(Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
SpaceX's Starlink is upgrading its cheapest, $50-per-month plan by doubling the amount of monthly data from 50GB to 100GB.
The company announced the change in a support page, saying that “Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB.” The Roam 100GB plan can also continue offering satellite internet access, even after the data cap is exceeded. The connection will just be downgraded to speeds under 1Mbps, or what SpaceX calls “unlimited low-speed data.”
In contrast, the original Roam 50GB plan required users to pay for additional data at rate of $1 per GB, otherwise SpaceX would cut off the access for the rest of the month.
(Credit: Starlink.com)Importantly, the upgrade to Roam 100GB does not include a price hike, giving existing subscribers a free benefit. "Pay the same, get more!" SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted. "I think this is good for customer loyalty. You get what you give."
Still, there’s one change that might rankle some users: The company has decided to remove the option to pay extra for more monthly data at normal speeds.
(Credit: Starlink.com)This means subscribers will need to upgrade to the pricier $165-per-month Roam Unlimited plan to receive consistently high download speeds beyond the 100GB cap. “With the exception of Ocean Mode, per-GB data purchases are no longer available on Roam plan,” SpaceX says.
With the unlimited, but low-speed data for the Roam 100GB, SpaceX says that users will “still be connected for basic use like calls and texts, but activities such as streaming, downloading, and video calls may be limited.”
Some Starlink subscribers on social media are already praising SpaceX for making the change, which has appeared for customers in the US and Canada. “This is awesome news, and means I will most likely just leave my [Starlink] Mini powered on when I'm in the truck, instead of only turning it on when I'm out of cell service,” wrote one user on Reddit.
That said, other customers are urging SpaceX to raise the unlimited low-speed data connection from 1Mbps to 5Mbps or 10Mbps. “Make all plans unlimited and charge for different speed plans,” another user wrote.
The Starlink Roam plans stand out for letting you receive satellite internet in more than one location or on the go. The company also offers the "Residential" tier for home internet customers, but usage is restricted to one address.
SpaceX is also offering the unlimited low-speed data feature for the $5 “Standby” mode, which was introduced last year, but mainly as a new way to pause your Starlink connectivity and turn it into a backup service. The data speed on Standby is capped even lower at 0.5Mbps.