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I think a great use case for this would be as a backup for when the regular ISP goes out in a rural area. But I don't think they have any subscription plans pr

I think a great use case for this would be as a backup for when the regular ISP goes out in a rural area. But I don't think they have any subscription plans priced for that? And there might be issues after a storm if everyone started using it at once.

ryukoposting 2y ago
The Garmin inReach (and others like it) is probably the nearest readily-available solution for that use case. Not broadband internet obviously, but it provides access to basic, essential communication methods. It does so at a much, much lower price point than Starlink/HughesNet/etc can offer, making it more palatable as an "emergency backup" product.
- wkat4242 2y ago
  Well Starlink here in Spain costs 40€ per month. That's a lot less than the unlimited Garmin inreach plan (74,99€!!) that only allows you to send short messages! And that's the regular plan. Deprioritised Starlink costs €29/month! Still way way more useful service than inreach. I have inreach and for €19,99 I get 10 SMS per month (i don't subscribe every month) and I also have to pay a €39,99 yearly fee. Starlink is undoubtedly cheaper here. Of course it's not really the same kind of service. Inreach is a rugged 100 grams device for hiking with its own battery power that can stay connected for days. It can stay connected even in my bag and has a button to call for emergency services. For internet backup I have a 4G modem right now, connected to my unifi router with auto failover and a script that adds credit to my prepay card over SMS. It serves me ok. But I'd love to have a starlink mini for backup. Just the regular one is a bit big so I didn't get it yet.
  - mattlondon 2y ago
    WTF? Entry price for starlink is £75/month in UK! ADSL is typically ~£25-30 for unlimited 80/20 for comparison
    - dotnet00 2y ago
      I think the pricing is based on coverage, usage density and demand. The UK probably has enough terrestrial coverage of amy sort that they figure they can upcharge anyone who still wants/needs Starlink, since it's mainly setup to be internet service for those who have essentially no other decent choice. Alternatively, maybe the meaningful coverage areas are so small and dense that the price should be higher. Since Starlink's biggest limitation is that performance suffers in more densely populated areas.
    - multjoy 2y ago
      If you can get 80/20 ADSL, you're not buying Starlink.
      - Scoundreller 2y ago
        Some people underestimate how much hate we can have for our legacy ISPs. I’d be happy to pay a premium to never give them another dollar ever again.
        bklyn11201 2y ago
        Everyone hates their ISP. What are your current expectations around price and bandwidth as the Starlink service becomes more popular in your area? If you have the opportunity to have a fibre or copper connection directly to your unit, it seems like a crazy decision to consider Starlink.
        Scoundreller 2y ago
        > Everyone hates their ISP Not really, I loved a local new independent provider that strung its own fibre around, but moved out of that building :( They were particularly great because they didn’t (at the time) do phone or tv, just pure solid internet. No legacy industry to protect by limiting torrents or gb/month limits (fuck you Bell Canada).
    - theodric 2y ago
      €50 in Ireland, down from €65 in the last year, down from €99 in 2022. Because they know where you are, and how much money your average target customer in a country has, and how saturated their satellites in that country are, they can be very specific about pricing.
  - prmoustache 2y ago
