Looking for the best high-speed internet option for your home? With Starlink expanding satellite service and Bell accelerating fiber optic connections across Canada, you now have two impressive yet very different choices for leaving sluggish DSL in the dust. This comprehensive guide compares every metric to consider – from speed and technology to availability, pricing and beyond. Read on for a full breakdown of the Starlink and Bell fibre difference so you know which provider best fits your connectivity needs!
An Overview of Starlink and Bell
Starlink is the satellite internet division of aerospace company SpaceX. It launches constellations of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites to beam broadband globally without geograpical limitations. Canadian households can access the network via small user terminal dishes installed at their residence.
Bell is Canada‘s largest telecommunications provider, offering wireless phone plans, TV and internet service. Originally a telephone company founded in 1880, it leverages its high-capacity fiber optic network to provide blazing home internet speeds in select areas.
Both options represent a huge upgrade over dated copper wire DSL connections still used in some rural places. Let‘s see how else they stack up.
| Specs | Starlink | Bell Internet |
|---|---|---|
| Download Speed | 200+ Mbps (avg) 1 Gbps bursts |
Up to 3 Gbps |
| Upload Speed | 20-40 Mbps | Up to 3 Gbps |
| Latency | 20-40ms initially Targetting under 20ms |
Ultra Low |
| Monthly Price | $140/month | $64.95-$179.95/month |
| 1-time Fees | $649 for satellite kit | $199 install $159 Home Hub modem |
| Availability | Available across most of Canada and globally but waitlists due to demand | 7.2 million households covered in ON, QC, MB, Maritimes |
Now let‘s analyze the differences across some key decision factors.
Internet Delivery Technology
First, it‘s key to understand how each company actually gets you internet access.
Starlink Satellite Network
Starlink has launched over 3,000 compact low earth orbit (LEO) satellites 550 km above earth to create a mesh network surrounding the globe. The satellites communicate with each other through laser links, beaming data at the speed of light to gateway stations on earth that connect to local infrastructure.
Customers then install a compact satellite dish at their residence along with a WiFi router to receive the broadband from above and distribute it in the home. SpaceX continues to launch additional satellites every month to enhance global capacity.
Bell Fiber Optic Cables
Bell has invested heavily in direct fiber optic infrastructure, running underground glass cables straight to homes and buildings for a physical, high-capacity wired connection. These cables use light pulses to deliver breathtaking speeds with ultra consistency.
Where available, Bell technicians directly connect the fiber line from the municipal backbone network directly into a home. Consumers get a Bell Home Hub modem with WiFi router to distribute the bandwidth around the house. No massive infrastructure makes the experience simple for customers.
Both deliver high-speed broadband internet but with the exact opposite setups – one wireless from space, one physically wired underground.
Speed and Latency Performance
While techniques differ, Starlink and Bell both offer jaw-dropping internet speeds that beat dated options out of the water. Let‘s break down the numbers.
Starlink launched offering 50-150 Mbps speeds but has improved performance above 100 Mbps across most of its coverage during early morning off-peak time hours. Customers report 200+ Mbps regularly, with bursts over 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) possible.
As SpaceX launches more satellites, it aims to provide between 100 Mbps and 200 Mbps consistently across its entire service area. For comparison, the CRTC has set a 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload target for all of Canada by 2030.
Latency on Starlink averages around 20-40 milliseconds – not quite as snappy as wired fiber, but still solid for gaming and video. And as satellite density keeps improving, engineers think latencies of under 20ms, even 10ms is possible. That would put it on par with terrestrial internet.
Meanwhile, Bell fibre offers unmatched speeds in neighborhoods where its fiber network exists. Top plans currently deliver:
- Up to 3 Gbps download – Yes, up to 3000 Mbps for blazing transfers
- Up to 3 Gbps upload – Fiber doesn‘t skimp on upload capacity
- Latency – almost non-existent due to direct fiber line
To put Bell‘s 3 Gigabit speed in perspective, you could download a full 4K movie in under 30 seconds or backup 1,000 photos in a fraction of a minute. For streaming, work, gaming, video calls and basically any use, it offers nearly instant response.
Bell also offers slower plans with 150 Mbps, 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps options for lighter usage. But with plans as fast as 3 Gbps, Bell has the highest home internet speeds in Canada and globally.
In real world testing, expert site DSLReports found Bell‘s upload hit 3800 Mbps in Ontario, reinforcing the real-world speed capacity advantage. However, this edge comes in regions serviced with fibre cabling.
Monthly Pricing and Fees
Now to compare what it actually costs each month for these ultra high-speed offerings. Both come with certain one-time equipment fees to set up the proprietary equipment.
