Starlink is testing a new satellite internet service it says will let you connect “from virtually anywhere on land in the world,” according to information some Starlink users have received. The SpaceX-owned company calls it a “global roaming service” and says it will cost $200 a month on top of the basic $599 Starlink kit.
The service uses “Starlink’s intersatellite links (aka space lasers) to provide global connectivity,” but in a message to users, Starlink notes that you should expect “Starlink’s typical high-speed, low-latency service mixed with brief Bad connection, or no connection at all”, but this will “improve tremendously over time”.
It’s unclear how Starlink will fulfill its promise to provide internet almost anywhere. Starlink is still awaiting regulatory approval in several countries, including India, Pakistan, and Cambodia, and is not available at all in some countries. Still, Starlink is offering global roaming to some users outside of the company’s coverage areas, such as Greenland.
While Starlink already allows users to travel with their antennas, the global roaming service sounds like it might have fewer restrictions. For example, the existing $135 per month Starlink RV plan allows users to equip their RV with Starlink hardware to access the Internet while traveling, and can choose more expensive antennas to access while traveling. Internet, but only available in certain parts of the world, and Internet access is not prioritized as it is for residential customers, slower speeds.
Here’s where Starlink is currently available:
Meanwhile, the $25 per month roaming add-on, which comes on top of a $110 subscription for residential customers, only allows users to carry their antennas when traveling within their home area and requires them to change their antennas when they leave the country for “extended periods.” Permanent Address. There is also a ridiculously expensive $5,000-per-month Sea plan for those who want to sail.
Starlink makes the Global Roaming program sound like a way to travel the world without tethers while using the company’s satellite internet. Just like a RV plan, users can suspend global roaming service at any time. We still don’t know if Starlink will give priority internet access to users who sign up for the program, and, as Starlink notes, users outside the US “are responsible for acting as importers of Starlink kits.” This means that customers must ensure that the kit complies with local laws and regulations, and pay customs and import taxes.
