Key points:
- Starlink has expanded "Residential Lite" service to certain locations in the USA.
- Starlink is allowing activation of the Roam 50GB plan for $50 on the Standard hardware (again).
- Regional Savings increases to $200 hardware discount in certain areas, but still not nomadic friendly.
One thing we have come to depend on with Starlink is that their plans continually get tweaked and changed. This time the changes are positive, if you qualify for them, but that isn't always the case.
Table of Contents
Starlink Plan Changes Video Overview
“Residential Lite” Service Available in US
Starlink has added a new cheaper option for Starlink's residential service called "Residential Lite" available in select locations in the US.
This Residential Lite service is not a new service plan and has been available in several other countries for some time, but it has finally made it to the US.
Starlink describes the "Residential Lite" Service as "a more affordable service plan for personal or household-use at a fixed, land-based location in select areas. Users will have an unlimited amount of deprioritized data each month with no long-term contracts."
Starlink's Residential Lite service will likely be slower than your standard Residential service.
It should perform similar to Starlink's Roam service since it's always deprioritized, but in this case it's for fixed location use only.
In the US, Residential Lite service is unlimited deprioritized service offered at $80/month which is $40 cheaper than the standard Residential service and it's less than half the cost of Roam Unlimited at $165/month if you are going to be staying in a location that qualifies for it.
Residential Lite service locations
Starlink's Residential Lite is currently only offered in about 15 US states with a majority of them being less populated states west of the Mississippi River.
There's also 3 states in New England and Hawaii that offer the lower cost Residential Lite service plan.
Looking at the Map, you will notice that in some of the states that do qualify, larger more metropolitan areas in these states are not available.
One example is in Nevada where the areas around Las Vegas are not available for Residential Lite Service.
You can also see if it's available to you by choosing the option to change plans and see if it's in the list. (Make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom).
If this is a cheaper plan than you are currently on, then the change will take place at your next billing period once you select it.
Roam 50GB - Activate on Starlink Standard
The Starlink Roam 50GB plan was first debuted when the Starlink Mini was released and was the cheapest plan offered to date for any hardware making it a great option to keep around for backup to other services or to use at a remote location for security cameras.
Originally the Roam 50GB plan was only available for the Starlink Mini hardware, but then eventually it was offered for the Starlink Standard hardware which was great for those that already had this hardware and wanted to switch to a cheaper plan or were not interested in the more expensive Mini dish to run this cheaper plan.
Starlink has flip flopped back and forth though on whether you could activate the Roam 50GB plan on the Starlink Standard hardware from the start or if you had to subscribe to another plan first and then change after your first month.
After removing the option to activate the Roam 50G on the Starlink Standard hardware for some time, it appears Starlink has had brought this option back and you can now order the Starlink Standard hardware and immediately activate it on the Roam 50GB plan.
Regional Savings Increases to $200 Discount
In the past year, it has become a lot more common for Starlink to discount the hardware and this has varied from direct sales on the hardware regardless of the plan or more commonly through regional savings which is only offered in select areas for residential users only.
The regional savings discount has been increased recently to $200 bringing the cost of the Starlink Standard hardware from $349 to $149 until 3/31/25.
That is a great savings if you can qualify for it, but unfortunately it's still not the most nomadic friendly unless you can meet the time limit restrictions put in place.
Use our referral link when setting up a new Starlink account, and get a FREE month of service!
And so will someone on our team, which helps us keep our multiple lines of service active for continued testing.
It's a win-win - you save money and help support MIRC!
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Conclusion
Normally when we talk about Starlink plan changes, they often are not favorable to the customer, but this time we had a few positive changes to share with our audience.
Starlink allowing the Starlink Standard to be activated on the Roam 50GB plan once again is certainly good news for those that want a cheaper plan option from the start on the cheaper Starlink Standard hardware. Maybe this time, this option will remain in place for awhile so users can take advantage of it.
While other changes and discounts are limited on who can take advantage of them, if you are an an area that qualifies for the Residential Lite service and that meets your needs, that could be a great option for users that want to lower their internet price and still have unlimited data.
The Regional Savings are a little harder for nomads to take advantage of, but we shared some tips with our members on changes that may allow them to take advantage of this $200 hardware discount.
Further Reading
- Starlink Satellite Internet For Mobile RV And Boat Use - Our featured guide focused on taking advantage of SpaceX's Starlink on the go.
- Mobile Satellite Internet Options -
Our featured guide on all the current and future satellite internet options of interest to RVers and cruisers. - All our our Satellite Internet Resources - Our collection of guides, gear center entries and news coverage on satellite internet.
- Industry Update: Mobile Satellite Internet for RVers & Boaters – Early 2024 Update: Starlink, Kuiper, Direct To Cellular, and Beyond! - Our deep dive into the state of the satellite internet world.
And here is all of our recent satellite internet coverage:
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