Starlink costs $649 upfront for the satellite kit with dish, stand, WiFi router and cables. The monthly fee is $140 uniformly for any customer or region. So over 2 years, assuming no price hikes, that‘s $3,886 total.
Bell Fibe plans span from $64.95 up to $179.95 per month depending on the max speed. On a 2 year payment term, customers also pay:
- $199 standard installation fee
- $159 to purchase the advanced Home Hub 4000 modem
So if you opt for Bell‘s top 3 Gigabit speed tier, you would spend around $3,118 over 2 years, including hardware and installation. Dropping to the 1.5 Gig plan makes it $2,878 over the same period.
The two end up in quite a similar ballpark cost-wise when you factor in hardware. Of course there are occasional limited time discounts that could knock $5-10 off the monthly rate too.
Availability and Wait Times
Here is where the availability picture differs currently – but expansion plans look poised to make high-speed access more equitable.
Bell‘s fibre network reaches around 7.2 million households primarily across Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Maritimes currently. Under the company‘s current $14 billion capital expenditure plan running to 2024, Bell pledges to expand pure fibre internet access to up to 900,000 more homes and businesses, many in rural and remote regions.
Bell is betting big that direct fibre can deliver faster speeds than 5G wireless to more people. But outside its ~8 million addressable customer footprint, rural regions especially have lacked competitive speeds and quality internet.
Starlink‘s satellite capacity goes beyond geography. Today, it covers most regions globally between latitudes of 55 to 53 degrees, including the majority of where Canadians live and work. However, capacity restrictions in areas of high demand mean availability is uneven:
- Starlink reports it has 400,000 subscribers worldwide currently
- There are still wait lists in excess of 100,000 customers hoping to get Starlink in Canada
- More populated areas face longer wait times for access currently
- Service is targeted to exit beta in 2023 as launch pace increases
So while Starlink satellite reach is becoming fairly omnipresent globally, capacity limitations regionally results in many left eagerly awaiting coverage. Bell‘s fibre network faces no such capacity ceilings but has not yet stretched as widely. Plans from both hope to make multi-gigabit internet standard regardless of location.
Reliability and Customer Service
With wired and wireless technology stacks so different, reliability also plays differently for each ISP.
Bell fibre offers unmatched consistency once enabled. Direct fiber lines aren‘t exposed to environmental factors impacting hardware performance and have abundant capacity potential far beyond current use rates. Bell has delivered phone, TV and internet services for decades and invests heavily in infrastructure redundancy and technical support.
Starlink satellite depends on unimpeded communication with orbiting satellites 550km up. Weather like heavy snow or rain can temporarily interrupt the signal and drop speeds. And congestion arises if too many users tap shared capacity in a coverage zone. But satellite technology also negates risks of neighbourhood outages. Overall, Starlink produces solid results but fibre still edges ahead for robustness.
When it comes to customer service, Bell gets middling marks for long waits and confusing bills, according to CCTS data. Starlink users praise the reliability and knowledge of support staff. But being early means growing pains and wait times do happen.
For both providers, early technology means tweaking is ongoing. But Bell‘s legacy in service and Starlink‘s responsiveness show positives on customer experience.
Verdict: Who Does it Better?
In this battle between new space-based connectivity and a long-standing national fibre internet provider, both Starlink and Bell offer pros, cons and scenarios where one pulls ahead of the other.
For pure speed capacity and robustness, Bell Fibre internet is unmatched while available. Wired with nearly unlimited bandwidth potential thanks to its glass fiber lines, homes with access get a buttery smooth online experience perfect for data-heavy uses like streaming 4K video and gaming. Country-wide fibre expansion can‘t come soon enough.
Starlink‘s satellite network shreds geographical restrictions that have left rural populations behind with subpar internet. Though still smoothing performance, it has brought high-speed, low-latency satellite internet into reach of Canadians hours from major cities – often for the first time. Its technology roadmap offers huge promise.
For most mainstream consumers in neighbourhoods where Bell service is accessible, signing up for their leading edge Fibre plan seems like a no brainer, given customer experience maturity as well. Early reviews of the 3 Gbps service show it surpasses expectations.
Canadians stuck on 3 Mbps DSL faced no other recourse for quality internet until Starlink arrived. Despite some inconsistencies, it‘s a beacon of high-speed hope regardless of terrain.
As Starlink exits beta in 2023 and Bell expands fibre to hundreds of thousands more Canadian homes, ubiquitous and equitable next-gen broadband comes closer to reality from coast to coast. That‘s a win for consumers in both metro and rural regions alike.
