Starlink is a division of SpaceX and was started to provide high-speed internet to areas with low or no coverage. The service is ideal for people who live off the beaten path, and cost $135 a month plus a $599 one-time equipment fee. They currently have over 250,000 subscribers. Now Starlink is offering their service to yacht owners. However, if you want Starlink internet on your yacht, it’s going to cost you $5,000 a month plus a $10,000 one-time equipment fee.
Why the huge difference in price between Starlink land internet service and sea internet service? Hardware wise, there’s almost zero difference. The reason Starlink is able to get $5,000 a month for something that cost their home users $135 a month is simply because they can, and customers will be happy to pay it.
At the home, Starlink’s competitors are land-based internet service providers and their prices are much lower than Starlink’s. The reason Starlink can get premium pricing for their land-based internet is because they service areas that can’t get normal internet. However, on the water, Starlink is competing against satellite internet service providers that charge as much as $900,000 a year!
While expensive on land, $5,000 a month for high-speed internet service at sea is down right cheap! Starlink is promising the fastest ever internet for the ocean, with up to 350 Mbps download speed, which is 3.5X faster than the current fastest satellite internet service (the $900K one).
The cost of internet is one of the biggest complaints from superyacht owners. It doesn’t matter if you’re a billionaire, you will feel ripped off with a $900K satellite internet bill when your home internet cost 9,000 times less. Now that Starlink has hit the waters, I wonder how long before those legacy satellite providers goes under?