Starlink has moved away from its long-standing practice of selling hardware to customers for a one-time fee and has started charging $10 a month for the equipment.
Starlink housing order pages now show an initial equipment cost of $0 and a monthly kit fee of $10, similar to the hardware rental fees long charged by cable and telcos. Starlink equipment includes a terminal to receive satellite signals and a router to place in the user’s home.
The monthly kit fee is in addition to Starlink’s internet service prices was recently raised $5 to $10 per month. Starlink charges $55 per month for 100Mbps, $85 for 200Mbps and $130 for the “Max” tier, which can go up to 400Mbps. Starlink also provides a professional installation service for a one-time fee of $199 or at no additional cost if you subscribe to the Max plan.
A Starlink support article It said hardware rentals are now available in “selected countries” and that “Starlink sets can only be rented for Residential service plans.” Customers renting rather than owning Starlink equipment will not be allowed pause their service. PCMag informed Today, the $10 rental fee “appears to be rolling out globally and is available on Starlink.com for new customers in the US, Canada, UK, France, Australia and Mexico.”
We didn’t see any option to buy equipment on the Starlink signup page today, but the support article says it’s possible to switch from renting to buying. “If you are a current Starlink customer with the Starlink rental option and would like to purchase your set, please create a support ticket,” the support article reads. Starlink kits are also sold by retailers.
