(SpaceX)
SpaceX’s portable Starlink Mini dish isn’t cheap, costing $499 in the US. But at least a few lucky customers are receiving the dish for free as part of a new promotion.
On Wednesday, a few Starlink subscribers posted on social media about SpaceX offering a Starlink Mini dish for free. The deal has been arriving through a pop-up on the Starlink app and via an official email.
“Congrats! As a thank you for being a Residential customer for over a year, you'll receive a Starlink Mini to use at no cost. Tap to confirm, see email for more details,” the app notification says.
(Reddit user No_Shoe1969)Another user posted SpaceX’s email about the deal, which notes the promo comes with a 50% discount off of the Starlink Roam plan needed to use the Mini dish. “Redeem Free Mini,” a link on the email says.
(Facebook group: Starlink Users Australia)The deal might sound too good to be true. There’s no mention of it on the official Starlink website. But another customer posted a screen shot of their correspondence with a Starlink customer support agent, who confirms the offer is legit. However, it appears SpaceX is only offering the free Mini dish promotion to select users in Australia during a period lasting from Sept. 23 to October 8th.
It also looks like the Mini dish isn’t completely free either. The screen shots shows Starlink’s customer support explaining that “the Mini is provided for free as a rental, along with free Standby Mode, as long as your Residential plan remains active. If you cancel your Residential plan, you must return the Mini or a fee of $599 AUD will be charged.”
This also means SpaceX wants the customer to pay for both a Starlink Residential plan and the Roam plan. That said, the correspondence notes the "free Mini kit rental" can be used without a Roam plan since it comes with a "free Standby Mode," which normally costs $5 per month.
We’ll be curious to see if SpaceX expands the deal to more customers in more markets. In the US, the company has become aggressive in offering all kinds of discounts to attract more users. This has included deep discounts to the standard Starlink dish, and even giving it away for free to new customers who commit to subscribing for 12 months.
Currently, the Mini dish usually requires the customer to also subscribe to the Starlink Roam plan, which lets you access the satellite internet service in more than one location and even in-motion. On the downside, the Roam plan costs $165 per month in the US, an increase from the usual $120-per-month for the Starlink Residential plan. However, offering the Mini dish for free could spur more existing Starlink customers to sign-up for the Roam tier.