Barely published my last post « Starlink Mini, a stone into the sea ” that SpaceX makes it obsolete by radical modification of its service offering. Playtime is over : now offshore boating with Starlink will require a big wallet.
SpaceX has just modified its range of Starlink services – renaming the Mobile Regional plan to “ Roam Unlimited » and increasing the price to 72 € / month on the French market. The plan “ Roam – 50GB of RAM " has 40 €/month available for Starlink Mini can now be used with any other dish.
The new
Roaming plans are no longer limited to the home region and can now be used on the move with download speeds of up to 170 Mbps. The plans provide for use on earth, on the inland waterways and in the coastal areas up to 12 nautical miles from shore, which of course includes marinas. The authorized speed in move is increased to 160km/h. There is no longer a limit on usage per region, within the limit of two months maximum outside the subscription region.
The cold shower
Roaming plans now lose the option for priority mobile data when needed. This means that boaters can no longer choose to use this data to stay connected when sailing offshore.. Ocean usage now requires upgrading to a much more expensive Mobile Priority data plan, from 287 € / month, and only (¹) with the High Performance Mobile Antenna (110-150W) currently at 2.867 € incl. VAT without router. An exorbitant price for simple use in “small” pleasure craft.
In addition, SpaceX added a new “per trip” clause to its terms of service that implies travelers must return to their home country every two months to keep the service active. Finally, and it becomes clear : " If you attempt to use Starlink in a country that is not marked as available on the Starlink map, your service will likely be cut and suspended ”. Warning : the conditions detailed on the Starlink France website are not yet all up to date with the modifications made on the U.S. website.
To conclude (temporaly)
If Starlink continues to dominate the global market, this also means, unfortunately, that there are currently no competitors to control it and that it is free to make radical changes as it sees fit. In light of the permanent versatility services, yet mentioned previously, it is prudent to retain the use of the good old Iridium GO!® or GOexec®, at least to download GRIB files and weather maps offshore.
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(¹) NB. To date we still do not know if the other antennas, including the Mini, can be used with this package, which is the case today. The new conditions are to come into force on 10 next October.
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Starlink's response to my questions.
Thank you for contacting us. To answer your questions :
1. Mobile priority availability per GB : after the 10/10/2024, mobile priority data per GB will always be available. However, for continued use beyond territorial waters, switching to a MOBILE PRIORITY 50GB plan could be more efficient.
2. Change of plan : Yes, the customer can return to their original package upon returning to territorial waters.
3. Compatibility with Standard Gen 2 : Yes, the Gen Standard 2 will work with MOBILE PRIORITY plans, but it is not designed for use in motion. For use on the move, the Flat High Performance Starlink is recommended.
Hello,
What we see is “normal”. With the arrival of competition, Starlink is obliged to comply with international rules defined by the ITU. This is not a technical problem, but a legal problem. To exploit a small antenna that moves, it is necessary to use a wider frequency spectrum in order to limit interference on other systems. It's just applied physics. And the spectrum is very expensive. Competitor lawyers will not give Starlink any favors on compliance with radiation rules. So yes, the party is over. But Starlink has taken a lead in the number of subscribers.
On the American site, it is possible to order the standard V3 flat antenna which has also gone from 499 USD to 299 USD.
And this in the maritime section.
Yes, but not with the Mobile Priority plan, reserved for High Performance.
Hello
If we go by sea to 1 months, the time of a crossing, we can return to roaming after ?
Thank you