We sell Starlink, and we still tell some clients to keep their fibre line. The right answer depends on your address, how much downtime costs you, and how many devices you run. Here is the comparison we actually use with clients.
| Starlink | Fibre / local ISP | |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Works anywhere with sky view — villages, plantations, hillsides | Only where the cable already passes; extension can be slow or refused |
| Typical speed | 300+ Mbps on Mini, 400+ Mbps on Standard V4 | Varies widely by provider and contention on your street |
| Reliability pattern | Very steady; brief softening in extreme rain | Good when healthy, but cable cuts and area outages can last days |
| Latency | Low enough for calls, Zoom and most gaming | Usually the lowest, when the line is in good condition |
| Upfront cost | 235,000 – 345,000 FRS kit plus installation | Often low or bundled |
| Portability | Move it — the Mini travels in a bag | Fixed to the address |
Choose Starlink if…
- Your street has no fibre, or the provider keeps postponing the extension.
- You are on a hillside, farm, plantation, quarry or construction site.
- Outages cost you money — a guest house losing bookings, an office losing a workday.
- You want one connection that follows you between sites.
Choose fibre if…
- A healthy line already terminates in your building and you are happy with it.
- You need the absolute lowest latency for competitive gaming or trading.
- You have no roof access or usable sky view at all — a rented ground-floor room in a dense block, for example.
The setup most businesses end up with
Hotels, clinics, schools and offices in Douala and Yaoundé increasingly run both: fibre as the primary line and Starlink as automatic failover, or the reverse. Our engineers configure this on MikroTik with load balancing and failover, so staff and guests never notice the switch. That is usually the cheapest form of insurance a connected business can buy.
Not sure which side you fall on? Tell an executive your address and what you use the internet for — we will say plainly if fibre is the better buy.
Frequently asked questions
Is Starlink better than fibre in Cameroon?
Starlink is usually better where fibre is unavailable, unreliable or slow to extend, because coverage depends on sky view rather than cable. A healthy fibre line still offers the lowest latency, so many businesses run both with automatic failover.
Does Starlink work during heavy rain in Cameroon?
Yes. Very heavy rain can briefly reduce throughput, but a clear line of sight and a solid professional mount keep interruptions short and rare.
Can you set up Starlink as a backup to my existing provider?
Yes. We configure load balancing and automatic failover on MikroTik routers so your network switches lines without manual intervention.
Talk to an executive
Send your building photo and address on WhatsApp and you'll get a firm price and an installation slot.
Buying a kit? See Starlink prices and towns we install in.