Starlink is making waves in the maritime internet industry with their Starlink Maritime service. It joins Residential, Roam, and Business as another service tier on the continually expanding Starlink satellite internet service.
Maritime has been available since July 2022, but it’s now more accessible than ever. Originally, the cost prohibited most people from being able to afford the service. But now, Maritime starts at just $250 per month.
In this article, I will cover the specs, price, and coverage area of Starlink Maritime.
Table of Contents
What is Starlink Maritime?
Starlink Maritime is a service tier designed to work at sea, anywhere in the world. Maritime is primarily aimed at commercial operations and high-end luxury applications, but has recently expanded with more affordable plan options. Private vessels and small businesses can now afford the entry-level Maritime plan for global internet coverage at sea.
Maritime features Starlink’s Flat High Peformance hardware, which enables in-motion use. Using the Starlink low earth orbit satellite constellation, users get access to virtually global coverage at sea. As Starlink continues to launch their newer satellites with laser interlinking, Maritime performance and coverage will continue to improve.
What are the specs?
Maritime offers impressive speeds, unmatched by any other competitor. Starlink Maritime is truly a game changer when it comes to high speed internet access at sea. Here are the specs:
Download Speed: Up to 220 mbps
Upload Speed: Up to 25 mbps
Latency: less than 99 ms
Data Cap: 50GB, 1TB, or 5TB options available
Maritime data options
Maritime users are given 50GB, 1TB, or 5TB of Priority Access data each billing cycle, depending on which plan you pick. Priority Access gives users the highest priority on the Starlink network. At sea, users who have exceeded the data cap will not be able to connect unless they purchase more Priority Access data for $2/GB.
After the Priority Access data cap is reached in coastal and inland areas, Maritime customers will continue to receive unlimited Basic Data on the Starlink network. Basic Data is subject to slower speeds in times of network congestion. Unlimited Basic Data is only available on land, Maritime customers must have Priority Access data in order to connect at sea.
Where is Maritime service available?
Maritime is available virtually anywhere on the globe. You can check the latest coverage by checking out the Starlink Maritime coverage map.
How much does Starlink Maritime cost?
Starlink Maritime is available with three levels of Priority Access data. The entry-level 50GB plan costs $250 per month. 1TB or 5TB options are available, for $1,000/month and $5,000/month respectively.
The hardware costs $2,500. Maritime uses the Flat High Performance hardware that is designed for in-motion use. In some markets, where the Flat High Performance dish isn’t available, Maritime orders will ship with two High Performance units.
Service can be paused and un-paused for seasonal use, just like with Starlink Roam.
How is Starlink Maritime mounted?
The hardware kit comes with one Flat High Performance antenna. In some markets where the Flat High Performance hardware isn’t approved yet, Maritime will come with two High Performance antennas that operate in duplex. The hardware kit also comes with Pipe Adapter’s, allowing you to permanently install to existing masts.
How to order
Like Starlink Roam, there is no waitlist. Simply visit Starlink.com and enter your shipping address to start your order.
Final thoughts
Internet access at sea is forever changed with the launch of Starlink Maritime. Comparable services offer 1/10 the speed at similar costs. With Starlink, you gain access to a global satellite network that offers high speed and low latency.
As coverage expands and improves, Starlink Maritime will be even more useful. This technology gives us a view into the future of Starlink mobile applications, including for vehicles, airplanes, and more.
Hello, I want to order a StarLink device and use it at sea, but I want it to arrive in Turkey. What should I do to have it arrive?
You can set a separate shipping address when ordering, to specify an address in Turkey. In some cases, Starlink won’t ship to some countries, or allow you to set a shipping address outside of the main account address.
what is the vessel maximum speed to maintain the signal?
I’ve never seen a maximum speed limit. I do know the Flat High Performance dish works on cars going 70+ mph over land. And the same antenna technology is used on airplanes going hundreds of miles per hour. I don’t think any water vessel would be able to exceed a speed of which the Starlink signal would be lost.
Also, cruisers need to save their maritime data for when they are actually at sea. So, does it make sense to have two accounts; the maritime account and the global roam account? And, will Starlink and the maritime antenna allow you to switch between plans? So, you sail 7 days to Fiji using Maritime and when you get there you switch to the Global Roam account to save the data on your Maritime account for when you leave Fiji in a few days. You understand what I mean?
Thanks.
Yes, you can go back and forth between the Roam and Maritime plans. But keep in mind, Roam won’t work on the water. So you would need to physically be on the land in order to have a connection using a Roam account.
Noah
With the Maritime Global service, I am wondering what happens when I arrive at a place like French Polynesian, where no deal has been done between the country and Starlink? Since I have the Maritime satellite, would I still be able to get a signal, just like I am at sea? Or, does the satellite check my GPS location and block me from service.
From what I have been reading from other users, Starlink will work fine even if the country isn’t officially supported.