Skymesh Fixed Wireless vs Starlink

Scope note: This table is not exhaustive. It focuses on points most relevant to customers already eligible for nbn® Fixed Wireless; Starlink pricing, hardware terms and availability should be verified at starlink.com before purchase.

Feature	Skymesh nbn® Fixed Wireless	Starlink
ACCC-measured busy-hour download speed¹	✓ ACCC-measured 283.5 Mbps busy-hour download speed on nbn® Fixed Wireless Superfast (7–11pm)	~ ACCC-measured 170.2 Mbps busy-hour download speed (all residential plans)
Plan speed tiers²	✓ 25–100 / 200–250 / up to 400 Mbps download (max theoretical attainable)	~ 80–400+ Mbps — “maximum available, not guaranteed, slower during congestion”
Equipment cost³	✓ $0 — nbn®-supplied antenna & connection box. BYO router or Skymesh router $139.99 (free shipping)	✗ New direct Residential orders are currently reported to include a $15/month hardware rental fee; rented kits must be returned within 30 days of cancellation or full kit price may be charged. Purchased kits are available separately from retailers.
Installation⁴	✓ Free standard installation by an nbn®-accredited technician	✗ Self-install; clear sky view required; mounts and cabling at customer’s expense
Demand / congestion surcharge⁵	✓ None on any plan	✗ One-off congestion charge of up to $145 in some areas, shown only after you enter your address
Equipment ownership⁶	✓ nbn®-owned and maintained — nothing to return if you leave	✗ Direct-order rental kit remains Starlink’s property; return within 30 days of cancellation or full kit price may be charged. Retailer-bought kits are customer-owned.
Reliability & outages⁷	✓ ACCC found nbn® fixed wireless recorded fewer outages and lower packet loss than satellite	✗ ACCC measured an average of 0.35 brief outages per day from satellite hand-offs
Weather impact⁸	✓ Ground-based link to a local tower — not exposed to the same satellite rain-fade path	✗ A 2025 Starlink field study found rain reduced median download throughput by ~38% in its test environment
Contract & exit fees⁹	✓ No lock-in, no exit fees, 30-day satisfaction guarantee with full plan refund	~ No minimum term. If the kit is rented, the 30-day return obligation/full-kit-price charge still applies after cancellation; purchased kits are not treated as rental returns.
Shipping¹⁰	✓ N/A — included with installation	~ Shipping & handling charges apply
Support¹¹	✓ Australian-owned, 7-days-a-week phone support, TIO member	~ App / online-portal based support
First month total¹²	✓ From $69.95 (plan fee only — no setup, activation or connection fees)	~ From $90 for new direct Residential customers ($75 plan + $15 hardware rental), plus shipping (+ up to $145 congestion charge in some areas)
Year 1 total cost¹³	~ $959 (Plus) to $1,199 (Superfast) — fixed and predictable; no equipment, shipping or congestion charges	~ $1,080 (Residential 100 incl. hardware rental) to $1,980 (Residential Max incl. hardware rental) + shipping (+ congestion charge where it applies); purchased-kit path differs
Best value at ~$110/month¹⁴	✓ Wireless Superfast — ACCC-measured 283.5 Mbps busy-hour download speed	~ Residential 200 is currently reported at $125/month incl. hardware rental; Starlink’s ACCC-measured busy-hour download speed is 170.2 Mbps

Detailed Source Notes

¹ ACCC-measured busy-hour download speed

Skymesh nbn® Fixed Wireless: The ACCC Measuring Broadband Australia program (data collected March 2025, released June 2025) recorded a median busy-hour download speed of 283.5 Mbps on nbn® Fixed Wireless Superfast plans and 166.2 Mbps on Fixed Wireless Home Fast plans. These are network-wide medians for the speed tier, not Skymesh-specific figures.

Source: https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/wireless-networks-provide-high-speed-alternatives-to-remote-and-regional-households

Starlink: The same ACCC release recorded an average busy-hour download speed of 170.2 Mbps across Starlink residential services. Starlink speeds vary with location, time of day, congestion, weather and obstructions.

Source: https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/wireless-networks-provide-high-speed-alternatives-to-remote-and-regional-households | https://www.starlink.com/au/residential

² Plan speed tiers

Skymesh nbn® Fixed Wireless (maximum theoretical attainable speeds):

• Wireless Plus: 25–100 Mbps download / 5–20 Mbps upload.

• Wireless Fast: 200–250 Mbps download / 8–20 Mbps upload.

• Wireless Superfast: up to 400 Mbps download / 10–40 Mbps upload.

Fast and Superfast require nbn® network upgrades that are not yet complete in all areas (Fast available at ~90% of the expanded footprint, Superfast ~80%). Skymesh states the displayed speed ranges do not represent minimum, maximum or typical speeds and are not guaranteed; actual speeds are confirmed only after the service is connected and tested.

