Fixing “The system is offline” with Starlink – MyBroadband

SpaceX’s satellite Internet service Starlink could significantly boost connectivity for Home Affairs offices in remote areas with poor or no broadband while also saving the government department some money.

Department of Home Affairs (DHA) branches require reliable Internet connectivity to link up with the National Population Register, which is required for identity verification.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber recently revealed that some of this department’s branches still use 2 Mbps Internet connections.

Schreiber believes these slow speeds could be to blame for the infamous “System is offline” issues that people regularly encounter when applying for a Smart ID, new passport, and other services handled by the DHA.

The department’s ICT services provider, the State Information Technology Agency (Sita), previously confirmed that the department’s 2Mbps connections were copper-based DSL packages.

That technology is considered outdated, having been all but eradicated in homes and businesses in South Africa and replaced with fibre.

In areas where alternative broadband technologies like fixed-LTE or fixed-5G are not feasible options for Sita, one potential solution that could be considered is SpaceX’s Starlink.

Starlink is an uncapped satellite broadband service that offers fibre-like speeds.

It is quick and easy to deploy, so the DHA won’t have to wait until fibre or mobile broadband becomes available at their connectivity-deprived branches.

Starlink could also be ideal for mobile Home Affairs units, some of which have been fitted with VSAT (very-small-aperture terminal) connectivity since 2021.

That has enabled these mobile offices to bring their services to far-flung communities without any Internet connectivity.

VSAT vs Starlink

VSAT is sold by several companies in South Africa, including MTN Business, Huge Connect, Vox, Paratus, and Sandstream Telecoms, but is unclear whose product the DHA uses.

It uses a dish or dome to communicate with satellites in geostationary or geosynchronous (GEO) orbit, about 35,000km above the Earth’s surface.

GEO satellite services are a mature technology that have been around for a long time, newer but they have become inferior to Starlink and other low-earth orbit (LEO) services like Eutelsat OneWeb, which have only emerged in recent years.

Firstly, LEO boasts higher download and upload speeds than GEO, going up to 220Mbps on Starlink business packages.

MyBroadband’s own tests of Starlink’s slower residential service have found it supports speeds typically well over 150Mbps in South Africa.

That is impressive, considering Starlink has no local ground stations, and all communication from the country is routed to ground stations in other countries via inter-satellite links.

The maximum speed achievable on enterprise VSAT is claimed at 150Mbps, although many online users will explain that their residential VSAT products never or rarely achieved their advertised speeds.

Secondly, LEO services have much lower latency than GEO services.

In countries where Starlink has ground stations, it claims to deliver latencies between 20ms and 60ms.

Where it does not have ground stations, like in South Africa and several surrounding African countries where it is supported, latencies can be substantially higher.

Our tests have shown that Starlink typically achieves between 200ms and 300ms latency when roaming in South Africa.

However, that is still substantially better than GEO services, which typically have latencies ranging from 500ms to 700ms.

The main reason for the lower latency is that LEO satellites orbit from around 500km to 2,000km above the Earth’s surface, significantly closer than GEO satellites.

Thirdly, GEO installations must be done by professionals and can take time. In contrast, Starlink’s kits are designed to be self-deployed within minutes by its customers using the Starlink mobile app.

In addition, GEO services typically require signing contracts, particularly when it comes to business or enterprise connectivity packages, whereas all Starlink’s plans are month-to-month.

The DHA could switch the service off and save money on the mobile units that might not be used for certain months.

On the point of pricing, although enterprise or business VSAT prices in South Africa are not publicly advertised, they are likely to be far more expensive than Starlink Business, based on how much their home packages cost.

All these factors could make Starlink an alternative connectivity option worth considering for both remote fixed branches and mobile units, if the service gets official approval in South Africa.

The table below compares some of the key features of Starlink Business, ADSL, and VSAT.