John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 03.22.2022 21:Mar PM EDT

Starlink Forced To Increase Prices up to $110 Dollars

SpaceX's broadband internet service, Starlink, has recently increased its prices.

According to emails sent out this afternoon, the company said that it is increasing prices for the purchase of Starlink and the monthly service to keep up with rising inflation, per The Verge.

The new prices will come into effect at different times for different customers.

Starlink Price Increase Details

PC Mag's report mentioned that SpaceX increased the price of Starlink's kit from $499 to $549 for deposit holders, while new orders would cost $599 effective on March 23. The company also increased the internet service's monthly fee from $99 per month to $110 per month.

The new monthly fee's effectivity date may be one that will affect different customers at different times. Engadget mentioned in its report that the email that was forwarded to them regarding the price increase stated that the new subscription price would apply in April 22.

The date Engadget mentioned is almost a month after the date the email PC mag received.

Should customers not agree with the increased prices, they are welcome to cancel their subscription at any time and return their Starlink hardware within their first year of service for a $200 partial refund. Meanwhile, Starlink customers who had received their Starlink Kit in the past 30 days can return them for a full refund.

SpaceX also pointed out the company's investments in expanding Starlink's coverage and capabilities to validate the price increases.

"Since launching our public beta service in October 200, the Starlink team has tripled the number of satellites in orbit, quadrupled the number of ground stations, and made continuous improvements to our network," SpaceX said in its email to customers. "Going forward, users can expect Starlink to maintain its cadence of continuous network improvements as well as new feature additions."

Starlink Premium customers seem to have been spared from the price increases, The Verge noted. The premium service, which launched earlier this year, costs $2,500 to purchase and $500 for its monthly subscription fee. This pricing is contrary to SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell's previous statement that the company would not add price tiers for the service.

Starlink's Current Subscriber and Satellite Count

Space News previously reported that the number of Starlink depositors had reached a quarter of a million worldwide while its subscriber count had reached 250,000 subscribers.

According to the website of astronomer Jonathan McDowell, the internet-from-space service currently has 1,915 satellites in orbit and has launched a total of 2,091, per Inverse.com.

The service was recently sent to Ukraine upon the request of the country's vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, on Twitter.

Satellite Internet mentioned in its report that Starlink now provides 100 to 150 Mbps per month, which is faster than American internet service providers Viasat and HughesNet.The team behind the website mentioned that although Viasat and hughesNet also offer unlimited data, the speeds experienced are slowed significantly once the data cap was reached.