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Starlink Internet in the Dominican Republic Update …

Last activity 16 June 2024 by ddmcghee

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Ian1272

Great news for those with poor internet service/provider for all that reside in the Dominican Republic. 



ddmcghee
The problem I’ve seen is that Starlink requires a physical address to configure the system and those don’t exist in much of the country!
Ian1272
I hope Starlink figures out something as lots of Dominican residents may not have physical addresses :)

I hope wherever my wife and I end up living has access to fibre internet. We want to live up in the hills where it’s quieter and a beautiful view of the ocean.  If up in the hills has bad internet options, then Starlink will be a great option.
RockyM
We inquired about fiber up to our hill in Coson and it is not available. They're just not in a hurry to lay fiber for a handful of houses in the hills. But, we have been pleased with our dish service provided through a local firm.
Ian1272
Hi Dave, thanks for your input, any idea what sort of speed you are enjoying wit your dish service ?
GuestPosterR2506
Just an fyi I brought my router with me to La romana and the Claro guy did some configuration and I have now 2.4 ghz and 5  I have very good Inter all around the house
RockyM
Hi Dave, thanks for your input, any idea what sort of speed you are enjoying wit your dish service ?
- @Ian1272

We are getting over 20 mb download speeds consistently and about 9 upload. Service has been quite reliable, so can't complain. One day we should have fiber service out this far.

WillieWeb
24 and 6 using a dish set-up

per fast.com
freeperson
@Rich1162
Here u talk about the frequency 2.4 and 5 Giga Hertz
But this is not your internet speed
freeperson
@ddmcghee
Hi
Everyone have physical address no?
ddmcghee
@ddmcghee
Hi
Everyone have physical address no?
- @freeperson

No, we don't!  Like most places here in LT and elsewhere in the country, we live on a road with no name, and we have no street number.  We've created a record on Google Maps with our villa name so that people can find us, and I can provide GPS coordinates, but that's the best we can do!
freeperson
Still like old aged
Tomyroni
@Rich1162
Hi i will need one similarfor my online spanish Clases soon
I'm tutor and I need good Internet
Will you exchange wasup mate?
planner
Best thing to do is exchange personal info via the private message service here.
lmclmf2009
Has anyone checked on the pricing?  I heard it would be costly, somewhere about 7,000 pesos a month plus a high installation price.  I believe it was mentioned in a Diario Libre news article.  I am curious if anyone has seen any advertising information.
ddmcghee
I looked briefly at it - as I recall, it’s about $599 for the hardware and $110 per month for service. I thought it was a DIY installation.
Curious98
As I've been able to research it, It would appear that the configuration is specific to the physical address as others have stated here.  There is no way to have the device configured for one location and then shipped to another.  If I were to order this for the location we would need it, I don't know how we'd ever hope to receive it once it was shipped.  It would appear that the satellites have arrived prior to the meaningful support to actually utilize the tech.  Anybody been able to set Starlink up in the DR yet?
WayneColeman
Same thoughts. Great idea, but not having a physical address and is cost prohibitive. Any other satellite companies in the DR. I live near San Cristobal and none of the local services work very well.
UncleBuck
I just ordered ours today.  Service at one address (our new home, yet to be built) with delivery to our current address, and billing to our CAD credit card.  Everything was entered easily, with the physical location of service being the Google Maps "plus code" which Starlinks' website handled very well.  Our current address actually has a numbered address on a named street, so that was easy enough to enter as well.  Now, the question becomes, will the kit actually be delivered to us?  And if we set it up where we currently are renting, can we move it to our new home once construction is complete?  It's only a few km's away, but with geolocating it probably is accurate enough to know the difference.  Time will tell, I guess.
UncleBuck
Pricing went down considerably.  $27,000 for the hardware including delivery, and $2,900 for service.  That was the tipping point for us.
DominicanadaMike
I have had small packages and documents delivered to Mailboxes etc.  When they receive it they usually call me and then I go and pick it up, 5 minutes drive.
planner
@Unclebuck that will be held up at customs my friend and you will be  taxed on it!   But still seems like a good deal!
Ian1272
Hi Uncle Buck

This is great news. Will you please keep us updated ?

Thanks so much :)
UncleBuck
Hi Uncle Buck

This is great news. Will you please keep us updated ?

Thanks so much smile.png
- @Ian1272


I certainly will.  Website says 2 weeks until it's delivered, but I've learned not to hold my breath when it comes to deliveries here.  I don't know of anyone else on the island that has theirs up and running, but I bet a bunch of people just ordered with the price drop.  And it was a world-wide price drop, too.  Let's hope that doesn't mean a drop in speeds as well, because they were seeing some pretty decent rates.  Steady at 300kb/s download with spikes up to 400kb/s and uploads of 40kb/s with spikes up to 55kb/s.  That is significantly better, and a better price, than offered locally.
Ian1272
I signed up for Starlink as soon as it was said to be available here in Ontario Canada.

They first told me I would get it December 2021. Then they emailed me telling me 2nd quarter of 2022.

Just yesterday I received this email from them :(


Your Starlink Pre-Order Status


Your service area remains at capacity which means we are unable to convert you to Residential service at this time. Our best estimate for delivery of Residential service in your area is now mid-2023.   
Adding users before adding additional network capacity would result in delivery of a lesser service. However, we understand that some customers may have urgent connectivity needs with no other alternatives.   
For those with urgent connectivity needs, we are offering a Best Effort service option. 

