AFTER becoming accessible to people on boats and planes, extremely remote indigenous villages in the Amazon and isolated locations in more than 75 countries, Starlink is now headed into the bags of backpackers.
The space internet network service by Elon Musk’s SpaceX is being miniaturised into Starlink Mini, a new compact direct current-powered device that is the size of a thick laptop with a Wi-Fi router integrated into it. Though it uses less power, it will still deliver over 100Mbps.
“This product will change the world,” said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter) after setting it up. He also said Starlink Mini is easily carried in a backpack.
The Mini dish measures 298.5 × 259 × 38.5mm and weighs only 1.1kg or 1.53kg, with a 15m DC power cable and kickstand. It is also protected from dust and rain including short periods of water immersion.
Though Starlink Mini is new to United States (US), a Starlink support page said it is already available in parts of Latin America such as Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama. In those countries, there is no data or speed caps to use Mini and in-motion and ocean use is not allowed. SpaceX said it will expand to more markets over time.
“Our goal is to reduce the price of Starlink, especially for those around the world where connectivity has been unaffordable or completely unavailable,” revealed the Starlink support page.
“In regions with high usage, such as the US, where Starlink Mini places additional demand on the satellite network, we are offering a limited number of the Starlink Mini Kits to start at a higher price point.”
