On July 15, Starlink sent International Roaming subscribers to their satellite=based internet service informing users that on August 17 several changes to their subscriptions will go into effect. The net result is not good for cruisers who rely on Starlink while they cruise from country to country.
Global Roam is going away in its present form. At $400 a month, this is not the most popular subscription, but it is the one that gives cruisers the most flexibility for using Starlink worldwide.
With Global Roam gone, the only alternative for cruisers moving from country to country will be the pay per gigabyte, metered plan that can get to be expensive for those who are regularly working from their boats and using the internet for navigation and weather.
Most cruisers, in our experience, subscribe to the Roam Unlimited plan with has provided 60 days in foreign lands before the pan has to be renewed. That time limit has been reduced to 30 days which is impractical for any cruising boat on the move.
Once you have reached the 30-day threshold, you can either return to the home country or upgrade to Starlink’s Priority Plan that starts at $250 a month for 50 GB of data. This will probably be the option of choice for most cruising users who are sailing internationally.
The news is worse for those who are using the cheaper, lower-data Roam plans. As of August 17, these plans will be limited to “home country” use which in North American combines both the USA and Canada in one subscription area.
But, users of the lower-data plans will no longer be able to use Starlink in The Bahamas, Mexico and parts of the Caribbean, where it has been so useful and popular. These users will have to upgrade to Roam Unlimited or a Priority Plan with higher pricing.
For cruisers who are laying over in a foreign country during hurricane season or winter months, Starlink offers users the ability to “localize” their accounts, which entails moving the “home” subscription from the USA or Canada to a third country.
This is not an easy process, however, and requires users to shut down an existing accounts and go through a full new user sign up process and antenna verification. It can be done but apparently is time consuming.
In the three years that Starlink has been offering cruisers internet connections at reasonable prices, the service has been adopted by sailors worldwide. It has changed how we combine a working life with cruising and how we obtain and share information vital to the cruising life.
While these changes are not game ending, they do affect thousands and will be felt and new costs absorbed by many who rely in the service.
