Experiences with Starlink (internet)?

It's R$184 month, plus an upfront non-refundable payment of R$2,000 for the equipment (on sale @ RS1,700 currently) plus taxes, plus freight. etc.......no mention of their speeds anywhere on the residential site however. And for me, speed is the biggest factor, second to data. All the free data while moving uphill and being stuck in molasses in January is worthless.

They do offer a high speed variant marketed towards businesses as well.........and on the site they say UP TO 220 Mbps download speed.......pretty weak IMHO since I had a 1TB line in Canada, and the standard internet install is at least 500 mbps here. This is R$280 a month plus the aforementioned equipment fees.

Considering what Claro or TIM charges it seems reasonable on the surface (download speeds notwithstanding). Of course, if you live in an apartment condo there will be issues either with mounting, and/or directional access to satellites.

I too am interested in anyone's opinion who is using it as we have two apartments that need to be wired for internet next month, and are leaning towards Claro.

@Kurterino

Their site says they have a 30 day trial. If not satisfied return equipment for a full refund. I’d try it. Of course, I’m an IT nerd.

    It's R$184 month, plus an upfront non-refundable payment of R$2,000 for the equipment (on sale @ RS1,700 currently) plus taxes, plus freight. etc.......no mention of their speeds anywhere on the residential site however. And for me, speed is the biggest factor, second to data. All the free data while moving uphill and being stuck in molasses in January is worthless.
They do offer a high speed variant marketed towards businesses as well.........and on the site they say UP TO 220 Mbps download speed.......pretty weak IMHO since I had a 1TB line in Canada, and the standard internet install is at least 500 mbps here. This is R$280 a month plus the aforementioned equipment fees.

Considering what Claro or TIM charges it seems reasonable on the surface (download speeds notwithstanding). Of course, if you live in an apartment condo there will be issues either with mounting, and/or directional access to satellites.

I too am interested in anyone's opinion who is using it as we have two apartments that need to be wired for internet next month, and are leaning towards Claro.
   

    -@Gasparzinho 777

Re:speed: a bit of searching (on my side) has shown me mostly satisfied customers. However, comparing it to other offers of the faster type (like fiber) makes no sense: internet via satellite will never be better (faster, cheaper) than internet via landlines, nor does it intend to compete with these offers. It’s an offer for places where you basically have no better option, which is totally true in my case: I get 15-20 mb/s on a great day, usually it’s more between 5-10, and at least once per week less than 5. And I’m using a 4G modem/router, which gives me slightly better speeds than my phone. So 220 would be a godsend …I’d be satisfied with 50, no question about it. 

    @Kurterino
Their site says they have a 30 day trial. If not satisfied return equipment for a full refund. I’d try it. Of course, I’m an IT nerd.
   

    -@bepmoht

I’ll probably try it too. About the refund: i do wonder how clean the equipment has to be. Since it has to be outside and can not be covered, it’s totally possible that the dish could have a scratch or two…

@Kurterino

I'm just looking purely at what they offer for the price, and understand that geographic and equipment differences come into play. I think Roddiesho was using or considering it at one point.

I'm just looking purely at what they offer for the price,
    -@Gasparzinho 777

@gasparzinho 777 - I feel that reasonable internet service will soon be considered as "essential" service like water, electricity, etc.... Would it be possible for you to share the plans that you have investigated in terms of costs (one time and recurring) and service quality and possibly location?

I know that internet service is always considered as part of any expat monthly budget - would be useful to have a thread that explain this specific line item in more detail....

Thank you again for doing the research for all of us....

We, the beneficiaries, are grateful for your help.

-@bepmoht I’ll probably try it too. About the refund: i do wonder how clean the equipment has to be. Since it has to be outside and can not be covered, it’s totally possible that the dish could have a scratch or two…   

   -@Kurterino

Brazilian consumer protection laws are pretty stringent, more than most people realize.  As long as you let them know within those 30 days, you shouldn't have to worry about a few dings and scratches voiding your refund.  If you do, as soon as you say, "I may have to file a formal complaint under the  Código de Defesa do Consumidor", they suddenly discover new ways to make you happy.  We've had to do it once with Claro, who kept sending us invoices long after we had canceled the service, but that was the  only time.

