The price of broadband Internet via the satellite system Starlink is falling so fast that it may become a competitor to the services of traditional broadband providers such as KPN or VodafoneZiggo. This may be especially interesting for users in outlying areas.
SpaceX’s Starlink, the satellite broadband Internet service, recently lowered its subscription prices. Currently, the cheapest subscription for the satellite broadband service costs 50 euros per month for unlimited “standard data”. At its launch in 2021, this subscription cost 99 euros per month. Earlier, the price dropped to 65 euros.
This amount does not include the one-time purchase cost of 225 euros for the necessary hardware, such as the dish and converter. The Internet speed users get with this subscription is between 95 and 250 Mbps.
The price of the cheapest Starlink subscription now competes with KPN’s (fiber optic) subscriptions and VodafoneZiggo’s fastest cable connections, at least in the Netherlands. A KPN fiber-optic subscription with a speed of at least 250 Mbps also costs 50 euros and for an Internet-only connection of 200 Mbps from VodafoneZiggo, users pay 47 euros per month.
Interesting for outlying areas
The highly competitive subscription price of the satellite Internet service can make Starlink an attractive option for users living in outlying areas. For traditional service providers, these areas are often less interesting because of high construction costs and the difficulty of getting the speed of these connections as high as possible.
As it happens, the availability of broadband in outlying areas is an EU obligation. This is within the framework of regulations stating that consumers and businesses in the individual member states must all have access to broadband Internet by 2030, and preferably with at least a 1 Gbps connection.
In the Netherlands, things are not going too well with this availability. This despite the many initiatives by private (business) partnerships and provinces. Often mobile broadband services for outlying areas, for example via operators’ 4G networks, still experience failures. Also, in the summer of 2023, the Dutch government scrapped another €160 million subsidy for broadband deployment in outlying areas.
Read more: ‘Starlink’s broadband speeds drop due to increasing popularity’
Other Starlink subscriptions
The standard package is mainly intended for consumers; the data speed here is between 95 and 250 Mbps. In addition, Starlink offers two business -fixed and mobile- subscriptions and a consumer-oriented ‘mobile’ subscription. The latter subscription is available starting at 59 euros.
Business users can also purchase data packages for “priority data”. This can cost as much as 4,713 euros for a 5 TB business mobile data package. However, purchasers of such subscriptions do receive priority on the satellite broadband network.
The one-time purchase cost for the business equipment is again much higher than for consumers; 2,389 euros.
Also read: Maersk implements Starlink internet in cargo ships