human contact. This can lead to delays of hours or even days when resolving issues. For remote operations where satellite communication is the sole connectivity option, downtime is not an inconvenience—it’s a critical failure. Businesses in these environments need reliable, responsive support to ensure disruptions are addressed swiftly, reinforcing the importance of a robust backup solution.
Even without these guarantees, Starlink still works well for many use cases. But the question is: When it stops working, what happens? This is where businesses need to consider a backup/failover solution.
Backup Solutions: Why Dual Systems Are Better
In industrial operations, uptime isn’t optional. That’s why many businesses run redundant systems—one internet provider as the primary connection, and another as a failover. If one goes down, the other takes over.
This is where alternatives like Eutelsat OneWeb come in. OneWeb also uses a constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, but its service is designed more explicitly for enterprise use. It offers dedicated bandwidth, lower contention, and SLAs that Starlink doesn’t .
Combining Starlink and OneWeb into a dual solution gives you the best of both worlds. Starlink provides high bandwidth and affordability, while OneWeb offers enterprise-grade reliability and guarantees. When one service goes down, the other keeps your operations running.
Galaxy Broadband’s Failover Solutions
Galaxy Broadband takes this concept of redundancy further with a portfolio of managed backup solutions. They ensure businesses in Canada, even in the most remote regions, stay connected with near-zero downtime. Powered by low Earth orbit (LEO) networks like OneWeb, Galaxy builds failover systems that automatically switch when service declines or interruptions occur. Their SMARTSite Managed Network Service proactively monitors connectivity, identifies issues early, and resolves them swiftly to maintain uninterrupted operations.
Galaxy’s managed solutions allow businesses to prioritize corporate traffic, receive detailed usage reports, and benefit from proactive cybersecurity monitoring. These add layers of reliability and performance to critical industrial applications.
Galaxy also excels in customer support, offering 24/7 assistance through a user-friendly customer portal or by connecting with a live agent. This ensures that issues are addressed in real time, minimizing downtime and keeping operations running smoothly. For businesses relying on consistent connectivity, this level of support provides an extra layer of confidence and reliability.
Private Splicing and Pooled Bandwidth: The Next Level
Two other tools are worth mentioning for industrial communication: private splicing and pooled bandwidth.
- Private Splicing combines multiple internet connections into one unified stream. It’s like braiding two ropes together: If one rope frays, the other holds.
- Pooled Bandwidth aggregates capacity from multiple sources, giving your business more flexibility and fewer performance drops. If one connection slows, others keep the flow steady.
With private splicing and pooled bandwidth, you don’t have to worry about choosing just one provider. Both connections work together seamlessly, so if one has an issue, the other keeps everything running smoothly. Starlink and OneWeb can run simultaneously, with the network balancing the load between them. Your operations don’t notice a thing.
These techniques make your network reliable and resilient, like a suspension bridge supported by multiple cables. Together, they ensure that a hiccup in one provider doesn’t bring everything to a halt.
Cost: Is Starlink for Business Worth It?
The upfront cost for Starlink Business equipment is high: around $2,500 for the dish. The monthly service fee, depending on usage, ranges from $250 to $500. However, compared to traditional enterprise internet, it’s still affordable, especially for businesses in remote locations with limited options.
The cost for OneWeb is higher because of its enterprise focus, but its added reliability justifies the price for businesses that can’t afford downtime. Combining Starlink and OneWeb means you’re paying for peace of mind. And for many industries, peace of mind is priceless.
Is Starlink Enough?
For most businesses in remote locations, Starlink is a great choice. It’s fast, affordable, and easy to deploy. But for industrial operations where failure isn’t an option, it’s not enough on its own. You need a backup.
A dual solution with Starlink and OneWeb makes more sense. You can run both systems simultaneously using private splicing and pooled bandwidth. If one connection fails, the other keeps you online. This isn’t theoretical. Businesses are already doing it.
If you’re running an industrial operation that depends on connectivity, the choice isn’t Starlink or OneWeb. It’s Starlink and OneWeb. Together, they offer something that neither can provide alone: reliable connectivity, everywhere, all the time.
Final Thoughts
Technology gets better over time. Starlink is a glimpse of the future, but it’s not the whole picture. For critical operations, redundancy isn’t just a safety net—it’s a requirement. Combining Starlink with complementary solutions ensures businesses stay connected, no matter what challenges arise.
Businesses that depend on industrial communication can’t afford to rely on any single provider, no matter how good it is. A dual solution with tools like private splicing and pooled bandwidth ensures your operations are always connected.
The best systems don’t rely on one pillar. They braid multiple supports together so that no single failure can bring the structure down. Starlink is a strong pillar, but it works best when paired with solutions like OneWeb and expert-managed services.
Explore Galaxy Broadband’s failover solutions today to ensure your business stays connected with near-zero downtime, no matter how remote or challenging your location. With a proven track record and SMARTSite Managed Network Services, Galaxy provides the reliable connectivity your operations depend on. Learn more or contact Galaxy Broadband to safeguard your business connectivity.