    @Kurterino
I'm just looking purely at what they offer for the price, and understand that geographic and equipment differences come into play. I think Roddiesho was using or considering it at one point.
   

    -@Gasparzinho 777

What would you consider an avg price (monthly) for an acceptable (speed and reliability)  unlimited service in Brazil? The only reference point i have is mobile /4G internet, and compared to that, 184R$/month is more than ’acceptable’.

@Pablo888

Not only reviewing websites and mall locations for info, but talking to our friends and relatives down there as well for first hand feedback about what's available "today" and how well it works  (or not) in the real world...........the market is always changing, and the Brasilian cellular/internet companies make it just as hard to comparison shop as the Canadian ones do by either hiding or withholding info from you KKKKKKKK

We're going with CLARO because all the anecdotal evidence from about 15 people we know very well says that they have the best coverage and functionality around the clock. TIM is horrible outside of the major cities, and VIVO does not compare that well either. My brother in law is an engineer who travels thruout Brasil and South America almost weekly. He got rid of TIM after 90 days and went to CLARO. Here's where it gets interesting.....read on.....

When we get there in 3 weeks, we're buying legit phones on a network rather than my use my burners or roam........I'll post more info when we pull the trigger.

@Kurterino

I value an expensive functioning service over a cheaper less reliable one. In Canada I pay approx R$400 for a one terabyte download fiber optic line with unlimited data. That is my baseline expense, fully realising that this level of service is just arriving in Brasil. I'd happily pay that much for the same service. Thing is, the Brasilian companies  are bundling home internet and cell service in their plans  to confuse you. They say stuff like 200 GIGS of data on the big flashy sign in the mall, but, that's split between two phones and two laptops, and a TV, which is, easily used before the horrible slowed down service kicks in around 75 GIGS of use........something you only realise when you dig deep into the contractual fine print.

Hope that helps......

@Pablo888 500 megabit fiber optic service costs R$99 per month in Ilhéus.

@Gasparzinho 777

Can confirm about TIM: It’s the only provider that works (not very well, but it works…) where i live, so i don’t really have a choice, but when i did a road trip last year, i didn’t get a signal for dozens of miles at a time, all the time. And that wasn’t somewhere in the jungle, but on the coast in Bahia.

In my experience, there are a lot of people who don’t own a computer, they need a data connection mostly for text messaging (WhatsApp) and the occasional YT video.  Obviously these customers usually don’t care about data caps,  because they’ll never get there anyway.

 
@Kurterino

I value an expensive functioning service over a cheaper less reliable one. In Canada I pay approx R$400 for a one terabyte download fiber optic line with unlimited data. That is my baseline expense, fully realising that this level of service is just arriving in Brasil. I'd happily pay that much for the same service. .

Hope that helps......
   

    -@Gasparzinho 777

Fortunately i don’t need internet access for anything other than to surf and watch a movie or video once in a while, and i quit using a computer this year, I do everything on my smartphone (which further limits the time i’m spending online). Admittedly sometimes a larger screen would be welcome, but this way I’m not spending more time than necessary staring at a screen,  which is a good thing in my book. So from what I read, a Starlink subscription will be more than enough.

Hopefully I can set it up within the next few weeks, I’ll  let you guys know how it works.

@Gasparzinho 777

> When we get there in 3 weeks, we're buying legit phones on a network rather than my use my burners or roam

I was trying to understand what you mean by that, but i just don't get it…Do you think that somehow, phones bought from a provider are more 'legit' than phones bought from a manufacturer, or through a store? How, I mean Why? And what do you mean by 'legit'? Are you afraid that it's a fake if it's not acquired through a network operator?

@Kurterino, I am guessing that since @Gasparzinho 777 is moving permanently, then getting a local wireless carrier is better than getting prepaid SIM cards and / or roam.

There was a thread previously in which a few expats suggested to get TIM for R$30/month...  This is really cheap - much cheaper than the Airalo temporary e-sim that I buy.

I suspect that the reference to phone bought in stores is simply an indication of the typical phone / wireless carrier special contract based deal that carriers tend to use to attract and lock new users.....

