The average broadband speed of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite Internet service has dropped in recent times. That’s according to recent research from Ookla. However, performance remains relatively good compared to competing services.

Starlink’s average speed is accordingly A recent study Ookla has declined in all measured countries over the past year. This applies to both upload and download speeds. Delays in the countries studied generally did not change. Only New Zealand recorded higher latency in Okhla.

In the US, the average download speed of Elon Musk’s satellite internet system dropped from 90.6 Mbps to 62.5 Mbps. Upload speed dropped from 9.3 Mbps to 7.2 Mbps. The latency went up from 43 milliseconds (ms) to 48 ms, but that’s not a big difference in the researchers’ view.

The pace also slowed in other countries surveyed, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France and Germany.

More users

According to the researchers, the increased popularity of satellite Internet service – and more end users – could be the reason for the slower speeds. Despite this, the current average download speed in the US is more than 60 Mbps, which is enough to run all Internet services, including video and audio streaming, game downloads, and video calls, from a connected device.

Performance is still higher than the services of competitors such as Viasat and HughesNet. These services have slow speeds and high latency, Ookla said.

FCC GRANT DISCLAIMER

The network’s slow speed may be the reason why the FCC recently refused to grant Starling a subsidy. The satellite Internet company had applied for a 918 million euro ($886 million) grant from the FCC to invest in broadband. The regulator refused because it doubted whether the company could achieve the 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds required for the subsidy.

Starlink has requested the FCC to review the denial and award the grant. According to the satellite internet company, the regulator made its judgment based on old figures. The launch of new satellites will also increase the speed of the network.

Tip: Starlink acts as hybrid compared to standard link