About SpaceX Starlink Maritime: When SpaceX rolled out Starlink in 2019, its vision was to serve remote and underserved regions like deserts and the air.
For this reason, the company invented many internet plans, e.g., roaming, residential, and aviation, to venture into areas with limited traditional internet.
In mid-2022, Starlink came up with another excellent offer for the boat, ships, and other sea vessels – Starlink Maritime.
Here, we will discuss the SpaceX Starlink Maritime internet plan, its costs, and how it compares with other maritime ISPs.
What Is Starlink Maritime?
As I hinted above, Starlink Maritime is a package meant to provide internet service to sea vessels while on a voyage.
The service started in July 2022, intending to connect ships and boats worldwide to reliable internet.
So far, this idea has proved a game changer to secure commercial water vessels by providing satellite internet.
The plan initially served high-end luxury vessels such as premium yachts, merchant ships, and oil rigs.
However, the package recently expanded to ensure private and small businesses can afford its entry-level package.
A sea vessel
Availability of Starlink Maritime
Hypothetically, the Starink maritime plan can be available in all seas and oceans around the globe.
Starlink is a satellite internet with the capability of worldwide coverage. However, the service is available only in waters around the US coast, Oceania, and Europe.
But we can only hope this package will soon be functional in all oceans once Starlink launches the targeted satellite number.
In the meantime, I would advise you to use the availability map on the Starlink website to know if the plan is available.
Starlink Maritime hardware
The SpaceX Starlink maritime kit includes one Flat high-performance dish or two high-performance dishes, depending on what’s in the market.
Occupies less deck space compared to other maritime ISP dishes. Additionally, it can withstand storms, heavy rains, heat/cold, and other extreme sea climatic conditions.
Moreover, the hardware also includes a wedge mount kit capable of providing secure and firm installation in the harshest seas. Other Starlink accessories included in the box are:
- WiFi 5 router and its mount
- Power supply and its mount
- Starlink cable
- AC cable for power supply
- AC cable from the power supply to the router
- Ethernet cable
- Router cable
Starlink dish
Starlink Maritime Internet Speeds and Data Caps
Regarding speed, the Starlink maritime has very minimal difference compared to the land Starlink packages.
For example, in the sea, you can expect download speeds between 50 Mbps to 200 Mbps.
These speeds are enough to stream live games and watch 4k-quality TV shows from your favorite websites.
Moreover, the speed can clock even 350 Mbps during off-peak hours. Its upload speeds are generally between 10 – 20 Mbps and sometimes even 40 Mbps.
Note that this is the advertised speed, but the actual one may depend on the weather and other factors.
Regarding latency, you can expect higher than land, about 100 ms, which is still way better than other ISPs.
However, the above performance has the disadvantage of data caps. These are 1 TB, 5TB, or 50 GB monthly data cap, depending on your pocket.
Internet speed
Starlink Maritime Data Options
You can buy 50 GB, 1TB, or 5TB of monthly priority access data. The bad news is you can’t access the internet while on the sea if you exhaust your monthly chosen threshold.
You can buy more priority data for $2 per 1GB until you land. When on land and you have exhausted the maritime priority access data, you still get the basic plan.
The difference is that priority access is always fast, but basic plans can slow with network congestion.
Stalink Maritime Costs
If you settle on the maritime package, be prepared to pay $10,000 for the equipment plus taxes and shipping costs.
The monthly payment will depend on the priority data access you choose. For example, you will pay $5,000 for a 5 TB monthly threshold, $1,000 for 1TB, and $250 for 50 GB.
The good news is that this package has the pause and restart feature available on Starlink RV.
With this capability, you can only pay the monthly price when on a voyage and pause your service when your vessel docks.
Satellite in space
How is Starlink Maritime Mounted
The modem Starlink maritime kit comes with necessary installation hardware such as a wedge mount, router mount, and power supply mount.
In addition, it comes with a detailed instruction manual with illustrations for seamless installation.
You may also have vital installation resources on the Starlink app and the website.
Remember to use the coverage map to see if your sea location supports Starlink before installation.
Starlink Maritime vs Other Maritime Internet Options
Now that we know how Starlink performs, Let’s see how it compares with popular maritime ISPs:
Fleet One
While Starlink offers up to 350 Mbps, the Fleet One internet provides just 150 Kbps.
This speed is often below Starlink and can only be used for email sending.
What is even worse, you get just between 100 Mbs to 40 GB data cap per month on Fleet One maritime plans.
Therefore, its maximum monthly data is even below Starlink’s minimum, which offers 50 GB to 5 TB per month.
However, like the low performance, its price is also way lower than Starlink for the equipment.
For example, Starlink equipment costs $10,000, while Fleet One hardware costs just $3,000.
Their subscription plans are almost the same, with the most expensive Starlink going for $5,000, while that of Fleet One costs $ 4,569.
Their lower packages are $250 for Starlink and $765 for Fleet One.
Marilink VSAT
Another Starlink maritime internet rival is Marilink VSAT, which has big hardware unsuitable for small boats.
The company offers a 500 Mb to 80 GB monthly data cap below Starlink’s. You will get 6 Mbps for the speed, which I doubt is enough for modern online tasks.
The problem lies with the cost, which is way higher than Starlink despite the shoddy performance.
With that said, expect to pay between $60,000 for equipment and up to a $35,000 monthly fee.
The only vital aspect where VSAT and Fleet One beat Starlink is the coverage, which they have extensively.
However, we can only expect Starlink to have worldwide coverage once it finishes launching the intended satellite number.
Conclusion
Starlink Maritime is very expensive compared to other Starlink packages.
However, you can see why when you compare its performance and reliability where it is available.
You also get priority data and a specialized kit that can withstand harsh sea conditions.