Photo: SpaceX
As the service availability improves, SpaceX is making its Starlink satellite internet service more accessible to people. The latest adjustment concerns the Starlink Maritime service, which now comprises three tiers, with a lower price of entry that should be more appealing to the average boat owner.
SpaceX launched the Starlink Maritime service in July 2022 with impressive specifications and prohibitive prices for most boat owners. The hardware kit alone was $10,000, comprising two satellite antennae, while the service was a cool $5,000 per month. Tesla would not offer the option of a single antenna to lower the hardware price, so the Maritime plan was considered expensive for most private boat owners.
To add insult to injury, people dissected the $5,000-a-piece satellite dish and found that it wasn't all that different from the high-performance antenna sold to Business customers for $2,500. Sure, it was flatter and had a sturdier mount to withstand the harsh conditions at sea, but nothing worth doubling the price. SpaceX was just trying to milk the rich people who owned luxury yachts, but it hurt many boat owners.
Many tried to get around this by using Starlink for RVs (later renamed Starlink Roam) service on their boats, with surprisingly good results. People who tested the Starlink Roam antenna on small vessels at sea were satisfied with the performance. Sure, it would drop the connection when the boat makes sudden turns, but other than that, it was smooth sailing for a much more affordable price. SpaceX undoubtedly noticed the trend and is now making Starlink Maritime more accessible with a new pricing strategy.
The one-time equipment cost has been cut in half, and you can now order one terminal instead of two. The price of entry is now $2,500, as opposed to $10,000. Depending on your needs, the monthly fee can be as low as $250, making it accessible to regular folks who love spending time in their "nothing-fancy" boats. For the price, you get 50 GB of data to spend anywhere you like, inland or at sea. After consuming the allotted priority data, you can still enjoy unlimited data of inland coverage worldwide (on lakes and rivers), but not at sea.
The new Maritime service is designed as a tiered plan, so if your needs exceed the 50 GB at-sea plan, you can subscribe to the higher tier with 1 TB of data for $1,000 per month. Finally, boat owners needing more data can opt for the 5-TB tier for $5,000 monthly. Regardless of the data plan, you get the same 220 Mbps download speed (down from 350 Mbps before) and 25 Mbps upload speed.
The new pricing strategy allows yacht owners to enjoy their fat data plan without pricing out the owners of small boats. Internet connectivity and the ability to get accurate weather data are integral to safety, and having an affordable connection could help a lot. Hopefully, as SpaceX launches more satellites and capacity increases, prices and data caps will become more reasonable.
To add insult to injury, people dissected the $5,000-a-piece satellite dish and found that it wasn't all that different from the high-performance antenna sold to Business customers for $2,500. Sure, it was flatter and had a sturdier mount to withstand the harsh conditions at sea, but nothing worth doubling the price. SpaceX was just trying to milk the rich people who owned luxury yachts, but it hurt many boat owners.
Many tried to get around this by using Starlink for RVs (later renamed Starlink Roam) service on their boats, with surprisingly good results. People who tested the Starlink Roam antenna on small vessels at sea were satisfied with the performance. Sure, it would drop the connection when the boat makes sudden turns, but other than that, it was smooth sailing for a much more affordable price. SpaceX undoubtedly noticed the trend and is now making Starlink Maritime more accessible with a new pricing strategy.
The one-time equipment cost has been cut in half, and you can now order one terminal instead of two. The price of entry is now $2,500, as opposed to $10,000. Depending on your needs, the monthly fee can be as low as $250, making it accessible to regular folks who love spending time in their "nothing-fancy" boats. For the price, you get 50 GB of data to spend anywhere you like, inland or at sea. After consuming the allotted priority data, you can still enjoy unlimited data of inland coverage worldwide (on lakes and rivers), but not at sea.
The new Maritime service is designed as a tiered plan, so if your needs exceed the 50 GB at-sea plan, you can subscribe to the higher tier with 1 TB of data for $1,000 per month. Finally, boat owners needing more data can opt for the 5-TB tier for $5,000 monthly. Regardless of the data plan, you get the same 220 Mbps download speed (down from 350 Mbps before) and 25 Mbps upload speed.
The new pricing strategy allows yacht owners to enjoy their fat data plan without pricing out the owners of small boats. Internet connectivity and the ability to get accurate weather data are integral to safety, and having an affordable connection could help a lot. Hopefully, as SpaceX launches more satellites and capacity increases, prices and data caps will become more reasonable.
Boats of all sizes can now get high-speed connectivity on waters all around the world, including lakes, seas, and oceans. New Starlink Maritime plans available → https://t.co/Qa48wjgWjn pic.twitter.com/Zfree42Mee
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 18, 2023
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