We have a love/hate relationship with Starlink. It has allowed us to work remotely in some incredibly remote places — including the Wall in South Dakota and inside Big Bend National Park’s rustic campground. But we aren’t blind to the fact that the number of satellites in the night sky is becoming a growing problem.
And now, the hate part of the love/hate intensified with Starlink’s announcement that the free “Pause” mode for their roaming service is becoming “Standby” mode that will cost $5 per month.
Is $5 per month going to break the bank? Of course not. But it’s the way Starlink did this change that irks us. One of the reasons we pay more per month for Roaming vs. Residential is that it allows us to pause the service when we’re off the road and don’t need to use Starlink (like right now when we’re at our sticks-n-bricks.)
Starlink is touting Standby Mode as an upgrade because it allows us to continue receiving updates on the dish and router, plus low-speed unlimited data. If we aren’t using the dish and have therefore gone to Pause mode, it’s because it’s not set up. And if it’s not set up, we’re not going to receive the updates or use any kind of data.
So why are we paying $5 per month now? Because Starlink wants more money. That’s their prerogative. But be up front with customers and don’t try to couch a rate increase as an “upgrade” that offers benefits most of us don’t need and have never asked for.
THANK YOU for saying this….”But be up front with customers and don’t try to couch a rate increase as an “upgrade” that offers benefits most of us don’t need and have never asked for”.
When companies spin their rate hikes it makes me more angry than the actual hike. I would have so much more respect if they were more transparent.