From Outer Space to Your Router: Satellite Internet Explained

While it’s not the fastest, satellite internet is the only internet connection type available in all 50 states, making it a top contender for rural households with limited internet options.

Despite the popularity of Starlinkand the growing power of its 7,000 satellites, satellite internet is commonly viewed as a last resort for home internet. So what makes satellite internet so great? What should you be mindful about before signing up? Let’s take a closer look at how satellite internet works — and what to expect from the top competitors in the industry.

Read more: The best internet providers for 2025: Cable vs. fiber vs. satellite and more

How does satellite internet work?

Like satellite TV, satellite dishes receive radio waves transmitted from satellites in geostationary, low- or high-Earth orbit. The radio frequencies, or “satellite spectrum,” are licensed frequencies managed by the Federal Communications Commission in the US and by the International Telecommunication Union globally. Internet service providers use data centers or central stations connected to an internet network to funnel information back to your receiver dish.

There is a lot of complicated technology involved in transmitting data from a satellite to your computer, but to simplify, think of satellite internet as working in three main components:

• Your satellite dish: Your dish receives and transmits data.
• Orbiting satellites: Satellites in outer space receive information from your satellite dish and route requests back to Earth, to data centers.
• Data centers: Data centers, which are plugged into the greater internet infrastructure, complete the requests and send data back to the satellite. The data then travels back to your dish.

To work effectively, the satellite dish must be placed in a position with a clear line of sight. You’ll connect a modem to that dish to translate the incoming signal into a workable internet connection. Besides electricity to keep the receiver dish powered (and, again, a clear view of the sky), that’s really all you need for satellite internet to work.

While satellite internet providers must establish data centers or ground stations that rely on wired infrastructure, there’s usually more than one. That means that satellite internet isn’t dependent on cable, fiber or phone lines. Since ground-based technologies like those aren’t as well-developed in rural areas because of the lack of population density, ISPs must spend more to cover the increased ground to bring the same number of households online. Satellite internet sidesteps that problem by skipping ground-laid infrastructure altogether, making satellite internet a convenient internet option for rural or hard-to-reach areas.

Launching satellites into space is expensive, but once a sufficient network is available, companies can offer broadband satellite internet to customers over a wide swath of the planet, even in pretty remote places previously unreachable by wired ISPs. 

Who offers satellite internet?

The top satellite internet providers in the country are Viasat, Hughesnet and Starlink. Viasat and Hughesnet have been in the business of satellite-based communications for decades. While Starlink is a relative newcomer to the industry, it has become a strong competitor in recent years, largely thanks to its rapid deployment of satellites, faster speeds, low latency and on-the-go satellite internet dish.

To keep up with the competition, Hughesnet launched its Jupiter 3 satellite in 2023, one of the largest commercial communications satellites built. This allows for improved download speeds of up to 100Mbps satellite internet customers. Meanwhile, Viasat has started offering a plan with download speeds as high as 150Mbps, but that speed is not available in all locations.

According to Ookla’s first-quarter 2024 report — the most recent report to include satellite internet metrics — Viasat averaged around 34Mbps in download speeds, with Hughesnet offering a mere average of 15Mbps. (Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.) Starlink averaged 64Mbps, beating out both Viasat and Hughesnet speeds.

Starlink already boasts more than 7,000 satellites in orbit and reaches millions of customers in the US and beyond. While Starlink’s plans don’t come cheap (starting at $120 monthly plus $349 up-front for equipment), the network promises faster speeds and lower latency than we’ve traditionally expected from satellite internet.

However, there may be new competition in the industry soon, as Amazon’s Project Kuiper is slated to be available in late 2025, according to the company’s website. In July 2020, the FCC approved Project Kuiper’s deployment of thousands of low-Earth orbit satellites to create its own satellite-based broadband service. As many as 83 satellite launches are planned over the next five years. The first full-scale satellite launch, which consisted of 27 satellites, blasted off on April 9. So, stay tuned for updates.

Where is satellite internet available?

Due to the proliferation of satellites attuned to those latitudes, most areas of the US can receive satellite internet signals. Hughesnet and Starlink, for instance, offer services in all 50 states. Viasat offers near-complete coverage in the US, except for Alaska, where service is only available in certain regions.

Some satellite internet companies are also exploring coverage in other parts of the world and experimenting with new deployment approaches, like using community hot spots instead of residential dishes and connections. Starlink’s portable satellite dish, the Starlink Mini, further expands the reach of the internet to rural areas and for travelers.

How does satellite compare to other internet connection types?

While recent advancements have helped satellite internet hit baseline broadband speeds, it’s still more expensive than most other common modes of internet. In most cases, other options will offer better speeds with lower latency.

For example, DSL and cable internet are very common, with DSL download speeds ranging from 3 to 140 megabits per second and cable typically providing anywhere from 10 to 2,000Mbps, depending on your plan. Satellite internet generally comes in at 12 to 200Mbps, although Starlink’s Elon Musk promised that speeds of up to 300Mbps and even 2,000Mbps will be possible.

Fiber internet, which uses fiber-optic cables, can offer blazing-fast download speeds as high as 5 or even 10 gigabits per second (5,000 or 10,000Mbps). With fiber, your uploads will typically be as fast as your downloads, which isn’t the case with cable, DSL or satellite. Installing fiber cable is expensive, and deployments aren’t cost-efficient in areas with low population density, so there’s no telling if or when fiber will become a viable option across most of rural America.

That said, satellite internet typically offers the highest cost per Mbps — a rough indicator of value with home internet plans — of any internet connection type due to relatively slow average speeds and high monthly costs.

Here’s a quick rundown of the pros and cons of a satellite connection

Pros

• Waiting for broadband internet in your area could take a long time, and satellite internet is available now.
• Satellite internet is relatively simple to acquire: find a company that offers it, rent a receiver dish or buy it up-front and sign up for the right plan for your needs.
• Major companies like SpaceX and Amazon are bringing new competition into the satellite internet market, which means better speeds and value over the long term.

Cons

• Typically more expensive than other forms of internet, with the potential for steep up-front costs for your receiver dish. The cost-per-Mbps is typically high with satellite internet.
• With many satellites in far-away orbit above Earth, high latency is a common issue with satellite internet. Your traffic will need a few extra moments to make it up to outer space.
• Satellite internet can be finicky if there isn’t a clear connection with the constellation overhead. For instance, satellite dishes must be aligned well with a “clear view of the Southern sky,” as Hughesnet says. Snow buildup or other kinds of bad weather can create spottiness or even an outage.

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