Starlink doubling prices?

[Kettlewell]

Not sure who this impacts, but it appears that Starlink prices for some are going up a lot.

SpaceX's Starlink is introducing a major price increase to its global roaming plan, which allows users to access the satellite internet service worldwide.

On Thursday night, several Starlink "Mobile - Global" plan subscribers received an email from SpaceX notifying them about the price increase. The company previously charged US users $200 per month for the service, but now the price is doubling to $400 per month.

According to the email, the rate hike goes into effect on Aug. 16 for existing customers. "For new customers, the price increase is effective immediately," the company added.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/othe...an/ar-BB1mzLnH

[nuku34]

And all those dupes trusted Elon Musk NOT to raise the fees. Now there's good joke.
Its the same "bait and switch" routine that Uber was famous for. The idea is to kill the competition with low fees at the start ,relying on your investor's deep pockets, then when you have an effective monopoly or very large share of the market, you crank the fees on the suckers who have no other option.
In the case of Uber, some school systems in the USA sold all their school buses on the promise that Uber would drive the kids to school at a cheaper price. Why own a fleet of buses, pay insurance and maintenance, and union pay to drivers, when Uber could do it for less.
Here in New Zealand, the government just phased out a perfectly good and working and free weatherfax system, because they reasoned that all sailors now use sat systems for weather. Rather than put a few million$ into upgrading the weatherfax scanners and transmitters, they have shifted the $ burden to sailors and are making Musk richer.

[mbianka]

Giving one access to almost every bit of knowledge and "entertainment" in the world while on a sail boat in the middle of the ocean for $400? What would Joshua Slocum say?

[mvweebles]

As of now, no change in US fees for service plans.

[leecea]

According to an article I saw they are doing this to phase out that plan and push people to the Mobile Priority plan at $250/mo. But who knows what the future for any of this will look like.

[KTP]

My boat haulout fee doubled in price, so I guess fair is fair.

[Kettlewell]

It appears to be just that one plan that is doubling in price, for now. https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/n...-for-everyone/

[Sun and Moon]

Originally Posted by nuku34

And all those dupes trusted Elon Musk NOT to raise the fees. Now there's good joke.
Its the same "bait and switch" routine that Uber was famous for. The idea is to kill the competition with low fees at the start ,relying on your investor's deep pockets, then when you have an effective monopoly or very large share of the market, you crank the fees on the suckers who have no other option.

Yeah, I really got suckered with the bait and switch. Wish I would have stuck with my old low-latency global portable satellite internet service provider. We used to have so many great choices and now it's just musk or error 404.

[S/V Illusion]

As if it comes as a surprise to some that prices are going up on Starlink too….

It costs a lot more money to pay for stuff including peoples’ salaries now than it did a few years ago. And it’s fashionable for those who fundamentally created and perpetuate cost increases to blame corporations and CEOs as though it’s the role of a corporation to control the economy.

[Kettlewell]

And another article with further information on Starlink price increases. https://www.notebookcheck.net/Starli....839060.0.html

[sailorboy1]

Pretty simple really

If you don't like the new price just cancel your service

Otherwise a bitching sailor is a happy sailor

[dhenline]

No one really needs internet on the ocean. It is a luxury!!! Like owning a boat no one needs a boat and no one needs Starllink. IF you are using Starlink to do your work, then it is the cost of doing business. IF you are using starlink to stream Movies, then it is the cost of going to the Movies.
I am typing this as we speak from a Starlink Connection.
I personally didn't want it on my boat, I was outvoted.

My home internet costs me $71/ month. My cell phone is $75/month. If my internet on the boat goes up, so be it. At least I get to divide that cost ny everyone on the boat.

[wholybee]

This shouldn't come as any surprise. 4 years ago, everyone was excited for Starlink, a worldwide Internet service that would work everywhere, even on boats, for $99. And everyone was sure that that was going to be the price. And for beta testers on land, it was.
A few of us did the math. It couldn't work. The max number of subscribers the Starlink system can handle, times $99 per month, didn't add up to a profitable company. Plus, why would any company offer a service at $99 that it's nearest competitor was charging 10 times that? They wouldn't, except to create buzz and rally the value of the company. Now that's done...
How many times has the price gone up? How many times have things that just worked turned into an added cost? First the ability to use it away from registered address, then in motion, then on the water. All that used to be $99.
Anyway, any reasonable CEO would look at what Iridium Exec costs, and price the system substantially more than that, because the service is so much faster and more versatile.

The really interesting part is how this will shake up a slew of new digital nomad cruisers. People that previously couldn't afford to stop working, but all of the sudden could work from anywhere. Now they are out and about, and might not be able to afford to work from anywhere again.

[Lepke]

Somewhere I read, Amazon is putting up satellites and offering a system sometime this year.
Competition may help.

[geoleo]

after all---- Teslas are in a sales slump and his gigantic raise there was turned down by courts---------