A compact version of the Starlink antennas is being rolled out SpaceX. The company is advertising the same as a mobile option for its satellite internet customers.
SpaceX Unveils Starlink Mini – Portable Satellite Internet on the Go
As per a customer email sent by SpaceX “Starlink Mini is a compact, portable kit that can easily fit in a backpack, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet on the go”.
In an early access release, the company is offering a “limited number” of the Starlink Mini antennas for $599 each. Though the company intends to reduce the price tag, it is currently $100 more than the base model “Standard” antenna sold with its Residential service.
In the email, the company said that “Our goal is to reduce the price of Starlink, especially for those around the world where connectivity has been unaffordable or completely unavailable”.
In addition to the upfront cost of the hardware, the service for a Starlink Mini is effectively $150 per month — as SpaceX is offering the service for a Mini as an additional $30 per month bundle on top of a $120 per month Residential service.
With a cap of 50GB data per month, the “Mini Roam” service “can be used anywhere in the United States”. For every additional GB, charge of $1 per gigabyte shall be levied by the company.
With just over 2 pounds and measurement of 12 inches by 10 inches by 1.5 inches, the Starlink Mini antenna is about the size and weight of a laptop. It’s roughly half the size and one-third the weight of Starlink’s Standard antenna.
Coming with a built-in WiFi router and “lower power consumption” than its other antennas, Starlink Mini still boasts download speeds of over 100 MBPS.
SpaceX Ramps Up Production, Poised to Disrupt Satellite Internet Further
Though in the email it was not mentioned as to when the deliveries of Starlink Mini shall begin, but in a post on social media, VP of Starlink Engineering Michael Nicolls said the company is “ramping production” on Starlink Mini and that it “will be available in international markets soon.”
In a post on Monday, the company’s CEO Elon Musk wrote that setting up a Starlink Mini took less than five minutes. He said that the “This product will change the world”.
Ever since its debut in 2020, the company had expanded its network as well as product offerings. As per the company, there are as many as 6000 satellites of the company in the orbit that connect more than 3 million customers in 100 countries.
SpaceX has disrupted the existing satellite communications sector. Initially, it had plans to target consumer customers, but later it expanded into other markets — including national security, enterprise, mobility, maritime and aviation — and disrupted the existing satellite communications sector.