Source: https://www.skymesh.net.au/nbn-services/fixed-wireless

Starlink: advertises download speeds of 80–400+ Mbps. Its Australian site states the referenced speeds are “maximum available speeds, are not guaranteed, and will be slower during times of congestion.”

Source: https://www.starlink.com/au/residential

³ Equipment cost

Skymesh nbn® Fixed Wireless: nbn® Co supplies and installs the rooftop antenna and indoor connecting equipment at no cost. Customers need a compatible Wi-Fi router — either BYO (limited support) or a Skymesh plug-and-play router for $139.99 with free shipping.

Source: https://www.skymesh.net.au/nbn-services/fixed-wireless

Starlink: For new direct Residential orders, third-party pricing checks as at 23 June 2026 report a $15/month hardware rental fee for the Standard Kit, which Starlink values at $549. Starlink’s terms state rented kits must be returned in good condition within 30 days of service cancellation or the customer may be charged the full kit price. Customers can also buy Starlink kits outright from retailers such as JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman, then sign up for a Starlink plan separately.

Source: https://www.starlink.com/legal/documents/DOC-1029-53044-64 | https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/News/starlink-monthly-rental-fee | https://www.canstar.com.au/internet/starlink/ | https://www.jbhifi.com.au/pages/starlink-internet

⁴ Installation

Skymesh nbn® Fixed Wireless: Free standard installation is included and performed by an nbn®-accredited technician, who mounts the antenna on the roof, eaves or a wall and installs the indoor connecting equipment. Non-standard installations may incur additional costs and are quoted in advance.

Source: https://www.skymesh.net.au/nbn-services/fixed-wireless

Starlink: Designed for self-installation. The customer uses the Starlink app’s obstruction tool to find a clear view of the sky; if ground-level placement is unsuitable, an elevated mount (roof, pole or wall) may be needed, with additional mounts sold separately on the Starlink Shop.

Source: https://www.starlink.com/au/support/article/412a70ca-0d9a-813e-b18f-75c36b84ec06

⁵ Demand / congestion surcharge

Skymesh does not charge any capacity, demand or congestion surcharge on any plan.

Starlink applies a one-off congestion charge of up to $145 in some areas. The charge is based on the customer’s location and is shown only after the address is entered at checkout. Starlink states its intention is to stop charging the fee to new customers as network capacity improves.

Source: https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/Guides/Starlink-Australia-Everything-you-need-to-know

⁶ Equipment ownership

Skymesh nbn® Fixed Wireless: The nbn®-supplied antenna and connecting equipment are owned and maintained by nbn® Co at no cost for the life of the service. The customer owns only their Wi-Fi router. There is nothing to return if you cancel.

Source: https://www.skymesh.net.au/nbn-services/fixed-wireless

Starlink: Rented equipment remains the property of Starlink and must be returned within 30 days of cancellation, or the customer may be charged the full kit price. If the customer buys the kit outright through a retailer, this rental-return obligation does not apply; the kit is purchased equipment and plan sign-up is handled separately.

Source: https://www.starlink.com/legal/documents/DOC-1029-53044-64 | https://www.canstar.com.au/internet/starlink/ | https://www.jbhifi.com.au/pages/starlink-internet

⁷ Reliability & outages

Skymesh nbn® Fixed Wireless: In the ACCC’s wireless comparison, nbn® fixed wireless recorded fewer outages and lower packet loss than Starlink. The ACCC noted the difference in average performance for these metrics is small and unlikely to significantly affect overall experience.

Source: https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/wireless-networks-provide-high-speed-alternatives-to-remote-and-regional-households

Starlink: The ACCC Measuring Broadband Australia program (Report 31, December 2025) recorded an average of 0.35 brief outages per day for Starlink, which occur as the dish switches between satellites. These typically last 1–2 seconds and can interrupt video calls, VoIP and online gaming.

Source: https://www.accc.gov.au/by-industry/telecommunications-and-internet/telecommunications-monitoring/measuring-broadband-australia-program/latest-performance-report/report-31-december-2025

⁸ Weather impact

Skymesh nbn® Fixed Wireless: Fixed wireless is a terrestrial radio link to a local nbn® tower (up to ~14 km away), so it is not exposed to the same satellite rain-fade path as connections relaying through the atmosphere to low-earth-orbit satellites. As with any connection, extreme weather can affect performance, but the cited Starlink field study concerns satellite throughput rather than nbn® Fixed Wireless.

Source: https://www.skymesh.net.au/nbn-services/fixed-wireless

Starlink: As a satellite service, Starlink is exposed to weather conditions that do not affect terrestrial fixed wireless links in the same way. A 2025 Starlink field study available via arXiv found rain reduced median downlink throughput by 37.84% and uplink throughput by 52.27% in its test environment. Treat this as evidence of weather sensitivity, not a guaranteed performance drop for every Australian residential installation.

Source: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.04772 | https://starlink.com/residential/starlink-speeds-and-performance

⁹ Contract & exit fees

Skymesh nbn® Fixed Wireless: Month-to-month plans with no lock-in contract and no exit fees. 30-day satisfaction guarantee — if you are not completely satisfied within the first 30 days of activation, you are entitled to a full refund of your chosen internet plan.