That's what I am planning on doing when I move permanently.

@Gasparzinho, please correct or amplify if the situation needs adjustment....

@Pablo888 Prepaid SIM cards work fine. You can easily switch carriers, so you can see which carrier works best for you.

I've had Oi, TIM, Claro and Vivo. Vivo has the best coverage around Ilhéus.

@Pablo888 iPhones are very expensive in Brazil.

Google the term "burner phone".........if I'm there for 2 weeks I'll just roam on my home network.......if it's 2 months or more, I'll use a burner phone or two........permanently living there however, you need a cell in your name with a fixed and traceable number for 2FA and accessing most government and banking services. Thus going "legit"........I'm using a family members cell # for this right now and it's a pain needing to call for the "codigo" when I want to access something.

@Alan279........

No kidding......my wife just bought an I-15 for $1,090 CAD as we're leaving in 3 weeks.......which is about R$4,400........it's R$10,999 on the Brasilian Apple store site FWIW.

08/10/24    @Alan279........No kidding......my wife just bought an I-15 for $1,090 CAD as we're leaving in 3 weeks.......which is about R$4,400........it's R$10,999 on the Brasilian Apple store site FWIW.
   

    -@Gasparzinho 777

This is why the Receita Federal does a 100% x-ray of all luggage on every domestic flight that leaves Foz do Iguaçu Airport! 🤣  They're not trying to catch the individual who bought a new top-of-the-line phone across the river in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, but they sure do want to get the guy who has ten of them in each of his suitcases.

Do you ever watch "Aeroporto Area Restrita" ??

It's on Youtube and is a local Brasilian documentary from Discovery Channel about the RF people working in GRU......there are 5-6 seasons available. It's addictive and amazing IMHO.

08/0/24    @Pablo888 Prepaid SIM cards work fine. You can easily switch carriers, so you can see which carrier works best for you.
I've had Oi, TIM, Claro and Vivo. Vivo has the best coverage around Ilhéus.   

    -@alan279

I've used a prepaid TIM SIM for ten years.  I just throw another R$50 on it about every four weeks and I'm good to go.  That only gives me 2 GB of data a month which I never exhaust, because I only use the thing for WhatsApp, email, banking, answering calls from numbers I recognize, translations, and reading newspapers and magazines.  TIM constantly inundates me with marketing texts, but I think that all the Brazilian carriers are bad, so TIM isn't any worse than any other.  As someone else wrote, it's all down to reception in your area, and how many of your contacts are on the same company.

Lately I've been getting increasingly urgent texts that TIM is canceling the program that I'm on, and making me offers.  I ignore them, and they keep taking my recharges, so I'm mildly curious to see what will happen next.

@abthree R$50 seems a bit high for on 2GB.  You might check to see what's in your area.  I just checked and TIM is offering 13GB for R$30.  If you've had the same plan for 10 years, they were more expensive back in the day.

My plan with Claro is R$30 and gives 12GB data, plus and additional 3GB for Youtube.  I'm like you I rarely use more than 2GB / month, but you could save yourself R$20 by switching plans. 

@mikehunter Why would a rich gringo change phone plans to save R$20 per month?

   08/10/24 @mikehunter Why would a rich gringo change phone plans to save R$20 per month?        -@alan279

Believe me, this "rich gringo" is cheap enough to check it out, and appreciates the heads-up. 👍🏻

@abthree Out of the frying pan into the fire? 😀

08/10/24    @abthree Out of the frying pan into the fire? 😀
   

    -@alan279

Doesn't hurt to look. 😉

@alan279 LOL, well that's saving R$240 / year for little effort.  It all adds up.  Stateside I use the T-Mobile 5GB prepaid plan

for $15 / month.  In Brasil, I'm on the Claro R$30 plan - and I don't pay for them when I'm out of the respective countries.

I've been a big fan of the prepaid plans for years now... don't really understand why anyone would pay for postpaid.  I've

done the math a few times and even with the postpaid phone offers it's cheaper to go prepaid and just buy the phone

yourself.

    @Alan279........

No kidding......my wife just bought an I-15 for $1,090 CAD as we're leaving in 3 weeks.......which is about R$4,400........it's R$10,999 on the Brasilian Apple store site FWIW.
   

