Starlink vs. cellular backup internet for business

Two different jobs

Many businesses buy Starlink as their main connection: rural sites, job sites and buildings where no wired provider reaches. It's a full internet service with its own dish and router.

A cellular backup is built to sit next to your main line and take over only when it fails. The plan is sized for occasional use, and the router switches over on its own.

Either one can serve as a backup. The question is how much work, equipment and planning each one takes to do that job well.

What Starlink needs to work

Starlink needs a clear view of the sky. Starlink's guidance is a clear view from 20 degrees above the horizon, all the way around the dish. Trees, neighboring buildings, parapets and rooftop equipment can all get in the way, and a partly blocked dish causes interruptions that show up first on video and phone calls.

In practice that usually means a dish on the roof or a pole, a cable run into the building, and in a leased space, the landlord's permission for both. A cellular router sits inside, near a window or with a small external antenna if the signal indoors is weak.

Weather

Starlink is designed for snow, rain, heat and wind, and its dish melts snow on its own surface. Starlink also says moderate to heavy rain, snow and hail can cause momentary dropouts, and snow piling up around the dish can block its view.

Cellular isn't immune to problems either. It depends on the signal where your router sits, and a tower can go down. The two simply fail for different reasons, which is one reason some businesses use both.

Failover is the router's job

Starlink comes with its own router, which runs a single connection. To use Starlink as a backup that takes over automatically, you need a router that handles two internet connections, with your main line on one side and Starlink on the other, and you set the failover rules.

A cellular backup router has the cellular modem built in and is designed around failover from the start. When the main line drops, traffic moves to cellular, and it moves back when the line returns.

Power during an outage

Many outages come with a power problem, so the backup has to run on battery for a while. Starlink lists the average power use of its Standard kit at 75 to 100 watts. A cellular router draws much less, so the same battery backup keeps it running far longer.

Whichever you choose, put the backup router and whatever it powers, like the point of sale and the phones, on a battery backup, and check how long that battery actually lasts.

Remote access and static IPs

By default, Starlink shares IP addresses among customers and doesn't allow inbound connections. Starlink offers public IPv4 addresses on its Priority plans. If you reach cameras, a phone system or a VPN from outside the building, check this before relying on it as a backup.

On cellular, a static IP is usually an add-on to the plan. Our guide on static IPs for backup internet covers when you need one.

Side by side

• Installation: Starlink needs a dish with a clear view of the sky, mounted outside, with a cable into the building. Cellular is a router inside the building with a SIM card.
• Weather: Starlink can drop briefly in heavy rain, snow or hail, and snow build-up can block it. Cellular depends on signal strength where the router sits.
• Failover: Starlink needs a second router or a dual-connection router set up for failover. A cellular backup router fails over on its own.
• Power: Starlink's Standard kit averages 75 to 100 watts. A cellular router uses a small fraction of that.
• Inbound access: Starlink allows it only on Priority plans with a public IP. Cellular plans usually offer a static IP as an add-on.
• Data: Starlink is built for heavy, everyday use. A cellular backup plan is sized for occasional use, so you choose what runs on it.

Which one makes sense

Starlink makes sense when there's no good wired option and it will be your main connection, when you need a lot of data during an outage, and when you have a roof with a clear view of the sky and permission to use it.

A cellular backup makes sense when you already have a wired main line and need something that takes over on its own, runs on a small battery, installs without a roof visit and costs less because it's sized for occasional use. That describes most stores, restaurants, clinics and small offices.

Some sites use both: a wired line, Starlink, and cellular as the last resort, on a router that handles three connections in order.

Getting started with cellular backup

FAILOVER5 offers Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile backup plans from $88 a month, month to month. Use your existing router if it supports a second connection, or choose a recommended Peplink router. If you're not sure which carrier is strongest at your address, contact us and we'll help you check before you order.

Sources

• Starlink Help Center: How to fix obstructions
• Starlink Help Center: Does weather impact my service quality?
• Starlink Help Center: What IP address does Starlink provide?
• Starlink Standard kit specifications (power use)

Backup internet for

• Warehouses and distribution
• Construction sites
• Multi-location businesses