It was good whereas it lasted. On Nov. 10, Starlink quietly started providing its most cost-effective plan but: $40 a month for 100Mbps speeds in choose areas.
Simply as quietly, it’s now been eliminated as an choice in those self same areas.
Reddit customers first noticed the change on Tuesday, when some who had beforehand subscribed to the $40 plan tried to change again and located that it was not accessible. The plan remains to be accessible in Australia and Canada.
The plan, referred to as “Residential 100 Mbps,” listed obtain speeds as much as 100Mbps. There was no cap on add speeds, however Starlink’s specs web page listed anticipated speeds between 15 and 35Mbps.
“In the event you don’t see a specific provide in your account, it simply means it’s not at present accessible in your present service location,” Starlink’s support page for the plan says. Representatives for Starlink didn’t instantly return CNET’s request for remark.
When the plan debuted last month, I checked ten random addresses all through the nation and located just one space the place it was truly accessible: a rural city in Nevada. It’s not accessible on the identical tackle.
It wasn’t shocking that Starlink would solely provide the cheaper plan in areas the place it has extra capability, because it has struggled to maintain up speeds in areas with a number of customers. (One recent study discovered that it might solely deal with 6.66 customers per sq. mile earlier than speeds dip beneath the FCC’s minimal normal.)
Starlink’s Residential Lite plan, which advertises obtain speeds as much as 250Mbps for $80 per thirty days, remains to be accessible in most suburban and rural areas. The Residential plan advertises speeds over 400Mbps for $120 month-to-month.
However I’d take these pace numbers with a grain of salt. The most recent report from Ookla discovered that Starlink’s median obtain speeds within the US are 105Mbps — proper round what clients have been speculated to get with the discontinued $40 plan. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the identical mother or father firm as CNET, Ziff Davis.)
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