Starlink has introduced a new monthly plan in the U.S. in a bid to lower the cost of satellite internet access and appeal to a wider range of customers.
What Happened: The newly introduced residential lite monthly plan is priced at $80, lower than the residential plan priced at $120 per month.
The residential lite plan will give you a lower network speed of 50-100 Mbps as compared to 150-200 Mbps for the $120 plan. The low-cost plan, however, is only available in select areas, unlike the residential plan which is available across the country.
“Users on Residential Lite plan are prioritized behind Residential and will see slower speeds during peak hours,” Starlink warns on its website. When most users are online, customers on the lite plan may experience slower speeds, it said.
The $80 plan, Starlink says, is best for low usage and smaller households. However, it is unavailable in Maine and Nebraska, among other places. The plan is for use at fixed, land-based locations in select areas, and customers on the plan can upgrade to the residential plan at any time.
Why It Matters: Starlink is the satellite internet segment of SpaceX connecting more than 5 million people with internet across 125 countries, territories, and other markets.
SpaceX, to date, has launched over 8000 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, of which over 6000 are in operational orbit, according to a study by astronomer Jonathan McDowell.
The company completed 134 launches in 2024, excluding four test flights of its Starship launch vehicle, a whopping majority of which were Starlink missions.
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