Traveling with your mobile phone and being online everywhere – this is now standard and, thanks to roaming, also possible in almost every country in the world. Now the satellite Internet provider Starlink is also introducing a roaming service – for one simple reason.
With the move to introduce a global roaming service, Starlink enables access to the Internet almost worldwide – even where there is actually no Internet. With this, the company behind Starlink, SpaceX, obviously not only wants to open up additional sources of revenue – it also circumvents numerous legal restrictions. Because even if Starlink’s satellite network could now reach almost every corner of the world, many countries are still without a Starlink offer. It is precisely in these areas that Starlink now apparently wants to enable roaming and is addressing customers who live in the areas. Starlink may want to use it to circumvent legal restrictions.
As the British magazine PC Mag reports, Space X from founder Elon Musik has now written to individual users who have expressed interest in Starlink but live in a country where Starlink does not yet exist. You should be able to use the access via roaming for 200 US dollars, but you are responsible for the import and customs clearance of the required transmitter and receiver system. So Starlink withdraws itself from the responsibility, after all, the service is not officially offered in the respective country.
STARLINK: ROAMING TRICK APPARENTLY WITH A NEW TECHNICAL SOLUTION
Legally, the solution is at least not uncritical. Because if certain countries do not allow Starlink, it is usually for political reasons. In countries like Iran or China, for example, there are internet blocks and censorship. This could be circumvented via the satellite Internet. In order for this to work, the system now apparently relies on laser links between the satellites and therefore does not need any ground stations in the user’s region. For example, the data signal is sent from China to a Starlink satellite, which forwards it to other satellites in space until a ground station can be reached and the signal can be sent to the Internet.
The new tariff is not yet available on the website. It is only billed in US dollars anyway. For German users, the Romaing tariff should not be of any interest anyway, unless you have an unusual job or are a globetrotter. Starlink in Germany costs 80 euros per month for stationary use. The connection offers between 50 and 200 Mbit/s and can be of interest to anyone who does not have a fast Internet connection via DSL, cable or fiber optics . LTE and 5G can be further alternatives . However, anyone who travels a lot in Germany – for example as a showman – can fall back on the mobile home solution for 100 euros a month. Hardware and electricity costs are added to both tariffs .
