SpaceX has hiked up pricing for its satellite internet service, Starlink, in Canada across everything from equipment to monthly service — reports Tesla North.
Customer emails seen by the publication indicate the following revised pricing for Canada:
Starlink is a high-speed broadband service from SpaceX that connects to a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and is designed to provide affordable internet at viable speeds anywhere and everywhere across the globe. The service first launched in Canada back in November 2020.
In an email to a customer, SpaceX said that the increase is “due to excessive levels of inflation.” The company noted that the new pricing for Starlink kits will go into effect today, while the bump in monthly service fee won’t go live until May 9, 2022, (at least in the case of this particular customer). Prices have also gone up accordingly in the U.S. and beyond.
“The sole purpose of these adjustments is to keep pace with rising inflation. If you do not wish to continue your service, you can cancel at any time and return your Starlink hardware within your first year of service for a partial refund of $200 USD. If you have received your Starlink in the past 30 days, you can return it for a full refund,” explains SpaceX.
In a tweet sent out last week, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that the space technology company and his electric vehicle (EV) venture, Tesla, were “seeing significant recent inflation pressure in raw materials and logistics.”
Tesla & SpaceX are seeing significant recent inflation pressure in raw materials & logistics
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022
In the two days following Musk’s tweet, Tesla hiked up vehicle prices across the entirety of its lineup in Canada. However, Tesla’s price hikes make a point to leave reservations untouched, while Starlink pre-order holders will also have to pony up the extra $50 to get their Starlink terminals.
SpaceX says that since the public Starlink beta launched in late 2020, satellites in orbit have tripled, ground stations have quadrupled, and network improvements have been made continuously. Musk revealed in February that Starlink had surpassed 250,000 user terminals across the globe.
“Going forward, users can expect Starlink to maintain its cadence of continuous network improvements as well as new feature additions,” says SpaceX, concluding with a “thank you” to customers for their ongoing support.
According to a recent report from network analytics provider Ookla, Starlink hit median download speeds of 100+ Mbps in Canada during Q4 2021 and delivered an average of 10 Mbps faster download speeds as compared to land-based broadband providers in the country.
