People who have grown tired of using underground cables to get fast internet may finally be able to find an alternative.The fixed broadband internet that powers most of the United States is generally the best. However, internet that uses cables or other means of communication is still the best. Starlink's satellite internet network is growing, which Elon Musk's SpaceX operates, and it's starting to catch up.Speedtest's second quarterly report for 2021 measured Starlink's download speeds and latency. The trends are encouraging. Speedtest and Mashable both belong to the same parent company Ziff Davis. The median download speed of Starlink internet in the United States was 65.72Mbps for the first three months. This has risen to 97.23Mbps just a few months after the initial three-month period.Speedtest reports that competitors Viasat and HughesNet came in at 18.13 Mbps and 19.73Mbps, respectively. This is a substantial difference between the first and second places. However, fixed broadband reached a national median speed of 115.22Mbps. This means that Starlink will still be behind more traditional internet connections.Starlink must continue to improve its latency capabilities to be competitive with fixed broadband. Latency, which is measured in milliseconds, is an indicator of network responsiveness. To give two examples of everyday situations, high latency can cause lag in online games and video calls. Starlink's median latency was 45ms. This is well below the 14ms fixed broadband equivalent. HughesNet and Viasat, however, measured in the hundreds. This is still a significant improvement.Starlink's speed jumps between Q1 and 2 are not easily explained. However, it is reasonable to believe that Starlink has settled in and improved over time due to increased deployment and ongoing maintenance.Starlink recently announced plans to launch newer and more advanced satellites. This should theoretically improve on the metrics mentioned above. Anyone looking to increase their internet signal in rural areas must keep an eye out for that in the coming months. It's up to you whether or not that satellite pollution Starlink causes is worth it.
