Pigeons Affect Starlink’s Performance

Starlink is criticized again and again, including by astronomers and space experts, but for many in remote areas, the satellite Internet is a way of finally getting a fast network. But there are also very special challenges.

Elon Musk’s space company has been sending its mini-satellites into orbit for a long time, and Starlink can already be tried out in an extended beta test. And the first experiences are also good, even if Starlink still has one or the other childhood illness and, for example, does not work when it is too hot.

There are now more and more testimonials and one of them mentions a very special problem: Alan Woodward, professor and security expert at the University of Surrey, has noticed unusual connection problems and suspects that these have a very special cause: pigeons.

Because the “rats of the air” have evidently made it a habit to sit on the reception dishes required for Starlink. Basically, Woodward has had good experiences with Starlink so far, but there is one but: “It actually works very well, but I’ve noticed a number of failures – some lasted a second, some longer.”

Pigeons resting place

The reason Woodward signed up for Starlink is typical: He lives in an area where broadband internet was previously only possible. But there is the thing with the birds. Because “the annoying pigeons have made themselves comfortable on the bowl” and that probably has consequences.

The BBC checked with experts and one thought that birds perched on a Starlink antenna can actually affect performance. Starlink is currently working on a version of the receiver that is described as “high-performance” and “rugged” – that is, it offers more performance and can withstand more.