    "For internet backup I have a 4G modem right now, connected to my unifi router with auto failover and a script that adds credit to my prepay card over SMS. It serves me ok. But I'd love to have a starlink mini for backup. Just the regular one is a bit big so I didn't get it yet." Is 4G a good backup? I am also in Spain and in my neighborhood we often suffer from power failure under heavy rain, I guess a local transformer is shorting as it impacts just a few streets around my house. But when it happens I also lose phone connectivity. The nearest antenna seems to be located in the few streets impacted and smartphone seemingly cannot reach another one nearby. This made me realize the short radius of mobile network range around a single antenna.
    - brianshaler 2y ago
      It sounds more like a building material or geography issue. I've used LTE upwards of 10km off shore. In areas where there isn't good line of sight or if buildings tend to interfere with signal, the access points need to be positioned more densely
      - prmoustache 2y ago
        Well home 5G wifi has trouble covering all rooms at decent quality, I guess because the walls are thick, so building material may be an issue. I obviously never tried going on the roof to check because it happens when it is raining.
        inemesitaffia 2y ago
        If you have good service anywhere in your house, the issue is WiFi
  - ryukoposting 2y ago
    Interesting. It sounds like you're referring to Garmin's "Safety" plan, which in the States is $15 per month, and the unlimited plan is $65. Meanwhile, Starlink starts at $120 per month.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- dzhiurgis 2y ago
  At this iPhone with sat messaging provides same functionality and is free.
fragmede 2y ago
yeah they don't force you into some weird shitty contract. you can buy the hardware outright, and then not pay for a subscription until you actually want to use it for the month of Outober.
- wmf 2y ago
  Paying for a full month if your main ISP is down for a day or two sounds quite expensive. How long does it take to activate?
  - fragmede 2y ago
    I used a friend's when I went to see the eclipse in Texas. Didn't time how long it took to activate service on their end because it takes a few minutes for starlink to connect/boot up in the first place and when you're out camping there's other things going on. Less than 30 mins so all I can say. Also, it was $150 for the month.
- jml78 2y ago
  You can actually create an account, pay for one month, then pause it. Then just unpause in the starlink app to instantly have access and resume billing
  - toomuchtodo 2y ago
    This is what I do. I carry the dish in the equivalent of a pelican case [1], and only activate for months I have no other option. [1] https://www.caseman.com/product/starlink-mount-case/ https://www.caseman.com/product/starlink-mount-case/
- skybrian 2y ago
  Can you sign up using Starlink itself? It would by annoying if you needed another ISP when your ISP is down.
  - inemesitaffia 2y ago
dboreham 2y ago
> But I don't think they have any subscription plans priced for that? As a former owner of a WISP, this idea of a "backup service" doesn't really work (read: I make no money from you).
- mathsmath 2y ago
  Sure it does! I’m rural and our phones/ISP went out last week. I activated our Starlink roam (you can access the captive portal while service is disabled) & all the remote working neighbors came over and shared the connection. It worked great!
  - rescbr 2y ago
    What do you mean? Can I just buy a dish, don't activate any subscription and just when necessary enable roam?
    - inemesitaffia 2y ago
      Yes you can indeed. The equipment is your property and there's no contract
    - esterly 2y ago
      Rome has a 'Pause service' option https://www.starlink.com/service-plans https://www.starlink.com/service-plans ""Pause and un-pause service at any time. Billing is in one-month increments, allowing you to customize your service to your individual travel needs."
jes5199 2y ago
there’s a less advertised monthly/mobile mode that you can turn on when you need it. $150/month but only when you use it

