Starlink Mini promotional image.
SpaceX customer email sent on June 19, 2024.
SpaceX has released a compact version of its Starlink antenna, called the Mini, 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 that price down.
“Our goal is to lower the price of Starlink, especially for people around the world where connectivity is unaffordable 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 roughly 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 and one-third the weight of Starlink’s standard antenna.
According to an email from SpaceX, Starlink Mini has a built-in WiFi router that “consumes 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 has about 6,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, connecting more than 3 million customers in 100 countries around the world, SpaceX said. The company initially targeted consumers but has expanded into other markets, including national security, enterprise, mobility, maritime and aviation, disrupting the existing satellite communications sector.
