Hey Jim! Thank you for the great article and all of the details! We were in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and had Starlink disconnected as we were outside of our service area (New Zealand) for more than 60 days. We were actually away for almost a year before we got cut off. We ended up changing our service address (from NZ to Fiji) and were reinstated (despite the fact that we were not in Fiji (yet). It took a lot of emails back and forth to get reinstated along with photos of our departure paperwork from RMI.
We are in route to Fiji now and all is working with the Fiji Roam Unlimited plan that is currently switched to Global Priority (as we are underway).
We will use Fiji Roam Unlimited in Fiji until we get to New Zealand where we will switch back to a NZ address. That is of course unless SL forces us to switch to the non-unlimited plans.
Hi Jim, I stumbled across this post and thought I would share my recent experience getting rid of Starlink... I now live in a fairly rural area of Chile and internet options are limited at best. I'd had Starlink for about 3 years and I was fairly happy with it. However, with the situation in the States, I wanted another option.. and here's what I found. Cheers! John https://mundanemarvels.substack.com/p/kicked-to-the-curb
Thanks! Sounds as though you found a workable alternative. For a cruising sailboat in the ocean or anchored off an uninhabited island, Starlink is the only option for cost effective, reliable, high-speed Internet. 4G/5G doesn't reach out here. "Game changer" is an over-used phrase but it fits here. It borders on miraculous.
Starlink has to negotiate tariff agreements with each regulatory agency in every country in which sells its equipment and service. Some countries haven't allowed them to sell their equipment and service--French Polynesia for example. One reason is the entrenched cellular providers wield their political power to block Starlink from operating in their country. It makes sense. These carriers made big infrastructure investments to provide wireless broadband services. They expect to recoup that investment over a long period of time. Starlink is a threat to that revenue stream. Unfortunately, it's the citizens who suffer when they can’t get access to affordable high-speed, low-latency Internet.
Other than as a subscriber, I have no affiliation with SpaceX or Starlink.
Maybe you and Pam should change the name of your boat to “Roam Unlimited!”
Ha! If we ever change Starlink plans we'll have to change the boat name. "Global Priority" does have a nice ring to it, though.
Jim, that's an AMAZING article! Many thanks indeed!
Hey Jim! Thank you for the great article and all of the details! We were in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and had Starlink disconnected as we were outside of our service area (New Zealand) for more than 60 days. We were actually away for almost a year before we got cut off. We ended up changing our service address (from NZ to Fiji) and were reinstated (despite the fact that we were not in Fiji (yet). It took a lot of emails back and forth to get reinstated along with photos of our departure paperwork from RMI.
We are in route to Fiji now and all is working with the Fiji Roam Unlimited plan that is currently switched to Global Priority (as we are underway).
We will use Fiji Roam Unlimited in Fiji until we get to New Zealand where we will switch back to a NZ address. That is of course unless SL forces us to switch to the non-unlimited plans.
We shall see
First, I am sending positive energy your way for a safe finish to your passage to Fiji. I know it has been eventful!
Thanks for sharing your experience getting moved on to the Roam-Unlimited plan. I'm hoping it remains a viable option for all of us out here cruising.
Hi Jim, I stumbled across this post and thought I would share my recent experience getting rid of Starlink... I now live in a fairly rural area of Chile and internet options are limited at best. I'd had Starlink for about 3 years and I was fairly happy with it. However, with the situation in the States, I wanted another option.. and here's what I found. Cheers! John https://mundanemarvels.substack.com/p/kicked-to-the-curb
Thanks! Sounds as though you found a workable alternative. For a cruising sailboat in the ocean or anchored off an uninhabited island, Starlink is the only option for cost effective, reliable, high-speed Internet. 4G/5G doesn't reach out here. "Game changer" is an over-used phrase but it fits here. It borders on miraculous.
Starlink has to negotiate tariff agreements with each regulatory agency in every country in which sells its equipment and service. Some countries haven't allowed them to sell their equipment and service--French Polynesia for example. One reason is the entrenched cellular providers wield their political power to block Starlink from operating in their country. It makes sense. These carriers made big infrastructure investments to provide wireless broadband services. They expect to recoup that investment over a long period of time. Starlink is a threat to that revenue stream. Unfortunately, it's the citizens who suffer when they can’t get access to affordable high-speed, low-latency Internet.
Other than as a subscriber, I have no affiliation with SpaceX or Starlink.