    -@Gasparzinho 777

For what it’s worth, you can get new iPhones for a lot less than what they cost in the Apple Store. For example right now I’m looking at an iPhone 15, 128Gb,  unlocked, for 4700R$, at Merc….livre. It’s still more expensive here (due to the tax on these products), but it’s not that bad.

    @alan279 LOL, well that's saving R$240 / year for little effort.  It all adds up.  Stateside I use the T-Mobile 5GB prepaid plan
for $15 / month.  In Brasil, I'm on the Claro R$30 plan - and I don't pay for them when I'm out of the respective countries.
I've been a big fan of the prepaid plans for years now... don't really understand why anyone would pay for postpaid.  I've
done the math a few times and even with the postpaid phone offers it's cheaper to go prepaid and just buy the phone
yourself.
   

    -@mikehunter

Exactly, I’ve switched to a prepaid SIM about 10 years ago, and i definitely saved thousands during this time. And in my country (Switzerland), using a prepaid SIM doesn’t exclude you from anything (2-factor authentication etc.). So far i haven’t had any problems in Brazil,  hopefully it’ll stay that way.

    @Pablo888 Prepaid SIM cards work fine. You can easily switch carriers, so you can see which carrier works best for you.
I've had Oi, TIM, Claro and Vivo. Vivo has the best coverage around Ilhéus.
   

    -@alan27

A couple of years ago i bought my first phone with eSIM compatibility,  and it’s become even easier to manage different prepaid SIM cards. No more looking for the little tool to open the SIM tray, no need to store a SIM card while not in use, you just go into the settings and switch it on or off 😊

We use starlink for our internet on our farm. It’s faster and more reliable than any internet I’ve had in big cities. Probably better than I had in the US. It’s never dropped including in storms and we have no dry season where I live. We did have problems ordering the equipment. I think it ended up stuck in customs and never made it after like 6 months. That was a while ago. We bought it off ML and went from there. Maybe now they have it sorted out. Just know if you have any problems tech support is virtually non existent.  You send an email and get a response days later, maybe.

@rnbtg

It’s interesting you mentioned reliability because this seems to be a widespread issue in my neck of the woods, western Espírito Santo state. Even though they have run fiber all over the urban area, it often gets slow or goes down for no apparent reason. I remember years ago in Brazil every time it rained the phones would go down and the internet, IF you had it, was always PAINFULLY slow. If Starlink is very consistent it may be very well worth a few extra shekels to gain that smoother online experience. Thanks for your feedback.

For all of you getting Starlink in what can perhaps be referred to as "remote" areas in Brasil, bear in mind that my sister, who lives in a "remote" part of Ontario, Canada, an hour and a half drive from the nation's capital just got Starlink, because the regular internet is still delivered by a painfully slow and unreliable DSL service. Not to mention expensive. She's loving Starlink so far !!

Starlink even in rural USA and Canada is fantastic. Ive had to do remote work on them before ( connection ) and it was very good in comparison to standard satellite.

Starlink have just opened for business in Indonesia.

It looks great, but the cost is an issue to consider.

The equipment cost is the same as a good local provider's charges for a year (check your locals before buying), then a pretty hefty monthly fee on top.

The other thing is how do you set up service in other parts of the house. A normal modem has LAN ports so I can connect repeater units anywhere I like (upstairs in my case), but their unit seems to be one room only. It's possible the output is very powerful, but it's something to look at before deciding.

The final point is the Musk factor. Would you trust a man like him with your data? I would have to think about it.

@Fred

I don't think the "Musk factor" necessarily is a danger regarding data BUT it is always a personal preference of mine to keep my money spent on the resources of the country in which I live. I buy "Made in Brazil" as much as is possible.

That said, I'm sure that Starlink is an appropriate option for those completely off grid here.

mberigan

Starlink prices may have just increased in Brazil.

09/21/24    Starlink prices may have just increased in Brazil.
   

    -@alan279

That was reported in today's Folha, so it's more than a rumor.  Whether the price increase is meant to last or is just another feint in the ongoing conflict that will disappear when the resolution (which may be pretty close) arrives remains to be seen.