Starlink mini promotional image.
SpaceX customer email sent on June 19, 2024.
SpaceX is rolling out a compact version of its Starlink antenna, which the company is promoting as a mobile option for satellite internet customers.
“Starlink Mini is a compact, portable kit that fits easily into a backpack and is designed to provide high-speed, low-latency mobile internet,” according to a customer email sent by SpaceX on Wednesday and seen by CNBC.
The company is offering a “limited quantity” of Starlink Mini antennas in early access, priced at $599 each. Although the company hopes to lower the price, that’s $100 more than the base model “standard” antenna sold in its residential service.
“Our goal is to make Starlink cheaper, especially for people around the world who cannot afford or have no access at all,” SpaceX wrote in an email.
Starlink mini promotional image.
SpaceX customer email sent on June 19, 2024.
In addition to the upfront hardware cost, Starlink Mini service actually costs $150 per month—because SpaceX is offering the Mini as a $30-per-month add-on package on top of the $120-per-month residential service. The “Mini Roam” service “can be used anywhere in the United States,” but data is capped at 50 GB per month, and Starlink charges $1 per GB for additional data.
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The Starlink Mini antenna is about the size and weight of a laptop, weighing just over 2 pounds and measuring approximately 12 inches by 10 inches by 1.5 inches. It is about half the size and one-third the weight of a standard Starlink antenna.
SpaceX’s email said Starlink Mini has a built-in WiFi router and uses “lower power” than other antennas, but it still has download speeds of more than 100 megabits per second.
The email did not specify when Starlink Mini deliveries would begin. Michael Nicolls, vice president of Starlink Engineering, posted on social media that the company is “increasing production of Starlink Mini” and “will soon be available in international markets.”
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote in a post on Monday that setting up Starlink Mini took less than five minutes.
“This product will change the world,” Musk declared.
Since launching its Starlink service in 2020, SpaceX has been steadily expanding its Starlink network and product range. SpaceX initially targeted consumer customers but has expanded into other markets — including national security, enterprise, mobile, maritime and aviation — and disrupted the existing satellite communications landscape.
