SpaceX’s Starlink is offering new residential customers of its satellite internet service its $349 hardware kit for free. But it’s not free for everyone, and there are some caveats.
In a post on X, the company said, “$0 for the Standard Kit with 12-month residential service plan commitment, now available in select markets.” A link allows potential customers to check availability in their area and determine whether they’re eligible for the offer. A follow-up post read, “Terms apply. Read the FAQs on starlink.com to learn more.”
In addition to the 12-month service requirement (beginning after a 30-day trial) — which can result in a $349 charge if it’s not met — there’s an additional $100 charge for new service in areas where there’s high demand. And the month-long service charge varies by area. In some places it’s $80, in others, it’s $120 a month or higher.
According to Starlink, changing addresses, failing to pay bills on time, trying to transfer to another user or keeping the kit after canceling will result in a change fee. Countries included in the deal include Italy, Germany, Spain, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Austria, Norway, the Netherlands, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. Countries including the US, UK, New Zealand, Canada and Australia have partial availability.
Starlink is growing its customer base rapidly, but in CNET’s testing, the internet service is costly for what it provides. Still, for some in remote or rural areas, it’s one of the only options for high-speed internet.
Customer: ‘I love it and I hate it’
One new customer who signed up a little over a month ago says the offer is frustrating because he paid for the equipment, but he’s not even sure if he’d have qualified for the offer. Also, he has a vested interest in seeing whether it sparks customer growth.
Andrew Chanin is co-founder and CEO of ProcureAM, the company behind the Procure Space ETF, a NASDAQ-traded fund that includes SpaceX. Chanin follows the company’s moves closely, citing communications as one of the big revenue drivers for space companies.
He also has the Starlink home kit, which he purchased as a backup and for outdoor applications.
“I was not in love with the reliability of my existing provider; I needed it as a backup to get extra bandwidth as needed and to have connected devices outside the home,” Chanin said.
So far, Chanin said, he’s been satisfied with the speed and reliability of Starlink. He missed the $349 offer, however, by just over a month: “I love it and I hate it,” he joked.
The CEO says that Starlink is following the playbook of internet providers and telecom companies that subsidize the price of smartphones or internet routers and models to get people into service contracts.
“It’s a great way to lock in demand and recurring revenue,” Chanin said. “It’s a good way to get people to give it a shot and get more devices into more homes across the country.”
Word of mouth, he said, can help spread information about Starlink to potential customers and removing the hardware cost eliminates a major barrier for some.
“It’s not necessarily a playbook they’ve invented, but one we’ve seen companies deploy with great success,” he said.
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