SpaceX has officially launched the Starlink Mini satellite dish, which was confirmed by CEO Elon Musk earlier this week following a leak. The release introduces the Mini kit as well as a new Mini roaming plan as an optional add in, but it comes with a caveat.
The Starlink Mini is a compact kit meant to be portable as the company claims it can easily fit in a backpack. It is currently an invite-only with early customers being invited to purchase the new kit and bundle through email.
BREAKING: SpaceX has officially started selling Starlink Mini.
Early Starlink customers are being invited to purchase the Starlink Mini Kit for $599 and bundle the Mini Roam service with their existing Residential service plan for an additional $30/month (The kit price will drop… pic.twitter.com/anYVaxahGO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) June 20, 2024
According to the invite email, the Starlink Mini has a built-in Wi-Fi router with lower power consumption, DC power input, and provides download speeds of over 100Mbps. It can also operate from -30°C to 50°C, with deliveries to start in July.
As for the price, the Mini kit will set customers back a whopping US$599 (~RM2,820), which is twice the starting price of the standard kit at US$299 (~RM1,407). There is also the new Mini Roam service for an additional US$30/month (~RM140) for 50GB of mobile data in the US, but customers must maintain their Residential service plan to use Mini Roam.
The company justified the higher price in its email by saying that Starlink Mini places additional demand on its satellite network. There is no word yet on when the new satellite dish will be available in Malaysia, but considering that the standard kit costs over 60% more here compared to the US, we can assume that the Mini kit will be priced at a heck of a lot more than RM2,800.
(Sources: Sawyer Merritt, Starlink)