ryukoposting 2y ago

The Garmin inReach (and others like it) is probably the nearest readily-available solution for that use case. Not broadband internet obviously, but it provides access to basic, essential communication methods. It does so at a much, much lower price point than Starlink/HughesNet/etc can offer, making it more palatable as an "emergency backup" product.

wkat4242 2y ago
Well Starlink here in Spain costs 40€ per month. That's a lot less than the unlimited Garmin inreach plan (74,99€!!) that only allows you to send short messages! And that's the regular plan. Deprioritised Starlink costs €29/month! Still way way more useful service than inreach. I have inreach and for €19,99 I get 10 SMS per month (i don't subscribe every month) and I also have to pay a €39,99 yearly fee. Starlink is undoubtedly cheaper here. Of course it's not really the same kind of service. Inreach is a rugged 100 grams device for hiking with its own battery power that can stay connected for days. It can stay connected even in my bag and has a button to call for emergency services. For internet backup I have a 4G modem right now, connected to my unifi router with auto failover and a script that adds credit to my prepay card over SMS. It serves me ok. But I'd love to have a starlink mini for backup. Just the regular one is a bit big so I didn't get it yet.
- mattlondon 2y ago
  WTF? Entry price for starlink is £75/month in UK! ADSL is typically ~£25-30 for unlimited 80/20 for comparison
  - dotnet00 2y ago
    I think the pricing is based on coverage, usage density and demand. The UK probably has enough terrestrial coverage of amy sort that they figure they can upcharge anyone who still wants/needs Starlink, since it's mainly setup to be internet service for those who have essentially no other decent choice. Alternatively, maybe the meaningful coverage areas are so small and dense that the price should be higher. Since Starlink's biggest limitation is that performance suffers in more densely populated areas.
  - multjoy 2y ago
    If you can get 80/20 ADSL, you're not buying Starlink.
    - Scoundreller 2y ago
      Some people underestimate how much hate we can have for our legacy ISPs. I’d be happy to pay a premium to never give them another dollar ever again.
      - bklyn11201 2y ago
        Everyone hates their ISP. What are your current expectations around price and bandwidth as the Starlink service becomes more popular in your area? If you have the opportunity to have a fibre or copper connection directly to your unit, it seems like a crazy decision to consider Starlink.
        Scoundreller 2y ago
        > Everyone hates their ISP Not really, I loved a local new independent provider that strung its own fibre around, but moved out of that building :( They were particularly great because they didn’t (at the time) do phone or tv, just pure solid internet. No legacy industry to protect by limiting torrents or gb/month limits (fuck you Bell Canada).
  - theodric 2y ago
    €50 in Ireland, down from €65 in the last year, down from €99 in 2022. Because they know where you are, and how much money your average target customer in a country has, and how saturated their satellites in that country are, they can be very specific about pricing.
- prmoustache 2y ago
  "For internet backup I have a 4G modem right now, connected to my unifi router with auto failover and a script that adds credit to my prepay card over SMS. It serves me ok. But I'd love to have a starlink mini for backup. Just the regular one is a bit big so I didn't get it yet." Is 4G a good backup? I am also in Spain and in my neighborhood we often suffer from power failure under heavy rain, I guess a local transformer is shorting as it impacts just a few streets around my house. But when it happens I also lose phone connectivity. The nearest antenna seems to be located in the few streets impacted and smartphone seemingly cannot reach another one nearby. This made me realize the short radius of mobile network range around a single antenna.
  - brianshaler 2y ago
    It sounds more like a building material or geography issue. I've used LTE upwards of 10km off shore. In areas where there isn't good line of sight or if buildings tend to interfere with signal, the access points need to be positioned more densely
    - prmoustache 2y ago
      Well home 5G wifi has trouble covering all rooms at decent quality, I guess because the walls are thick, so building material may be an issue. I obviously never tried going on the roof to check because it happens when it is raining.
      - inemesitaffia 2y ago
        If you have good service anywhere in your house, the issue is WiFi
- ryukoposting 2y ago
  Interesting. It sounds like you're referring to Garmin's "Safety" plan, which in the States is $15 per month, and the unlimited plan is $65. Meanwhile, Starlink starts at $120 per month.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
dzhiurgis 2y ago
At this iPhone with sat messaging provides same functionality and is free.

fragmede 2y ago

yeah they don't force you into some weird shitty contract. you can buy the hardware outright, and then not pay for a subscription until you actually want to use it for the month of Outober.

wmf 2y ago
Paying for a full month if your main ISP is down for a day or two sounds quite expensive. How long does it take to activate?
- fragmede 2y ago
  I used a friend's when I went to see the eclipse in Texas. Didn't time how long it took to activate service on their end because it takes a few minutes for starlink to connect/boot up in the first place and when you're out camping there's other things going on. Less than 30 mins so all I can say. Also, it was $150 for the month.
jml78 2y ago
You can actually create an account, pay for one month, then pause it. Then just unpause in the starlink app to instantly have access and resume billing
- toomuchtodo 2y ago
  This is what I do. I carry the dish in the equivalent of a pelican case [1], and only activate for months I have no other option. [1] https://www.caseman.com/product/starlink-mount-case/ https://www.caseman.com/product/starlink-mount-case/
skybrian 2y ago
Can you sign up using Starlink itself? It would by annoying if you needed another ISP when your ISP is down.
- inemesitaffia 2y ago

dboreham 2y ago

> But I don't think they have any subscription plans priced for that? As a former owner of a WISP, this idea of a "backup service" doesn't really work (read: I make no money from you).

mathsmath 2y ago
Sure it does! I’m rural and our phones/ISP went out last week. I activated our Starlink roam (you can access the captive portal while service is disabled) & all the remote working neighbors came over and shared the connection. It worked great!
- rescbr 2y ago
  What do you mean? Can I just buy a dish, don't activate any subscription and just when necessary enable roam?
  - inemesitaffia 2y ago
    Yes you can indeed. The equipment is your property and there's no contract
  - esterly 2y ago
    Rome has a 'Pause service' option https://www.starlink.com/service-plans https://www.starlink.com/service-plans ""Pause and un-pause service at any time. Billing is in one-month increments, allowing you to customize your service to your individual travel needs."

jes5199 2y ago

there’s a less advertised monthly/mobile mode that you can turn on when you need it. $150/month but only when you use it