What is Best Effort?
Best Effort enables typical internet activity with the understanding that Best Effort users will be deprioritized behind Residential users. 
The monthly service charge is the same but unlike Residential, Best Effort users will have the option to pause service on their account page. 

What will the internet experience be like with Best Effort?
During times of peak network congestion, Best Effort users will experience notably slower speeds than Residential users.  Best Effort users will be able to engage in typical internet activity like email, online shopping, or streaming an SD movie, but they won’t be able to engage in activities like online gaming, video calls or streaming 4K and HD movies.
Outside times of peak network congestion, Best Effort users can expect to engage in all of the above activities and more, but speeds will be slower than Residential users.   

If I choose Best Effort now, do I lose my place in line for Residential service?
No, if you choose Best Effort you will not lose your spot in line. When capacity increases in your area, your service will be upgraded automatically at no additional cost. 

You can opt-in to Best Effort from your account page at any time or by clicking the button below. 
OPT-IN TO BEST EFFORT
Best Effort is intended for pre-order customers with urgent connectivity needs.  If you can wait for Residential, we strongly encourage you to do so.   
In just 18 months, our teams have already enabled over 600,000 users across 40 markets.  By mid-2023, our rapid launch rate and higher performing satellites, coupled with the continuous deployment of software features to optimize our network, will enable a high quality connection for millions more across the globe.
As always, you cancel your pre-order at any time on your account page for a full refund of your deposit.  We appreciate your continued patience and we look forward to getting you online!
The Starlink Team 

We hope to be in the DR come mid 2023. As soon as our property and business sells we will be Las Terrenas bound.  Yeeee haaaaw !!!!
Roryzion

@UncleBuck Will wait for your feedback before ordering Starlink.  The price drop (DP 2700 mo)makes them competetive.  Hopefully the hard ware price drops too. 

UncleBuck
@Unclebuck that will be held up at customs my friend and you will be  taxed on it!   But still seems like a good deal!
- @planner

I'm taxed so much on everything I import, this will be a drop in the bucket.  Sadly, I won't be able to change this invoice price, as I'm sure Aduanas knows the current pricing.  I agree, it still seems like a good deal.  Our new home will be connected to services, but only as a backup.  Solar, well, and rain catchment will be primary sources.  Starlink would be the final piece to make us self-sustained as much as possible.  If we needed cable or phone, that would be different, but we are an internet-only house.
polo1club

@UncleBuck  Uncle Buck can you tell us about your Solar hook up, I am still confused on how it works out there and any pricing you may have on that. I now its been discussed before but I think solar is the way to go out there with so much sun year round. Thanks

UncleBuck

@UncleBuck  Uncle Buck can you tell us about your Solar hook up, I am still confused on how it works out there and any pricing you may have on that. I now its been discussed before but I think solar is the way to go out there with so much sun year round. Thanks

- @polo1club

We have just begun construction, so I don't have any information to share as of yet.  I do have a lot of research and learning to do, but that will be on a different thread.
Tippj
Heard today on the Bloomberg channel that starlink  is partnering with T-Mobile to get
Signal’s into rural areas…….stay tune t- mobile user’s
planner
Tippj let's keep this to the DR please honey. 🤗
UncleBuck

Our Starlink system was delivered by DHL today.  No customs at all.  It shipped August 29, and is currently in my hands.  It was to be delivered Friday, but hey, what's a few days difference??  DHL's tracking website was very informative and updated regularly.  I am really surprised about the no import charges.  So $27,000 RD is all you will pay.  The driver had 2 other units in his van by the time he got to me, so Starlink is doing very well here, I think.  Once I get things connected and running, I'll post an update of the speeds I get.  So far, this has been entirely too easy, especially for the DR.

planner

Excellent news! 

rfmaurone

This is great news. Thank you

Ian1272

Congratulations Uncle Buck !!!  Cant wait to hear all your thoughts on your new Starlink :)

Karin1

@Ian1272


If/when you get availability news about Starlink in Ontario, let us know please.

Ian1272

Will do @Karin1


Having said that we hope we have sold our property here in Ontario and we will be down in Las Terrenas by the time Starlink has said in their email to me that it will be mid 2023 before the Starlink service will be available to us.

UncleBuck

Connected our Starlink today, but only in a temporary spot.  We'll need to get a pole to mount it on for a better view of the sky, but even with a partially obscured view, we are upwards of 200mb/s down and averaging 35mb/s upload.  A vast improvement over what we currently have.  We're in a rental right now, so our mounting solution is going to be less than ideal, but functional.  Setup was super easy, you basically plug it in, open the app, click, and it does it's thing.

Ian1272

WOW !!! Uncle Buck, that’s amazing.  Thanks for sharing.


Were you able to give them an actual physical address, or were you able to get around that ?

sberger50

Most of the Starlink satellites are concentrated in the Northern US.  They keep working to bring more satellites online in the future.  The Caribbean is expected to be covered much greater in about a year.  Looks like you should like the system even better in the future.  The system is very easy to install according to a personal video on Youtube.  Congrats!  The monthly cost was said to be $110, so that may be expensive for most.

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