If your broadband choice affects card payments, cloud apps, CCTV, phone systems or a household full of streamers, this is not a spec-sheet decision. The real question in starlink vs fixed wireless is which service keeps you online with less fuss, fewer surprises and support you can actually reach when something goes wrong.
For many homes and businesses, both options can look like a lifeline where fibre is unavailable. Both promise better coverage than older rural services. Both can deliver solid everyday performance. But they work in very different ways, and those differences show up quickly once weather shifts, usage spikes or your site has a tricky location.
Starlink vs fixed wireless: the core difference
Starlink is satellite broadband. It connects your premises to satellites in low Earth orbit using a dish installed on site. Instead of relying on a nearby tower, it talks upward to space and then back into the wider network.
Fixed wireless is land-based broadband. It uses an antenna on your building to connect to a nearby wireless tower. That tower links into a terrestrial network, which usually means more conventional backhaul and a more controlled service environment.
On paper, both can offer strong speeds. In practice, the difference is less about the headline number and more about consistency, latency, installation conditions and who is accountable when performance drops.
Speed matters, but consistency matters more
Starlink can deliver impressive speeds, especially in areas with limited alternatives. For a remote property, that can be a genuine step forward. Web browsing, streaming, video calls and general business use may all work well.
Fixed wireless can also provide strong speeds, and where the network is well designed it often feels steadier through the day. That matters for businesses running cloud point-of-sale, voice systems, remote desktops or large file transfers on a schedule. A service that is slightly slower on paper but more predictable in practice is often the better operational choice.
This is where buyers can get caught out. They compare maximum download figures and assume the faster one wins. But if your team needs reliable access to line-of-business systems from 8am to 6pm, or your household wants smooth streaming and gaming every evening, consistency under normal load is what you feel.
Latency and real-time performance
Latency is the delay between sending and receiving data. It affects video meetings, VoIP calls, gaming, remote support sessions and anything interactive.
Starlink performs better than older satellite services on latency, but it is still satellite. Traffic is travelling to space and back, and that introduces more variables. For many users it is perfectly acceptable. For voice-heavy businesses, remote workers on constant calls, or sites using live payment and operational systems all day, those variables can still matter.
Fixed wireless often has an advantage here because the connection path is shorter and more controlled. Lower latency usually means calls sound cleaner, remote sessions feel more immediate and applications respond more naturally. If your business depends on timing rather than just throughput, that can be decisive.
Reliability depends on location and line of sight
Neither option is universally better. Both depend on the site.
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Starlink needs a clear view of the sky. Trees, rooflines and surrounding terrain can affect performance if the dish placement is compromised. Installation is sometimes straightforward, but some properties need extra mounting work to get the clear field of view the service expects.
Fixed wireless needs line of sight to a tower or a viable path to one. Hills, buildings and vegetation can all play a part. The difference is that a provider with its own network and field capability can often assess this properly, plan the install and set realistic expectations before the service goes live.
That planning matters. Broadband is easy to sell in theory. It is harder to deliver reliably on a difficult site. A proper survey, sensible equipment placement and someone owning the result count for far more than marketing claims.
Weather and network conditions
Weather can affect wireless services of all kinds, but not always in the same way.
Starlink can be influenced by heavy rain, snow build-up, environmental obstruction and temporary satellite path conditions. It has improved significantly, but the service still depends on a lot of moving parts outside your property.
Fixed wireless can also be affected by adverse conditions, particularly if a link is marginal or poorly installed. But on a well-managed network, providers can often monitor tower performance, signal quality and capacity more directly. For business customers, that visibility can make support and fault resolution far more practical.
This is one of the less glamorous but more important parts of the decision. When a connection degrades, do you have a provider that sees the issue, understands the network path and can escalate quickly? Or are you left troubleshooting from your end while business carries on waiting?
Cost is more than the monthly fee
Starlink often involves a higher upfront hardware cost, and for some customers that is still worth it if it is the best available option. It can be especially attractive where there are few terrestrial alternatives and getting online quickly matters more than having a deeply managed service.
Fixed wireless pricing varies by provider, plan and installation complexity, but it can be more predictable over time, particularly when equipment, support and service management are bundled properly.
Businesses should also factor in the cost of downtime. If broadband failure stops transactions, interrupts customer service or blocks staff from core systems, the cheapest monthly option can become the most expensive very quickly. The right question is not only what the bill says, but what the service protects.
Support is where the difference becomes obvious
For households, support is mostly about getting back online fast. For businesses, it is also about accountability. You need someone who understands the connection, the router, the network edge and, ideally, the systems relying on that connection.
With Starlink, the model is often more self-service. That suits confident users who are happy to manage installation details, troubleshoot equipment and work within a standardised support flow.
Fixed wireless from a provider with local service capability is different. You can get site-specific advice, installation handled properly and support that is tied to a real network operation rather than a generic product experience. For busy SMEs, that is usually the better fit. They do not want to become their own telecoms engineer. They want broadband to work and a partner to own the outcome.
That is also why bundled support matters. If your internet, WiFi, firewall and voice services sit with separate suppliers, every outage becomes a blame game. A single accountable provider removes that friction.
Which is better for homes?
For rural homes and work-from-home users, Starlink can be an excellent option where fixed wireless coverage is unavailable or line of sight to a tower is poor. It can transform a property that previously had very limited choices.
But if fixed wireless is available from a capable provider, it is often the more comfortable long-term service for homes that want stable streaming, solid video calling and support that does not feel distant. Included hardware, straightforward setup and predictable monthly billing are not exciting features, but they make everyday life easier.
If your household has gamers, multiple 4K streams and regular remote work, compare not just speed claims but latency, evening performance and support responsiveness.
Which is better for businesses?
For business sites, fixed wireless is often the stronger operational fit – especially for retailers, multi-site operators and SMEs that depend on payments, cloud platforms and always-on communication. The reason is simple: control. A managed terrestrial service is usually easier to monitor, support and integrate into a wider IT and security setup.
Starlink still has a place. It can be a smart option for remote sites, temporary locations, backup connectivity or hard-to-reach premises where terrestrial options are weak. In some cases, it is the right answer because it gets a business online quickly where little else will.
The best choice depends on what failure would cost you. If broadband is merely convenient, flexibility may be enough. If broadband is operationally critical, service ownership matters more.
The better question to ask
Instead of asking which technology is best overall, ask which one is best for your site, your workload and your tolerance for risk.
If you need reach into difficult locations, Starlink may be the practical answer. If you need dependable day-to-day performance, lower latency and support that takes responsibility, fixed wireless often comes out ahead. And if your business cannot afford single points of failure, the strongest approach may be a primary connection plus a backup designed around your actual operations.
At Vetta, that is how we think about connectivity: not as a standalone line item, but as part of the wider job of keeping people productive, protected and able to trade. The right broadband should reduce complexity, not add another moving part to manage.
Choose the service that fits the way you actually work, and you will make a better decision than any speed test alone can give you.
