One of my clients operates a construction company with job sites in rural areas where fiber and cable do not reach. They asked: "Can we run our VoIP phone system over Starlink?"
I set up a test and ran it for 6 months. Here are the actual results.
The Test Setup
- Connection: Starlink Business (priority data)
- Location: Rural construction office, 30 miles from nearest fiber
- VoIP system: Cloud-based, same provider as their main office
- Endpoints: 3 desk phones + 2 softphones
- Codec: Opus (adaptive bitrate)
- Test period: October 2025 — March 2026
The Raw Numbers
| Metric | Average | Best Day | Worst Day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download speed | 180 Mbps | 310 Mbps | 45 Mbps |
| Upload speed | 22 Mbps | 38 Mbps | 8 Mbps |
| Latency | 42ms | 25ms | 95ms |
| Jitter | 18ms | 5ms | 65ms |
| Packet loss | 0.3% | 0% | 2.8% |
| MOS (call quality) | 3.8 | 4.4 | 2.9 |
Month-by-Month Call Quality
| Month | Avg MOS | Calls Below 3.5 MOS | Notable Issues |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | 3.7 | 18% | Obstruction warnings from nearby tree |
| November | 3.9 | 12% | Tree trimmed, improved line of sight |
| December | 3.6 | 22% | Snow accumulation on dish (resolved with heating) |
| January | 3.5 | 28% | Heavy snow, frequent dish obstructions |
| February | 3.8 | 15% | Clear weather, consistently good |
| March | 4.0 | 8% | Best month, warm weather, no obstructions |
The Honest Assessment
Where Starlink VoIP Works
- Rural offices with no other option. If your choice is Starlink or nothing, Starlink is surprisingly usable.
- Backup connectivity. As a failover for your primary wired connection, Starlink is excellent.
- Temporary sites. Construction sites, event venues, disaster recovery — Starlink deploys in 15 minutes.
Where It Does Not Work
- Primary connection for call centers. The jitter spikes (up to 65ms) cause audible quality drops. You cannot run a professional call center with 22% of calls below acceptable quality.
- High-density calling. 5 concurrent calls worked. 10 did not — the upload bandwidth was inconsistent.
- Video conferencing. Video + voice + screen sharing consumed too much bandwidth during upload-constrained periods.
The Satellite Latency Reality
| Connection Type | Typical Latency | VoIP Suitability |
|---|---|---|
| Fiber | 5-15ms | Excellent |
| Cable | 15-30ms | Good |
| DSL | 20-40ms | Acceptable |
| Starlink | 25-95ms | Conditional |
| Traditional satellite (HughesNet) | 600-800ms | Unusable |
| 5G Fixed Wireless | 20-50ms | Good |
Starlink is dramatically better than traditional satellite (600ms vs 42ms average). But it is not as stable as wired connections. The latency fluctuates — and fluctuating latency (jitter) is worse for VoIP than consistently high latency.
Configuration Tips for Starlink VoIP
If you must run VoIP over Starlink, these settings make a significant difference:
- Use Opus codec — its adaptive bitrate adjusts to bandwidth changes in real-time
- Enable jitter buffer — set to 80ms (higher than normal) to absorb latency spikes
- QoS on your router — prioritize SIP/RTP traffic above everything else
- Keep dish clear — snow, leaves, and bird droppings degrade signal
- Mount with clear sky view — any obstruction causes brief dropouts
- Limit concurrent calls — 3-5 max on Starlink Business, 2-3 on residential
The Bottom Line
Starlink makes VoIP possible in places where it was previously impossible. It does not make VoIP perfect. For 3-5 users at a remote site, it is genuinely usable. For anything more demanding, get a wired connection.
platforms like VestaCall (https://vestacall.com) that include everything in the base price specifically supports Starlink deployments with adaptive codec settings and extended jitter buffers configured for satellite connections.
