Article by Capt. Steve Katz
Thinking about Starlink?
What is Starlink?
Starlink is the name of a division of SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk. They have pioneered comparatively low-cost broadband internet data service delivered using low earth orbiting satellites to small residential style antennas.
Internet connectivity through the use of satellites is not new. In 2003 a consumer satellite service was launched by Eutelsat with the e-BIRD, the first satellite in the world specifically designed for two-way broadband communications. What is new is the broadband speed available from Starlink, as high as 500 Mbps depending on the selected service plan and the relatively low monthly cost.
SpaceX’s Starlink is a fast-moving business with ever-changing hardware, services, prices and terms. While it is expected that the newest business model may be around for a while, we never know what they will do next. Starlink data service plans are month-to-month so there is no guarantee that the pricing and service won't change in the future. Some of the information below is new as of May 2023 and extremely different from that of April 2023!
Can Starlink Work on a Boat?
KVH, the popular satellite antenna manufacturer and service provider has offered marine satellite antennas for television, voice and data services since the late 1990’s with their stabilized marine antenna that tracks a satellite from a moving boat. So, we know it’s feasible and a sought after service for boats of all types.
Starlink started to offer the public satellite internet service in 2020 and boaters took notice. The Starlink antennas are not stabilized, they are a flat phased array antenna. A phased array antenna is made up of hundreds of miniature antennas that are synchronized by precision timing. By adjusting the delay between the antennas, the overall device can track satellites across the sky without moving mechanically – a big advantage to boaters due to the compact size and price as compared to a large, expensive stabilized dome.
The first Starlink consumer antennas were a flat, round 24” antenna and some boaters took this antenna that was designed for residential use and mounted it on their boat. Ever since, boaters have been trying out the Starlink system to provide high speed internet to their boat at the dock and offshore. While this mobile (in motion) use wasn’t specifically authorized by Starlink or the FCC, it turned out that it worked pretty good and really caught on with boaters. It wasn’t until June 2022 that Starlink was authorized by the FCC to offer its service for moving vehicles such as cars, trucks, RVs and boats. This brought on more speculation that the Starlink service and price plans could change once they “figured out” where their service was being utilized. The Starlink antennas use their own satellites like a GPS system, to know the location of the subscriber’s antenna.
Boaters around the world bought and “tested” the Starlink service with varying results. This was going on while Starlink was regularly launching more satellites to increase coverage of their constellation with ever improving coverage and speeds. Some users had great coverage while at sea and others lost connectivity 50 miles offshore. As of May 2023, Starlink consists of over 4,000 satellites, nearly 12,000 satellites are planned to be deployed, with a possible later extension to 42,000. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket can launch over 50 satellites in a single mission.
High seas satellite coverage for both traditional satellite service and Starlink both rely on ground stations to transmit data to and from the satellites. Traditional satellite data service relies on geosynchronous satellites (22,236 miles overhead) that match the rotation of the earth, this allows them to appear in that same overhead location and provide a known coverage beam. A land-based station in the coverage area sends and receives data to the satellite that then rebroadcasts that data to subscribers in the coverage area.
Starlink took a different approach and uses a low earth orbit constellation (LEO) about 342 miles overhead with compact satellites traveling at 18,000 mph. While some ground stations are still needed, Starlink’s newest generation 2 satellites can communicate between satellites using laser data transmission. This allows for coverage in areas where there are no ground stations, such as in the open ocean.
Consumer Choices
Once the FCC approved the in-motion service, Starlink began offering a few different antennas, with the current in-motion antenna approved for boats and recreational vehicles. It is a 18lb fixed flat panel antenna about 22”x20” and costing $2500. Just recently, Starlink has notified customers that this antenna is the only antenna approved for maritime use and requires its customers with other antennas to upgrade to this newest model for use on the water.
Starlink’s service plans have changed quite frequently in the last year. Currently the Residential, Roam (formerly RV) and business plans will no longer function when used on a moving vessel on the high seas. Thankfully, Starlink now offers less expensive maritime plans from their original $5,000 per month and 5TB to an entry level plan of $250 per month with 50 GB of monthly data. Starlink offers other maritime plans that include more data, but they don’t offer unlimited maritime plans.
If you have a need for internet connectivity offshore, the Starlink system is a great solution for many boaters and is currently the most affordable system available. §
