If you live in rural South Texas, you’ve probably seen the Starlink ads. A small dish, satellite internet, no cables required. It sounds great. But after serving hundreds of customers across Medina, Atascosa, and Frio counties, we’ve heard the same story over and over from people who switched from Starlink to us. Here’s the honest comparison.

Price Starlink currently costs $120/month plus $599 for the equipment upfront. South Texas Internet’s Velocity 400 plan is $65/month with no equipment purchase, no setup fee, and no contract. Over 12 months, that’s $1,440 with us versus $2,039 with Starlink (including equipment). That’s nearly $600 in savings every year.

Speed Starlink advertises 50–200 Mbps download speeds. The actual speeds vary significantly depending on how many users are on your local satellite cell. We’ve had customers show us Starlink speed tests in the 20–30 Mbps range during peak hours. Our Velocity 400 plan delivers consistent 400 Mbps because we’re not sharing satellite capacity — you’re connected directly to our local towers.

Reliability Starlink is affected by weather, obstructions, and satellite positioning. If you have trees, a metal roof, or frequent South Texas thunderstorms, your service will be interrupted. Our Air Fiber fixed wireless technology uses ground-based towers and is significantly more resilient to weather. One of our customers, Christian Taylor, put it best: ‘Now I have no speed or connection problems. A lot cheaper than Starlink.’

Latency Starlink’s latency runs 20–60ms and can spike higher during congestion. Our network runs under 50ms consistently. For video calls, online gaming, and real-time applications, lower and more consistent latency makes a real difference. Local Support When something goes wrong with Starlink, you submit a ticket and wait. When something goes wrong with South Texas Internet, you call (800) 583-3035 and speak to someone in Hondo who knows your area, knows your equipment, and will often dispatch a tech the same day. Kerry Kinsey, a 5-year customer, describes it as ‘exceptional’ service in an area that ‘is not signal friendly.’

The Bottom Line Starlink is a good option if you’re in an area with zero other choices. But if South Texas Internet covers your address, you get faster speeds, lower latency, more reliable service, local support, and you save $600+ per year. Call us at (800) 583-3035 to check if we cover your address.