Speedify Makes Starlink a Reliable Internet Connection for First Responders

How Starlink Works for First Responders in the Field

Fire departments, police, emergency medical services and search and rescue teams use Starlink at incident command posts, in mobile command vehicles and at staging areas. The Starlink internet connection runs incident management software, video feeds, live maps, calls between agencies and updates to the regional emergency operations center.

Starlink downloads run from 45 to 280 Mbps and uploads from 10 to 30 Mbps, with a delay of 25 to 60 milliseconds on land. That is fast enough for live video calls and cloud apps, which older satellite internet could not handle well.

The weak spot is that it is still one internet connection. Trees, heavy rain, a bumped Starlink dish or the short drops when the Starlink dish switches satellites (about every 15 seconds) can cut a video feed during an active incident. In life-safety work, that is not acceptable.

Which Starlink Plan Suits First Responder Agencies

Residential plans are for one fixed address. For command vehicles and teams that move between incidents, Starlink’s Roam and Priority plans work on the move. When the Starlink network is busy, Priority plans are served first, ahead of every Residential and Roam plan, and they reach 135 to 310 Mbps down and 20 to 44 Mbps up. Plan names are Local Priority and Global Priority, and they vary by country.

Keep an eye on your data: a Priority plan that has used up its data runs at just 1 Mbps down and 0.5 Mbps up. Starlink sets its own prices and any discounts for public safety agencies, so ask Starlink directly before you buy.

How Speedify Keeps First Responders Online When Starlink Drops

Speedify runs on first responder laptops and phones, or on the router in a mobile command vehicle. When Starlink and 4G/5G cellular are both working, Speedify uses them together, so you get more speed than either one gives you alone. See how Speedify combines internet connections.

When Starlink drops, Speedify moves all your traffic to cellular on its own. Video feeds, cloud apps and file transfers keep going. Reporters filing from the field rely on the same thing, covered in Starlink for journalists in the field. When Starlink is back, Speedify uses both again.

Speedify needs that second internet connection. With Starlink alone, Speedify can’t add speed or stop the drops, so plan for cellular, a second Starlink dish or another internet line at every command post.

Speedify also encrypts all internet traffic, which protects incident data and calls between agencies from being read by anyone else on the network.

How to Set Up Speedify with Starlink at an Incident Command Post

Step 1: Set Up the Starlink Dish at the Incident Location

Place the Starlink dish at the command post or on the mobile command vehicle with a clear view of the sky. Connect the Starlink router to the command post network or the vehicle’s router. Check the Starlink app for obstructions and signal before operations start.

Step 2: Add a 4G/5G Cellular Internet Connection

Connect a 4G/5G cellular modem or a cellular router to the command post network or to the device running Speedify. Modems from two different mobile carriers help in areas where one carrier has a better signal than the other.

Step 3: Install Speedify on the Command Post Router or Laptop

Download Speedify and install it on the laptop or on a compatible router that runs the command post’s internet. Speedify finds every internet connection and starts using them right away, with no routing to set up during an active incident.

Which First Responder Teams Get the Most from Starlink and Speedify

• Fire departments and wildfire crews running incident command posts where there is no wired internet
• Law enforcement agencies using mobile command vehicles at large events, civil emergencies and disaster scenes
• Emergency medical services sending patient data to hospitals from the field
• Search and rescue teams working across remote terrain with Starlink as the main internet connection and cellular as the second one
• Emergency management agencies running regional coordination centers that several agencies depend on

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Speedify Also Shows Starlink Dish Problems During an Incident

Speedify shows real-time Starlink dish alerts in the app. If the Starlink dish at the command post has a problem, such as overheating, Speedify shows an alert once the problem has lasted 15 seconds, and clears it when it’s fixed.

For the technical team running field communications, that means a Starlink dish problem shows up in the app as soon as it starts.

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