Fixed Broadband Service via Starlink in Under-Served Areas - the Danish case

This paper investigates the possibility of using satellite connectivity via Starlink for achieving full digital inclusion in areas where traditional mobile or fixed-broadband are not cost-effective options due to low population density. The evaluation is based on experimental data and focuses on Starlink’s performance in terms of throughput, specifically assessing its potential to meet the target of 100 Mbps downlink (DL) and 30 Mbps uplink (UL) speeds established by the Danish government for a full digital inclusion of households located in under-served areas. The experimental results indicate that the UL target is the limiting factor, even when a single user is active within the coverage area of a satellite beam. We observe that the UL and DL maximum throughput divide in equal proportion to the number of active users and the maximum (single-user) throughput of approximately 400 Mbps DL and 21 Mbps UL, the latter limited by UL link budget. Based on these numbers, and further assumptions, we analyse to what extent Starlink can provide a satisfactory broadband service to the approximately 20.000 households not meeting the Danish broadband targets by 2025. Whereas the targets cannot be met in a strict sense, we estimate that Starlink can provide satisfactory broadband service to approximately 4000 households across Denmark with experienced data rates of 60-100 Mbps DL and 5-10 Mbps UL, which, if households are selected out of the ones having the otherwise lowest speeds by 2025, corresponds to a significantly improved broadband experience. In the region with the lowest population density this amounts to 42% of households in the group not fulfilling the targets by 2025, and opposite, in the Capital region 4-5%.