(Credit: Starlink.com)
SpaceX's spectrum deal with EchoStar appears to come with Starlink installation support.
SpaceX has updated a support page on Starlink.com to list OnTech Smart Services as an available installer for its satellite internet service. Independent satellite dish technicians reached out to us to note that OnTech, which launched in 2019, comes from EchoStar's Dish Network.
(Credit: Starlink.com)The OnTech business specializes in product installations, which includes sending technicians to set up video doorbells, smart home systems, and home security systems. Its website currently doesn’t advertise Starlink or satellite dish installs. But if you call OnTech, you'll hear the option to sign up for Starlink or talk to a customer support agent about the satellite internet service.
I also sent an email to OnTech customer support, and they indicated that once you purchase Starlink equipment, SpaceX will send you a separate email with a link to set up an OnTech appointment. If that email doesn't come through, OnTech recommends contacting Starlink.
Those responses from OnTech are notable since Starlink is known for having poor customer service, though it has been trialing a live customer support phone line in the US and Canada.
SpaceX and Dish Network didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But OnTech is a potential new way SpaceX to leverage its tie-up with EchoStar. Last month, EchoStar subsidiary Hughesnet also indicated it would recommend its own satellite internet customers to Starlink following its radio spectrum deal with SpaceX.
In return, EchoStar’s Boost Mobile is gaining access to the cellular Starlink service currently available through T-Mobile. In addition, EchoStar is receiving up to $11 billion in shares in SpaceX, along with more than $8 billion in cash.
The installation partnership is a bit surprising, though. In 2022, SpaceX campaigned to sink Dish's proposal to use the 12GHz radio spectrum for a 5G cellular network, and the FCC ruled in SpaceX’s favor the following year. Since then, EchoStar has effectively abandoned its plans to become the fourth major carrier in the US after selling its spectrum to both SpaceX and AT&T.
Although it's relatively easy to set up Starlink on your own, some customers have turned to professional installers to permanently place the satellite internet system on the roof of their home or business. In the US, SpaceX began offering official installation services through a contractor, DSI Systems, last year. But independent satellite technicians, and some customers, have alleged that DSI’s work can be shoddy.