Starlink+?
If it was following in the footsteps of streaming services, that’s what SpaceX’s satellite internet division would have named its new premium offering. But SpaceX marches to the beat of its own drum and instead went with Starlink Premium, unveiled Tuesday.
Price details: The Starlink Premium package costs $2,500 upfront for equipment, along with a $500/month subscription fee and $500 deposit. OG Starlink comps: $499 upfront and $99 monthly subscription. In other words, Premium is 500% more expensive.
Specs: Starlink touts the following benefits for its premium package, which includes a dish, internet router, and tripod:
- A bigger antenna “designed for high-demand users,” and more throughput. Starlink Premum’s antenna “is twice the area of our standard phase array, with broader scan angle,” Elon Musk tweeted.
- Higher speeds (150–500 Mbps download, 20–40 Mbps upload) and lower latency (20-40ms). By comparison, Starlink’s base version promises download and upload speeds of 50–250 Mbps and 10–20 Mbps, respectively.
- SpaceX touts the premium package as a good fit for “small offices, storefronts, and super users across the globe.”
- Starlink Premium will provide more connectivity during times of peak network usage. The antenna’s rugged design should allow for better performance in extreme weather conditions.
For both packages, users need a clear and unobstructed view of the sky for service to work. Starlink is ideal for remote and rural regions of the world.
Looking forward: Premium deliveries start in Q2. SpaceX is regularly launching new Starlink batches and growing its LEO constellation. But back on Earth, chip shortages have weighed on dish production.
