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It looks like SpaceX is preparing to roll out a Starlink "family plan" that offers discounted access to satellite internet service.
Starlink.com quietly added a support page entry about the family plan, which the company plans on rolling out on an invite-only basis to select US subscribers of the Starlink residential tier.
The plan will let an existing Starlink customer “add additional subscriptions to their account with discounted Starlink Kit and monthly service prices,” the support page entry says, later adding: “All subscriptions will be billed together on your account's billing day of the month.”
(Credit: Starlink.com)The support page doesn’t say how much the discounts will be. But the plan sounds similar to Netflix’s paid-sharing system, which lets an existing subscriber add a family member to their account for an extra $7.99 per month.
While Netflix allows up to two extra people on an account, SpaceX will only allow one. "To maintain eligibility for a discounted service plan, you must continuously subscribe to a full-price service plan,” the company adds. “If you cancel the full-price service plan, the discount will be immediately removed from a family plan subscription.”
We reached out to SpaceX for comment and will update the story if we hear back. However, the company already offers various discounts and deals on Starlink hardware to help drive sales. Recently, SpaceX began offering the V4 standard Starlink dish at $199, $249, and $299 for select customers in the US, down from $499.
Still, the family plan signals SpaceX is preparing to offer a rare discount on Starlink's monthly internet fee, which is normally $120 per month for residential users. It's unclear when SpaceX will send out the invites; its support page says: “Once invited, to purchase a family plan subscription, select the ‘+’ on your account page, select ‘Residential service,’ then select the ‘Family Discount’ as your hardware option and proceed to checkout.”
Earlier this year, SpaceX released an option for residential subscribers to add a user to their Starlink accounts, but that was intended to be a family member or trusted contact who would maintain the subscription if the main account holder was away.