Elon MuskStarlink’s satellite Internet service will charge users a $25 per month recharge fee if they want to use it while traveling, but coverage is not guaranteed.
This extra charge is in addition to the $110 per month subscription that users pay to access the broadband network, transmitted from thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit.
Portability worked for some users in the past, but the SpaceX-owned network never officially supported it, though Musk promised it would be introduced.
As long as the area is covered by one of the 2,000+ Starlink satellites, users will be able to take their dish and router with them wherever they go and connect.
Although it seems that the offer is restricted to the North American continent, instead of being a global service.
Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service will charge users a $25 per month top-up fee if they want to use it on the go, but coverage is not guaranteed.
The new service was first seen by Tesla investor and YouTuber Dave Lee, who shared a screenshot of the ‘Add Portability’ option.
It looks like it will be a flexible service, with customers being able to turn it on and off as needed, paying $25 for a vacation and then turning it off when they return.
The charge is likely because SpaceX has to allow extra bandwidth on all of its hotspots in case a portable user tries to connect, reducing the number of customers it can sell to in that area.
Allowing users to connect to the Starlink network from anywhere is closer to the original idea of the service, proposed by CEO Elon Musk, who is currently buying the social network Twitter for $44 billion.
This additional charge is in addition to the $110 per month subscription that users pay to access the broadband network, transmitted from thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit.
Portability has worked for some users in the past, but was never officially supported by the SpaceX-owned network, though Musk promised it would be introduced.
Their goal was an Internet service that customers could use from anywhere in the world, bringing high-speed Internet to even the most remote regions.
The service is also maturing, to the point that SpaceX has signed agreements with Delta Airlines to provide Internet connections for passengers on board the plane.
According to Mr. Lee, Starlink’s portability option is “provided on a best effort basis” with no connection guarantee.
That is likely to change when SpaceX has launched the full 13,000 satellites that the FCC has given permission to operate in low Earth orbit.
These work in a mesh, forming a global coverage by connecting with each other, unlike traditional satellite broadband that operates on a couple of devices, but from tens of thousands of miles from Earth.
The advantage of SpaceX’s approach, which is also being adopted by OneWeb, Amazon and others, is faster connections and faster ping.
Ping rate is important for live streaming as well as online gaming, with SpaceX promising ping close to that of fixed-line broadband deals.
Musk said in 2021 that the whole point of portability would be to allow users to move it anywhere or even use it in an RV or truck while on the go.
Being able to use it on the move will require a significant number of satellites, as you will be able to quickly and easily connect to another device.
There are currently large gaps in the service, but the more releases, with at least one a month planned for 2022, the better the overall service will be.
However, this is a controversial move, as astronomers are highly critical of light pollution caused by Internet satellite constellation trains.
One study found that when the entire network is launched, they will appear as a dot in every image captured by a US-based telescope, and wide-field observatories, which are used to search for asteroids, comets and supernovae, are the most affected.
Experts from the University of Edinburgh and others have called on governments to introduce protections for low Earth orbit similar to those that exist for land and sea.
This could see restrictions on the number launched, as well as requirements to minimize the impact they have on astronomy.
