You must be thinking, what is Starlink’s best effort service, and what does it mean? This article aims to answer all your questions!
Starlink’s best effort plan is one of the plans that are not as well-known as the rest. The SpaceX website also does not give much insight on this unless you dig deep, but you don’t have to because we did it for you!
Starlink’s best effort is a service that is given to people who are currently on the waiting list for the Starlink service. You pay a fee as you would, and you would be connected to the internet. The best-effort service uses all the same things as the normal Starlink plans.
What is Starlink’s Best Effort Service?
Starlink is widely known for two things: thier great speed internet and low latency, but also their grueling waiting list! Their waiting list is very long, and it can take a while for users to get their hardware because it is so popular.
However, there are ways to go around the waiting list, but the people who pre-ordered this service are still at a disadvantage, so Starlink decided they have to do something to help their users.
This is how the best-effort service came about. This service allows people to have a Starlink internet connection while waiting on their plan.
However, the service is much slower than other plans with Starlink. It is merely a waiting service, so you have internet while you wait.
You are connected to the internet when you get the service without waiting on another list. Since Starlink does internet throttling, the residential plan users will get a higher speed than the best effort. So, your internet will be pretty slow with bandwidth.
The speeds of the best effort service are fair, and upload speeds are between 1 to 10 Mbps, and the download speeds are 5 to 100 Mbps. During peak times, this speed may go lower.
(Starlink satellites)
Why is There Such a Long Waiting List for Starlink?
Starlink has been making waves in the technological sector and provides internet to everyone, even those in remote areas.
The popularity of Starlink is everywhere, which makes it a hot property and high demand. People want Starlink more than fiber connections recently!
The waiting list depends on how many potential users are in the area. You would see that the list is very long in eastern parts of America. A Starlink constellation can only handle a number of connections at a time, so this is why the list is so long.
(frustrated man on a laptop)
Pros of Best Effort Service
We’ve mentioned above that since Starlink does internet throttling, users on the best-effort plans will not experience quick upload and download speeds.
However, the best-effort plan still performs better than other satellite internet services, which means it is still fairly fast. The latency and uptime are the same as the other plans, so that’s a huge benefit.
Also, these plans are not data-capped, because it is already deprioritized, so you will not be experiencing lower speeds. Best effort is able to hold your place in the list by giving you internet, even if you are in a rural place.
How Much is Best Effort?
The price of best effort is $120 per month, which is the same as residential. Some users find it unfair since it is so pricey for slower speeds. Maybe this is something Starlink will work on.
(internet cable)
Conclusion
Now you know exactly what the best service is, and you will not be confused anymore! This question can baffle anyone, and sometimes, support does not give straight answers. This article has covered everything dealing with the plan.