Elon Musk's Starlink internet exceeds 200 Mbps in new tests

Starlink radar app in focus with Starlink logo in background
(Image credit: Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Starlink is now reaching speeds so fast that users in rural Montana can watch Falcon and The Winter Soldier on Disney Plus in 4K

The latest findings comes via a report from Wccftech, which asked users who currently have the service to send in recent speed tests. What reporter Ramish Zafar found was that in both cities and rural America, speeds were exceeding 200 Mbps. 

A reader out in Montana provided reports of 190 Mbps. Whereas in Seattle and New York, users reported speeds at 230 or 240 Mbps. These are very competitive speeds, even for an urban environment. 

At the moment, Elon Musk's satellite internet constellation is in the beta phase. It's recommended that users in upper latitudes, north of Seattle, sign up for the service to get the best results. That still hasn't stopped Tesla fans down in LA from trying out the service for themselves. 

A reader in Sonoma County, California, gave details of his latest speed test result. Out of his six speed tests, the slowest speed was 44 Mbps while the fastest was 47 Mbps.

According to Broadband Now, the average speed of internet in Sonoma County is 120 Mbps. Gigabit internet is available in the region, too, maxing out at 1,000 Mbps. So, for that specific user, likely Starlink is a downgrade. But then again, Starlink really isn't meant for users in populated areas with lots of ISP competition.  

Users on Twitter, too, have been posting screenshots of their Starlink speed test. Aaron J Spence, a farmer in Outlook, Saskatchewan, Canada, posted speeds of 214 Mbps. It's a massive upgrade over the 4.31 Mbps she was getting on Xplornet. 

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That's not to say Starlink is cheap. It requires a $500 equipment cost plus another $100 a month for the service itself. But considering the massive increase in internet speed, for many the cost has been worth it

There's still a long way to go before Starlink can reach global connectivity. At the moment, SpaceX has only launched 1,300 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites into orbit. It's a far cry from the 12,000 needed to complete the satellite megaconstellation. But Elon Musk is hoping that the service will be fully operational by sometime next year. 

Imad Khan

Imad is currently Senior Google and Internet Culture reporter for CNET, but until recently was News Editor at Tom's Guide. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with the New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN, Wired and Men's Health Magazine, among others. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.