Customers on Starlink’s cheapest $50-per-month Roam plan will now get 100GB of high-speed data each month -- double the 50GB they were getting a few days ago.
Previously, if you wanted to stay online after your monthly data ran out, you’d have to purchase additional blocks of high-speed data at a rate of $1 per GB. Now, customers no longer have the option to purchase additional high-speed data.
The news was published on a Starlink support page on Jan. 13, with the new terms going into effect for Roam customers immediately. After the 100GB limit is reached in a month, customers will be downgraded to “unlimited low-speed data,” or less than 1Mbps download and 0.5Mbps upload speeds.
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With unlimited low-speed data, you’ll be able to do things like check email, make calls or send texts, but Starlink says on its website that streaming or video calls will likely be out of reach.
Starlink’s Roam plans are designed to be used on-the-go, in camping or travel situations. You can use either a Mini Kit ($299) or a Standard Kit ($349) with a Roam plan, but the Mini is smaller and better suited for camping or RV mounts.
I tested out a Roam plan in the North Cascades mountains in Washington a few months ago with the Starlink Mini, and was shocked how well it worked in the backcountry. It returned average results of 127Mbps download speed, 17Mbps upload speed and 46 milliseconds latency.
It took about 10 minutes for the Starlink Mini to find a connection in the mountains.
Joe Supan/CNETMy main gripe at the time was the limited data allowance. The average US household consumes 641GB of broadband data each month, according to the latest report from OpenVault. I could realistically see 100GB going the distance for an entire month of travel or camping; I couldn’t say the same for the previous 50GB cap.
You can go month-to-month with a Roam plan, but if you run the risk Starlink being at capacity in your area when you try to get back on the network -- or being hit with a reactivation fee. In August, Starlink began charging customers $5 a month to “pause” their Roam plans temporarily and guarantee themselves a spot when they come back. This enters you into “Standby Mode,” which allows you to use Starlink as a backup service when you’re paused, but speeds are capped at just 0.5Mbps.