Last week, SpaceX started promoting a new offer for rural UK customers in where they are offering a limited time deal of purchasing the Starlink hardware upfront, for just £99 and then £75 per month from each month going forward. Usually, outside of this deal the hardware costs £460 up front and then the same £75 per month. This deal is only available for rural areas in the UK, but some people have reported this deal is available in non-rural areas, so your milage may vary.
Starlink is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite system which has been changing the game for broadband in rural areas, to remote parts of the US to the Scottish highlands here in the UK. The kit includes the standard dish, router and all the cables and power supply equipment you need to get up and running. Shipping costs £20, so all in all, it doesn’t cost very much.
Starlink has said that this offer is only “valid for residential fixed service”, however in our testing we were able to place an order for the £99 dish and then change the service plan to the ‘Roam’ and not face any more upfront costs, just the small difference in going from £75/month to £85/month. Otheriese, the ‘Roam’ plan would cost £300 up front for the dish, which is still a discount from £460.
Many people have said that the high cost of the Starlink service is a negative factor, but taking into consideration that this is likely the only option for people in areas in the UK countryside and in remote US locations, it is good to have something else to use.
