STI vs Viasat: Ground-Based Beats Geostationary

The Equipment Cost Nobody Mentions

With Viasat you're either paying $15/month to lease their dish and modem — indefinitely — or buying the equipment outright for $250. The dish requires a clear view of the southern sky, meaning trees, hills, or metal buildings can all create installation complications. In South Texas, metal roofs and outbuildings are everywhere.

STI's Air Fiber installation is professional and free. No equipment purchase. No monthly equipment lease. No roof-mounted dish to worry about in a Texas hailstorm.

The Latency Reality

Viasat's geostationary satellites orbit approximately 22,000 miles above Earth. That distance creates latency — the delay between a request leaving your device and data arriving back. Real-world Viasat latency typically runs 600–800ms. A standard ground-based connection runs under 20ms. That gap matters for video calls, online gaming, and anything interactive. STI's Air Fiber uses ground-based towers — low latency is built in.

What Viasat Costs Over Time

At $69.99/month plus $15/month equipment lease, Viasat runs at least $84.99/month. STI is $65/month flat — no equipment fee, taxes included. That's nearly $20/month less, $240/year, for faster speeds and lower latency. At Viasat's higher tiers ($99.99–$119.99/month), South Texas customers pay $420–$660 more per year than STI customers — for slower, weather-dependent, high-latency satellite service.

The Weather Factor

Viasat's own documentation acknowledges that heavy rain, storms, and dense clouds affect service. South Texas thunderstorm season runs spring through fall. When weather rolls in off the Gulf, satellite signals degrade. STI's towers are ground-based and built for South Texas conditions — we live here and we're not willing to lose service every time it rains.