Skip to main content
Find a broadband deal
Test my broadband
Fix my broadband

Satellite Broadband Guide

What is satellite broadband?

Satellite broadband is an option available for those who live in rural areas where traditional fixed-line based broadband services aren’t available, or on board ships and camper vans. It’s also the technology used on some trains and planes to provide Wi-Fi service. Finally, it can provide a backup solution for most households, provided you can get a clear view of the sky from the equipment.

Traditionally, satellite services were slow, expensive and subject to significant latency, limiting their use. The recent launches of Low Earth Orbit satellites have changed this, and made it both affordable and more suitable for day-to-day use. It is still rather more expensive compared to most solutions, but for those who can’t use an alternative, it can be a lifesaver.

Satellite broadband coverage is almost ubiquitous. All you need is a clear view of the sky, and of course, capacity, which may be limited at times (for example, Starlink ran out of capacity for new connections in the South East of England in December 2024, although coverage is now available again).

Satellite Broadband

Bandwidth, Latency and Costs

The major provider Starlink provides services typically up to 220Mbps downstream, and to 15Mbps upstream, with latency between 25 and 50ms (similar to the ADSL services in the early 2000s but much improved from the 800ms or so from previous generation satellite services). Although traffic shaping and usage limits are mostly a feature of the past for UK broadband services, satellite services can still include limits due to limited capacity.

Satellite broadband providers

We do not list satellite services on our main listings as they are not commonly used. The best known provider globally, which also covers the UK, is Starlink by SpaceX. They offer retail services to both consumers and business customers, as well as maritime and aircraft.

Starlink pricing for 2026

Starlink have around 9,400 active satellites in space in low-earth orbit, creating the largest constellation. They are continuously launching new satellites and have approval to operate up to 15,000, with permission sought to exceed 30,000.

  • Residential 100Mbps, Unlimited Data, Fixed Location, £40/month
  • Residential 200Mbps, Unlimited Data, Fixed Location £60/month
  • Residential Max, Up to 400Mbps+ Unlimited Data, Fixed Location £80/month
  • Roaming Service for camping and similar uses, including in-motion use and international services with coastal coverage from £55/month (100GB) or £100/month (unlimited). (Starlink 30-day trial available)
  • Business Local Priority (Best for fixed and mobile businesses on land), public IP and network priority with unlimited standard data. Priority data 50GB for £30/month, 500GB for £86/month, 1TB for £156/month or 2TB for £296/month.
  • Business Global Priority from £215/month. (50GB)

Latency on the service aims for a 20ms median. Residential Lite customers may see slower speeds available at peak times. Equipment costs will be covered by a setup fee of around £300 for a fixed installation, although current offers make this free. Note that in high-demand areas, there can be a setup surcharge of approximately £200. Mobile Satellite services vary.

Prices verified 18/05/2026.

In the UK, BT have signed a partnership with Starlink to offer their service. A pilot installation is planned for 2026, which will allow people in selected rural areas in the UK to get access. The products will be marketed as EE Satellite Broadband. No pricing has been announced as yet.

Amazon Leo

Formerly known as Project Kuiper, Amazon Leo is an alternative low-earth-orbit satellite internet service that is being built by Amazon. It’s aimed at competing with Starlink and will provide Internet services to homes and businesses. An initial planned constellation of 3,236 satellites is approved, and these will operate at altitudes between 590 and 630km above Earth (slightly higher than Starlink). So far, around 180 have been launched, and the company is running a preview program for selected enterprise customers.

Vodafone has announced that it will use Amazon Leo services to provide backhaul to remote mobile cell sites across Europe and Africa, providing an alternative to installing fibre or fixed wireless links.

Amazon Leo pricing for 2026

No pricing has been announced for the Amazon Leo network, but it is expected to be broadly in line and to compete with Starlink and launch in 2026. Products are expected to be:

  • Leo Nano – Compact device, approximately 100Mbps speeds
  • Leo Pro – Standard residential/business service, approximately 400Mbps speeds
  • Leo Ultra – High-performance, approximately 1Gbps download and 400Mbps upload.

OneWeb

An alternate operator is OneWeb. This was rescued from bankruptcy in 2020 by a consortium including the UK government, with a 45% share. The company was later sold to Eutelsat, but the UK government holds a shareholding in Eutelsat and maintains an interest. Over 600 satellites have been launched to provide a LEO broadband service but these are in a slightly higher altitude, of around 1,200km. This means latency is higher, generally around 50-70ms, compared to the Starlink 20ms aim. The higher altitude means fewer satellites are needed to provide global coverage. The service is only currently being marketed to maritime, aviation, enterprise or government users.

Speeds are advertised as up to 195Mbps download and 32Mbps upload.

Other Satellite broadband operators

SES Astra can provide services, although they are likely to be slower as they are Geostationary Earth Orbits and Medium Earth Orbits, which also means higher latencies. Other providers for commercial uses are available.

Another operator is Tooway, which is another Geo Stationary Orbit satellite provider using Eutelsat’s Ka-band technology. Speeds are around 22Mbps download and 6Mbps upload, from £29.99 per month.

Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos (Amazon founder), has announced that it is launching a satellite communications network called TeraWave that will offer speeds up to 6Tbps using optical technology. The company plan to launch over 5400 satellites, 128 in MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) for optical use, and 5,280 in LEO using radio frequencies. The LEO satellites will be able to use the MEO satellites as a backhaul. Up to 144 Gbps will be supported in LEO, with services aimed at enterprise, datacenter and government customers, so don’t expect this type of service in your home (yet!).

Direct-to-Mobile / Direct-to-Device

Direct to Mobile is a new satellite-based service where a standard smartphone will connect directly to a satellite to provide mobile service when there is no terrestrial-based mobile signal available nearby. This can help avoid mobile notspots, and could be a very helpful feature if you are out in the countryside and need some emergency assistance. Ofcom has authorised this to be used in the UK, and services are expected to launch in 2026. Modern Apple and Android-based devices already support satellite technology, so they may be able to take advantage of this when the service launches.

O2 Satellite

Virgin Media O2 has announced they have partnered with Starlink to bring this technology to the UK. The service launched on 26th February 2026. Called O2 Satellite, it allows compatible phones to receive messaging and data services directly from satellites, with the O2 Satellite Bolt On costing £3 per month. At launch, a limited set of apps is available, with voice calls, including to emergency services, not available. Compatible handsets are also limited to a very small list of devices, with the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Samsung Galaxy S26 listed as compatible at launch, along with Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 and Flip7 models. The service was expanded to iPhone users (including back to iPhone 13) on the 28th May 2026. Google Pixel (9+) support was added on 18th June 2026. No other device is currently supported.

Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile (Satellite Connect Europe)

Vodafone has launched a joint venture with AST SpaceMobile called Satellite Connect Europe, which is looking to resell direct-to-device services across Europe. It will use AST SpaceMobile’s satellites, which are launching into LEO, to offer 4G and 5G-based calls. 45-60 satellites are planned to be put into orbit to allow end users access to mobile services. Testing of calls has been completed, and data speeds of over 20 Mbps have been recorded. Commercial services are expected to launch in 2026. The company has announced that it will partner with mobile network operators across Europe to provide services, so Vodafone will not be the only network to offer this service.