SpaceX’s Starlink and Dish Hardware Prices Rise Due to Inflation

SpaceX is raising prices for Starlink’s satellite internet service, citing rising costs due to “excessive levels of inflation.”

Starting in May, subscribers will have to pay $110 a month to receive internet from Starlink, up from $99 previously, the company said in an email to customers on Tuesday.

SpaceX is also increasing the one-time fee subscribers must pay for the dish needed to connect to the Starlink network. If you’ve already pre-ordered, the Starlink Dish will now cost you $549, up from $499 originally. Meanwhile, new customers signing up for Starlink starting Tuesday will have to shell out more than $599. Starlink.com official website has already added the price change.

“The sole purpose of these adjustments is to keep pace with rising inflation,” the company said. Earlier this month, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Noted his company “was under significant recent inflationary pressure in commodities and logistics.”

SpaceX also justifies the price increases, pointing to the company’s growing investments to expand Starlink’s coverage and capabilities.

“Since launching our public beta service in October 2020, the Starlink team has tripled the number of satellites in orbit, quadrupled the number of ground stations, and made continuous improvements to our network,” the company said. “Going forward, users can expect Starlink to maintain its cadence of continuous network improvements as well as the addition of new features.”

Still, the price hikes are sure to annoy consumers. So in response, the company is offering subscribers a partial $200 refund if they return their Starlink antenna hardware within the first year of service. “If you received your Starlink within the last 30 days, you can return it for a full refund,” the company added.

So far, it appears that the company’s email regarding the price increases has been sent to customers based in at least two markets, the United States and Australia.

Starlink currently serves 250,000 subscribers worldwide, according to at SpaceNews. However, the company is also facing a massive backlog of requests from interested users. In November, SpaceX reported that more than 750,000 users worldwide had placed “orders/deposits” for the satellite broadband system.