Main points
- Starlink is canceling the $10 tariff and transferring subscribers to Standby mode for $5 per month with limited internet speed.
- The most budget-friendly full-featured tariff will be Roam for $50 per month, which includes 100 gigabytes at full speed and unlimited access at reduced speed.
Starlink changes the rules of the game for Mini and Roam and raises the minimum entry price / Depositphotos
Starlink is reviewing its tariff line and gradually removing the most budget options for accessing satellite Internet. The company is changing its approach to users who consume minimal amounts of traffic and pushing them to other, more expensive service formats.
Why is Starlink abandoning the $10 tariff?
Less than a year after its launch, the $10 per month Starlink Roam plan is effectively dead. The plan was created as a temporary or backup solution for Mini antenna owners, primarily for those who only need connectivity occasionally, such as in remote areas without cellular coverage, NotebookChack writes.
For this money, users received 10 gigabytes of Internet at full speed – up to 100 megabits per second for download. After the limit was exhausted, traffic was paid separately at a rate of $ 2 for each additional gigabyte. In practice, this turned out to be more than enough for a significant part of subscribers who used Starlink as an emergency or episodic access channel to the network.
It was this user behavior that prompted the change. The company began sending messages to owners of the $10 tariff, warning that they would automatically be transferred to Standby mode for $5 per month. Starlink explains this by saying that the actual usage scenario corresponds to this format, and not to a full roaming tariff.
What is Standby Mode and why is it not a full tariff?
Standby mode is not formally considered a tariff plan. Previously, it was a free Pause option that allowed you to pause service without a monthly fee and resume it as needed. Later, the company turned it into a paid mode for $ 5 per month and added unlimited Internet access at a significantly reduced speed.
Speed is a key limitation of Standby Mode. Users only get about 1 megabit per second for downloads and about 0.5 megabit per second for uploads. This is only enough for checking email or simple text messages. It's not suitable for full-fledged web browsing, working with cloud services, or streaming video.
Starlink warns that the transfer from the $10 Roam tariff to Standby Mode will occur automatically 30 days after receiving the notification, unless the user changes the plan themselves.
The general trend is that there will be no more cheap tariffs.
The $10 plan's demise is not an isolated incident. SpaceX, which owns the Starlink technology, also recently discontinued its $40-a-month Residential plan, which was the cheapest option for stationary use. It was temporarily moved to the Roam line for a limited number of subscribers, before being removed entirely.
As compensation, the company doubled the data volume in the basic roaming tariff for $50 per month and reduced the cost of the Mini antenna by 20 percent. However, the minimum price for full access to satellite Internet has actually increased.
In less than a month, the cheapest plan will be the basic Roam plan for $50 per month. According to Starlink, it includes 100 gigabytes of traffic at full speed and unlimited access at reduced speed after the limit is exhausted. For users who are used to paying $10 for a backup connection, this means either a sharp increase in price or a transition to a mode of almost symbolic Internet.