If you own a jet, you’ll be able to add SpaceX’s satellite internet system, Starlink, to the aircraft next year—but at an obscenely expensive price.
On Tuesday night, the company introduced Starlink Aviation, which is now taking preorders. The service works by installing a Starlink dish on top of the jet, enabling the aircraft to receive high-speed satellite broadband while in flight anywhere across the globe.
“Starlink can deliver up to 350Mbps to each plane, enabling all passengers to access streaming-capable internet at the same time,” SpaceX wrote over the Starlink website. The latency for in-flight internet also promises to reach as low as 20 milliseconds, which will let passengers game online and conduct video calls, the company added.
However, Starlink Aviation is also the service’s most expensive tier yet. Depending on the aircraft model, SpaceX is charging $12,500 to $25,000 for the monthly internet fee for subscribers. In addition, customers have to pay a huge $150,000 one-time fee for the Starlink dish, a new model called the “Aero Terminal.”
That’s substantially more than the $5,000 per month and $10,000 hardware fee for Starlink Maritime. In contrast, the standard residential Starlink service only costs a consumer $110 per month and $599 for the hardware.
It’ll also be up to customers to install the Aero Terminal on their jets. But SpaceX’s website says: “Starlink's simplified design enables installations during minimal downtime and combines well with other routine maintenance checks.”
Starlink Aviation is currently designed for 12 smaller business jets, not for any larger commercial aircraft. However, SpaceX has already struck a deal to bring Starlink to Hawaiian Airlines. So it should only be a matter of time before the new service tier becomes available to larger aircraft. Meanwhile, jet service provider JSX has previously said it plans on offering Starlink on its aircraft later this year.
SpaceX is slated to begin delivering orders for Starlink Aviation in the middle of next year. Interested customers will have to place a $5,000 credit card deposit to reserve a spot.