Source: https://www.skymesh.net.au/satisfaction-guarantee

Starlink: No minimum contract term and cancellation any time via the customer portal. However, if the customer uses rented hardware, the rental kit must still be returned within 30 days of cancellation or the customer may be charged the full kit price. This does not apply the same way to kits bought outright from retailers.

Source: https://www.starlink.com/legal/documents/DOC-1030-28562-63 | https://www.canstar.com.au/internet/starlink/

¹⁰ Shipping

Skymesh: No shipping charge — the nbn® equipment is installed on site as part of standard installation.

Starlink: Shipping and handling charges apply to direct orders.

Source: https://www.starlink.com/au | https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/Providers/Starlink

¹¹ Support

Skymesh: Australian-owned, with regional internet specialists available 7 days a week (including public holidays). Skymesh is a member of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) scheme.

Source: https://www.skymesh.net.au/nbn-services/fixed-wireless

Starlink: Support is primarily provided through the Starlink app and online help centre.

Source: https://www.starlink.com/au/support/article/412a70ca-0d9a-813e-b18f-75c36b84ec06

¹² First month total

Skymesh nbn® Fixed Wireless (plan fee only — no setup, activation, connection or equipment fees):

• Wireless Plus: $69.95

• Wireless Fast: $74.95

• Wireless Superfast: $89.95

Source: https://www.skymesh.net.au/nbn-services/fixed-wireless

Starlink: As at 23 June 2026, third-party pricing checks report new direct Residential customers at $90/month minimum when the $75 Residential 100 plan is combined with the $15/month hardware rental fee. Shipping and handling may still apply, plus a one-off congestion charge of up to $145 where applicable. Customers who buy a kit outright should verify the current plan-only price at starlink.com before purchase.

Source: https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/News/starlink-monthly-rental-fee | https://www.starlink.com/au/residential

¹³ Year 1 total cost

Skymesh nbn® Fixed Wireless (6 months promotional + 6 months ongoing, plan fee only):

• Wireless Plus: ($69.95 × 6) + ($89.95 × 6) = $959.40

• Wireless Fast: ($74.95 × 6) + ($94.95 × 6) = $1,019.40

• Wireless Superfast: ($89.95 × 6) + ($109.95 × 6) = $1,199.40

Starlink (12 months at reported direct-order standard rates checked 23 June 2026, including $15/month hardware rental, excluding shipping and any congestion charge):

• Residential 100 ($75/mo + $15/mo hardware rental): $1,080

• Residential 200 ($110/mo + $15/mo hardware rental): $1,500

• Residential Max ($150/mo + $15/mo hardware rental): $1,980

Add shipping and a one-off congestion charge of up to $145 where it applies. Introductory offers may reduce Starlink’s first-year cost in some periods. Customers who buy a kit outright have a different upfront-cost profile.

Source: https://www.skymesh.net.au/nbn-services/fixed-wireless | https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/News/starlink-monthly-rental-fee | https://www.starlink.com/au/residential

¹⁴ Best value at ~$110/month

At Skymesh’s $109.95/month ongoing Superfast price point, the closest reported direct Starlink Residential option as at 23 June 2026 is Residential 200 at $125/month including hardware rental. Wireless Superfast delivered an ACCC-measured busy-hour download speed of 283.5 Mbps (Fixed Wireless Superfast tier), versus Starlink’s ACCC-measured residential busy-hour download speed of 170.2 Mbps — roughly 1.7× the measured busy-hour speed, with no rental kit to return and no congestion charge.

Source: https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/wireless-networks-provide-high-speed-alternatives-to-remote-and-regional-households | https://www.skymesh.net.au/nbn-services/fixed-wireless | https://www.whistleout.com.au/Broadband/News/starlink-monthly-rental-fee | https://www.starlink.com/au/residential

Comparison Accuracy Statement

This comparison was prepared by Skymesh and reflects our understanding of publicly available information about Starlink’s Australian services as of June 2026. The comparison table is not exhaustive and focuses on points most relevant to customers already eligible for nbn® Fixed Wireless. Pricing, features, speeds and policies are subject to change. All source URLs are listed against each claim above.

Speed figures shown for Skymesh plans are maximum theoretical attainable speeds; they do not represent minimum, maximum or typical speeds and are not guaranteed. ACCC-measured busy-hour speeds quoted are Measuring Broadband Australia network-tier figures, not provider-specific results. Skymesh’s Fast and Superfast plans are not available at all addresses and require nbn® network upgrades to be complete.

We encourage customers to verify current Starlink pricing and terms directly at https://www.starlink.com/au before making a purchase decision.

This comparison has been drafted with reference to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) guidance for comparative advertising. All claims are substantiated with source documentation and should be reviewed against current pricing, terms and legal requirements before publication. Skymesh is a member of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) scheme.