Latest news with #internetservice
CNET
2 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Want Starlink? Get Ready to Pay a Lot More If You Live in These 2 States
Thinking about subscribing to SpaceX's satellite internet service provider, Starlink? Be warned: The company appears to have quietly jacked up a demand-based fee in certain states. Redditors first began noticing the change this week while trying to get Starlink service in the Pacific Northwest, PCMag reported, finding that the "demand fee" at checkout was $500. The outlet noted that this fee was previously set at $250 in April for areas where the service was nearing a preset customer limit. That $250 fee was itself increased from $100, back when it was known as the "congestion fee." That's all on top of the $350 price tag for the Starlink dish on its own. A representative for Starlink did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to Starlink, the demand fee is charged in areas where its service is in high demand, and will be refunded if service is canceled within 30 days. Locating local internet providers "In areas with high demand, there is an additional one-time charge to purchase Starlink services," the company site says. "The additional charge depends on the location of your service address, the service plan you choose, and/or the Starlink kit you select. This charge will only apply if you are purchasing or activating a new service plan. If you change your service address or service plan at a later date, you may be charged the demand surcharge." For now, it appears that the increase is active only in Oregon and Washington, particularly around the Portland and Seattle metropolitan areas. And for some customers, they may have no choice but to pay it. "My house just happens to be on a road where the two options are either DSL or another company who refuses to extend their service to my address, even though they service the house across my street," one Reddit user wrote in a post. "What gives? $500 is INSANE! Seems like a ridiculous charge to take advantage of those who don't have other options." Starlink first launched in 2019 and provides internet service to customers via 7,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Elon Musk's SpaceX.
Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Times
South African leader to offer concessions to ease Trump tensions
President Ramaphosa of South Africa is expected to offer Elon Musk a compromise on local black ownership laws that would allow the billionaire's internet service to operate in the country. The proposal is one of a number of business opportunities Ramaphosa will highlight during a visit to Washington as he attempts to calm tensions with the Trump administration. Ramaphosa will meet President Trump at the White House on Wednesday. Before then, he hopes to win over South Africa-born Musk with favourable terms for his Tesla vehicles and Starlink satellite service. South African officials are keen to ease frictions ahead of the leaders' meeting after months of criticism by Trump and Musk about Pretoria's stance on land reform, Israel and so-called black empowerment rules concerning
The National
17-05-2025
- Business
- The National
Elon Musk's Starlink goes live in Bahrain
Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service has been activated in another Middle East and North Africa country, continuing its recent run of providing advanced communications in the region. The company, a subsidiary of Texas-based SpaceX, said in an X post on Friday that its services have been activated in Bahrain, after Oman in March and Jordan in April. Bahrain joins Oman, Qatar and Yemen as Middle East countries with access to the service. Kuwait is also expected to have Starlink's high-speed, low-latency internet service at some point in 2025, according to Starlink's website. The satellite internet service is coming soon in Saudi Arabia's aviation and maritime sectors too, Mr Musk revealed in Riyadh this week, as part of US President Donald Trump's tour of the Gulf. While it is not available in the UAE, Starlink in 2023 had teamed up with Dubai-based marine electronics company Elcome International to provide internet services to the maritime industry. The kingdom and the Emirates are listed as "pending regulatory approval", according to Starlink's website. Starlink is hastening its growth as it pushes to gain a bigger foothold of the market and try to fend off rising competition. Starlink is a satellite constellation service that provides internet access using satellites that orbit the planet at between heights of 200km and 2,000km. For perspective, the International Space Station is at 408km, while Hubble Space Telescope is at 547km. The service provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet. Within each coverage area, orders are fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis. Starlink users "typically experience" download speeds between 25 and 220Mbps, with a majority of users experiencing speeds over 100Mbps, according to its website. The company intends to reach speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. Latest figures show that there are more than 7,100 Starlink satellites in service − with the company aiming for a total of 42,000. The launch of more satellites and fine-tuning of the service is expected to increase speeds further. To have access to the internet using a 5G connection − or any broadband connection − you need to be within range of a cell tower. The closer you are, the better and faster your connection should be. With a satellite, you can gain access to the internet, even in the middle of nowhere. And, in terms of speed, this is a no-contest as 5G, which is up to 20 times faster than 4G, can provide download speeds of anywhere between 1Gbps to 10Gbps, depending on how close you are to a cell tower. Starlink's planned top speed is at the low end of 5G at this point. Starlink has two main subscription categories: personal and business. Based on US pricing, under personal, there's residential, with monthly plans at $80 and $120, and roam, costing $50 and $165 for unlimited data. In business, the local priority tier ranges from $65 to $540, while the top-tier global priority – "best for maritime and global connectivity" – starts at $250 and tops out at $2,150. These fees are in addition to hardware costs – routers, cables, etc. – which start at $349. Yes. In the US, it is up against Viasat and HughesNet, both veterans in the industry, having been founded in 1986 and 1971, respectively. And, of course, there's Amazon, whose founder Jeff Bezos has been challenging Mr Musk in the space race. In its latest move, Mr Bezos launched the first 27 internet satellites of Amazon's Project Kuiper constellation in April.
