Starlink

[Mush]

Good afternoon.

Just wondering what Starlink Service Plan most folks are finding best for an active sailor?

Sorry if this has been posted before. Please post the link and ill read it there.

If not then thanks for the knowledge and have a blessed day.

[Zanshin]

@Mush - are you in the continental USA and are you sailing within sight of land? Or overseas and/or sailing offshore? For Starlink, it makes a difference.

[sailorboy1]

if you are going to travel you need a Roam plan

[FlyingScot]

Look for the cheapest "ROAM" plan that covers the Continent you are covered by. We have Panama for $64/month and covers the entire Caribbean, Central & North America. Of course this is close to land. Out to sea we toggle on "priority data" @ $2/GB.

The marine plans make very little sense for the cruising sailor.

[Mush]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

@Mush - are you in the continental USA and are you sailing within sight of land? Or overseas and/or sailing offshore? For Starlink, it makes a difference.

I will be leaving for parts unknown. Beeper the Blue the better.


Blessings

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by FlyingScot

Look for the cheapest "ROAM" plan that covers the Continent you are covered by. We have Panama for $64/month and covers the entire Caribbean, Central & North America. Of course this is close to land. Out to sea we toggle on "priority data" @ $2/GB.

The marine plans make very little sense for the cruising sailor.

This is what I have. Original service address was Ensenada Mexico and Costa around $75/mo plus about $2.50/GB when offshore.

To the OP - if you will be out of the US, check into using a foreign address as your service address. US is around $150/mo. Some countries are quite a bit less. I'm sure switching service address is possible. But I've known a couple people who've tried and been unable to do so.

[Mush]

Originally Posted by FlyingScot

Look for the cheapest "ROAM" plan that covers the Continent you are covered by. We have Panama for $64/month and covers the entire Caribbean, Central & North America. Of course this is close to land. Out to sea we toggle on "priority data" @ $2/GB.

The marine plans make very little sense for the cruising sailor.

Thank you for the information.

Blessings

[Mush]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

This is what I have. Original service address was Ensenada Mexico and Costa around $75/mo plus about $2.50/GB when offshore.

To the OP - if you will be out of the US, check into using a foreign address as your service address. US is around $150/mo. Some countries are quite a bit less. I'm sure switching service address is possible. But I've known a couple people who've tried and been unable to do so.

Good hint on the foreign address.

Blessings

[poiu]

Originally Posted by Mush

Good afternoon.

Just wondering what Starlink Service Plan most folks are finding best for an active sailor?

Sorry if this has been posted before. Please post the link and ill read it there.

If not then thanks for the knowledge and have a blessed day.

I got mine in Guadeloupe on a shore based subscription. I changed it to a continental subscription. They are charging me €60 per month. No at sea use though, which would be much more cost. You can see the different costs if you put your address at different places. It varies wildly.

[phorvati]

Originally Posted by FlyingScot

Look for the cheapest "ROAM" plan that covers the Continent you are covered by. We have Panama for $64/month and covers the entire Caribbean, Central & North America. Of course this is close to land. Out to sea we toggle on "priority data" @ $2/GB.

The marine plans make very little sense for the cruising sailor.

this page https://www.starlink.com/service-plans
seems to differentiate between mobile inland and maritime.

if you coastal hop are you violating service agreement of mobile inland plan, the one with 150$/month and 599$ hardware?
is mobile inland plan what you call cheapest "Roam" plan?

[Mush]

Originally Posted by phorvati

this page https://www.starlink.com/service-plans
seems to differentiate between mobile inland and maritime.

if you coastal hop are you violating service agreement of mobile inland plan, the one with 150$/month and 599$ hardware?
is mobile inland plan what you call cheapest "Roam" plan?

Thanks for the information my friend and that is a great question. Huge difference in plan rates. And why do folks assume just because your a sailor in the bath tube that you have 250.00 clam just hanging out on the old boat? That's a lot of rum!

Blessings and thank you

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by phorvati

this page https://www.starlink.com/service-plans
seems to differentiate between mobile inland and maritime.

if you coastal hop are you violating service agreement of mobile inland plan, the one with 150$/month and 599$ hardware?
is mobile inland plan what you call cheapest "Roam" plan?

Per the page you linked, Mobile Regional is $150 USD/month.

In Panama it is $64 USD/month. Land is defined as in the land hexagons. It doesn't legally mean on land only.

It also has the ability to work great when you leave the hexagon. When it stops working, you open the app, toggle on "priority data" and it typically starts working within 3-10 minutes. Of course you pay extra for this feature. Panama plan is $2.14/GB. Well worth it to have offshore.

I care not what the ToS say as I have never read them fully and don't intent do.

When you apply for SL in Panama it will ask you for an ID number. I just used my US Passport number without any issues.

From the Starlink FAQ:
What areas are considered land vs ocean under the Mobile Plans?
Land: All areas labeled as "Available", "Waitlist", or "Coming Soon" on the Starlink Availability Map are considered land regions. Regional Mobile plans can be used on land within your continent (see continent map), while Global Mobile plans can be used on land anywhere Starlink has service around the world.

Ocean: All areas colored as black on the Starlink Availability Map are considered ocean regions, including islands unless they are labeled "Available", "Waitlist", or "Coming Soon". Only Mobile Priority Data can be used on the ocean, including on these unlabeled islands. Use in local territorial waters, is contingent on government approval.

[Mush]

Here is the Starlink Coverage Map Link: https://www.starlink.com/map

So all color is "Mobile" Plans and the black is HOME. I wonder if the black is really worth more funds every month.

How does one registered much further south then I am at this point?

[phorvati]

Thank you so much. that answers my question. This is great for Southern New England.
I bought the standard Gen 3 phased array and set it up last night on the boat (at a dock). pretty sweet. I activated 150$ mobile regional.
It did not need to update FW.
I lined the dish up north per app guidance, at first to finish setup and activation of mobile regional plan (150$/month) and verify it all works.



once that was all setup I ran my test, (netflix steaming, work laptop VPN-ed and running more stuff). I moved the dish around and re positioned it to see if anything bad would happen, and did not see any difference in data throughput.



My next step is to research permanent mounts on stern pulpit or bimini.

This thing obviously doesn't care if you are flat or not, and does not need mechanical tracking(it has phased array). I imagine there might come a point where bandwidth might suffer if you are sideways too much. But i am going to do a load test with boat in motion within blue hexagons and < 10mph(sailing), before i finalize the mount strategy.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by FlyingScot

Look for the cheapest "ROAM" plan that covers the Continent you are covered by. We have Panama for $64/month and covers the entire Caribbean, Central & North America. Of course this is close to land. Out to sea we toggle on "priority data" @ $2/GB.

The marine plans make very little sense for the cruising sailor.

Nice price


How predictable that we are getting reamed in Australia