SpaceX has updated the polices on Starlink this week which allows people to move around their country with a Starlink dish and have access to high speed internet wherever they go. The new Portability mode will allow subscribers to use their dish for an extra monthly fee of $25 (about £20). This ability to roam can really only be used in the same continent as the registered home address for the Starlink dish.
I’m camping at a remote state park this week with no cell reception. None of my hotspots work (Verizon, AT&T, T-mobile). So set up Starlink and like magic – high speed internet(!). Starlink is changing the game. @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/sfs9ANNIt3
— Dave Lee (@heydave7) May 3, 2022
Over in the US, there is a whole RV culture and this feature will be perfect, as there are defiantly places where there is no mobile signal at all, and when travelling people want to take their digital life with them – some places just will never be covered by 4G or 5G.
However, it must be said that Starlink does not support using the dish while a vehicle is in motion, just not yet anyway. The company is working on a way for this to happen. There is also the consideration about the power consumption of the dish, most of the time it can use around 60-70W.
Starlink has said that when the dish is in Portability mode, the traffic prioritisation dips down to what they are calling “best effort basis.” This means that for customers using their dish at a fixed home address, those will receive priority.
The Portability mode is available now, for an extra $25 (about £20) per month and can be done so from the account page.
