Starlink mini promotional picture.
SpaceX buyer e-mail despatched on June 19, 2024.
SpaceX is rolling out a compact model of its Starlink antenna, which the corporate is selling as a cellular choice for satellite tv for pc web prospects.
“Starlink Mini is a compact, transportable package that matches simply right into a backpack and is designed to supply high-speed, low-latency cellular web,” based on a buyer e-mail despatched by SpaceX on Wednesday and seen by CNBC.
The corporate is providing a “restricted amount” of Starlink Mini antennas in early entry, priced at $599 every. Though the corporate hopes to decrease the value, that is $100 greater than the bottom mannequin “customary” antenna bought in its residential service.
“Our purpose is to make Starlink cheaper, particularly for folks around the globe who can’t afford or don’t have any entry in any respect,” SpaceX wrote in an e-mail.
Starlink mini promotional picture.
SpaceX buyer e-mail despatched on June 19, 2024.
Along with the upfront {hardware} price, Starlink Mini service truly prices $150 per 30 days—as a result of SpaceX is providing the Mini as a $30-per-month add-on bundle on high of the $120-per-month residential service. The “Mini Roam” service “can be utilized wherever in the USA,” however information is capped at 50 GB per 30 days, and Starlink costs $1 per GB for extra information.
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The Starlink Mini antenna is concerning the measurement and weight of a laptop computer, weighing simply over 2 kilos and measuring roughly 12 inches by 10 inches by 1.5 inches. It’s about half the dimensions and one-third the burden of a regular Starlink antenna.
SpaceX’s e-mail stated Starlink Mini has a built-in WiFi router and makes use of “decrease energy” than different antennas, however it nonetheless has obtain speeds of greater than 100 megabits per second.
The e-mail didn’t specify when Starlink Mini deliveries would start. Michael Nicolls, vp of Starlink Engineering, posted on social media that the corporate is “growing manufacturing of Starlink Mini” and “will quickly be accessible in worldwide markets.”
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote in a publish on Monday that organising Starlink Mini took lower than 5 minutes.
“This product will change the world,” Musk declared.
Since launching its Starlink service in 2020, SpaceX has been steadily increasing its Starlink community and product vary. SpaceX initially focused shopper prospects however has expanded into different markets — together with nationwide safety, enterprise, cellular, maritime and aviation — and disrupted the prevailing satellite tv for pc communications panorama.
