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 its satellite internet customers.
“Starlink Mini is designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet on the go in a compact, portable piece of kit that easily fits into a backpack,” according to a SpaceX email to customers sent on Wednesday and seen by CNBC.
The company is offering a “limited number” of Starlink Mini antennas in its early access release for $599 each — $100 more than the base model “Standard” antennas sold for residential service, though the company is aiming to bring the price down.
“Our goal is to lower the price of Starlink, especially for people around the world where connectivity is expensive or unavailable,” SpaceX said in an emailed statement.
Starlink Mini promotional image.
SpaceX customer email sent on June 19, 2024.
In addition to the upfront cost of the hardware, Starlink Mini service effectively costs $150 per month. SpaceX offers the Mini as a $30 per month bundle with its residential service, which costs $120 per month. The “Mini Roam” service “can be used anywhere in the U.S.” but has a monthly data cap of 50 gigabytes, with Starlink charging $1 per gigabyte 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 about 12 inches by 10 inches by 1.5 inches. It’s about half the size of Starlink’s standard antenna and a third the weight.
According to an email from SpaceX, Starlink Mini will have a built-in WiFi router that will “consume less power” than other antennas, but will still provide download speeds above 100 megabits per second.
The email did not specify when deliveries of the Starlink Mini would begin. In a social media post, Starlink Engineering Vice President Michael Nichols said the company is “scaling up production” of the Starlink Mini and that it “will be available in international markets soon.”
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote in a post on Monday that it took less than five minutes to install Starlink Mini.
“This product will change the world,” Musk declared.
SpaceX has been steadily expanding its Starlink network and product offerings since launching in 2020. The company says it has about 6,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, connecting more than 3 million customers in 100 countries. While SpaceX initially targeted consumers, it has expanded into other markets, including national security, enterprise, mobility, maritime, and aviation, disrupting the existing satellite communications sector.
