In brief: SpaceX is increasing the cost of its Starlink satellite-based Internet service across the board. The company outlined the changes in a recent email to existing customers, noting that the move was necessary in order to keep pace with rising inflation.
Moving forward, the upfront cost to purchase a starter kit will increase by $100, from $499 to $599. Existing deposit holders will be charged an extra $50.
The starter kit comes with everything needed to get up and running including a Starlink receiver dish, modem and router.
SpaceX is also hiking the monthly rate of its service by $11, from $99 to $110. Monthly rate changes will go into effect at different times for different customers. Standard tier customers can expect download speeds anywhere between 100 Mb/s and 200 Mb/s, with latency as low as 20ms in most locations.
SpaceX additionally touted its infrastructure improvements, noting how they have quadrupled the number of ground stations and tripled the number of satellites in orbit since launching the public beta in October 2020. The company would have had even more satellites in orbit had it not been for a geomagnetic storm in February that wiped out a batch of recently launched units.
Partial refunds of $200 are being offered to customers that have been with the service for less than a year. A full refund will be given to those who have been with Starlink for less than 30 days.
“Going forward, users can expect Starlink to maintain its cadence of continuous network improvements as well as new feature additions,” the company added.
Do you have any experience with Starlink, or satellite Internet in general? I’ve fortunately always had access to a decent land-based connection, but have heard horror stories relating to other satellite providers.