You want to have fast and reliable internet in your camper van? Perhaps, like us a few months ago, you are considering getting Starlink Internet for your van? To be able to work on the go during our South America trip, we decided to get ourselves a Starlink. We have been using it regularly since then. In this article, we share all the information on costs and subscriptions, activation, and how to handle and use the hardware in your campervan.
What is Starlink?
Starlink is a product from Elon Musk's SpaceX. With the aid of thousands of satellites, it aims to provide fast and reliable internet worldwide, making internet access possible in regions where traditional internet services have either been poor or nonexistent. Since its launch, an increasing number of Starlink satellites have been orbiting in space, and Starlink internet has become available in more countries.
Starlink Internet in the Camper – The Hardware You Need
Equipment – What is Needed for Satellite Internet
The Starlink Kit includes a satellite dish with a stand, a special Starlink router with a 230V plug, and the cable to connect the satellite dish to the router. With this basic equipment, you have everything you need for Starlink internet in your camper. After ordering your kit, additional items such as an Ethernet adapter, various mounts, or a longer cable are available in the Starlink shop.
Costs – What Does the Hardware Cost
Costs vary by country. In Germany, the current standard hardware with a motor costs €450. There are occasional discount promotions.
Starlink launched a new standard hardware on the market a few weeks ago. This version is motorless and mostly flat, making it particularly interesting for motorhomes. However, this model is currently only available in the USA.
Travel Rates Overview
Starlink rates are divided into three areas: Private households, Travel, and Boats. For campers, the "Travel" rates are of particular interest.
As with the hardware, the costs of the rates vary somewhat by country. Below, we list the costs in Germany, as well as the costs in Chile, since our Starlink is currently registered here.
Travel Rates Overview
In the "Travel" segment, Starlink offers three options.
Mobile – Regional: This rate is ideal for motorhomes, campers, and travelers staying on one continent. In this tariff, Starlink can be used throughout the entire region for which the hardware is activated. The following map shows the regions at a glance, divided into:
- Europe
- Central and North America
- South America
- Africa
- Asia incl. Arabian Peninsula
- Australia and Oceania
Die Kosten für den Tarif können sich je nach Land, in welchem der Starlink registriert ist unterscheiden. In Deutschland liegt der Preis aktuell bei 59 €. Unser Starlink ist in Chile registriert, damit wir ihn in Südamerika nutzen können. Hier betragen die Kosten aktuell 57.700 CLP (ca. 58 € / Stand März 2024).
Mobile – Global: This tariff is ideal if you want to use your Starlink for travel across multiple continents. Unlike the "Mobile – Regional" tariff, the global tariff is valid worldwide and can therefore be used in all regions. This significantly increases the price to €230 in Germany, and in Chile, it is currently 207,000 CLP (about €195 as of March 2024).
Mobile Priority: This tariff offers mobile high-speed internet worldwide. Compared to "Mobile - Global" this internet can also be used on the move and at sea. Priority tariffs are more relevant for boats. In a camper, the standard roaming tariffs (Regional and Global) are completely sufficient.
Available Data Volume
Starlink operates on a flatrate. All tariffs come with unlimited data volume.
Contract Terms
There are no fixed contract terms. The subscription can be canceled or paused monthly. This makes them particularly attractive for shorter vacations in a motorhome, as a tariff can always be used when needed. The active period is from the first to the last day of a month.
Starlink Coverage
Since its launch, Starlink has become available in an increasing number of countries. The following map provides an overview of the current locations where it's available and a forecast of the countries where Starlink will be available in the future and when.
Verfügbarkeit in diesem Sinne bedeutet jedoch lediglich, in welchen Ländern Starlink käuflich erworben und aktiviert werden kann. Wir haben unseren Starlink auch in Argentinien im Einsatz gehabt, bevor er dort offiziell verfügbar war und nutzen diesen hier mir gleicher Zuverlässigkeit und Geschwindigkeit.
Purchasing and Activating Your Starlink
Purchasing Hardware – From Starlink or Third-Party Vendors
You can buy the Starlink Kit directly from the provider's website in the available countries. Alternatively, the hardware can be purchased from authorized third-party vendors, such as Media Markt in Germany. In this case, you must register the hardware on the Starlink website after purchase.
Why We Chose to Buy from a Third-Party Vendor (MediaMarkt)
Since we were traveling in South America for a year, we wanted to register our Starlink Kit in a South American country to be able to use the Mobile-Regional tariff without having to pay for the global tariff. Buying the Starlink Kit directly from Starlink would mean that our user account is automatically registered using the delivery address, which would have been Germany in our case. That's why we bought the hardware at Media Markt and then only registered it once we reached South America.
Activating Your Starlink
Before Starlink can be used, the kit must be set up and connected. If the kit was purchased directly through the Starlink website, a customer account already exists, and these steps are unnecessary. If you bought your device from a third-party vendor (in our case, MediaMarkt), you must first set up your account.
Account Setup When Purchased From a Third-Party
- Visit https://www.starlink.com/activate
- Enter your Starlink ID found on your Starlink Kit. For more information about the ID, consult Starlink.
- Click "New Customer Account" if you want to create a new one or "Existing Customer Account" if you already have a Starlink account.
- Enter the address in the country where you want to activate the service. We used the address of a campsite in Chile for this.
- Select your desired tariff.
- Enter your contact and billing address. Here, we used our German address.
- Click "Place Order" to activate the service. You will receive a cost statement every 30 days.
Activating Your Starlink Connection
- Choose a location with a clear view of the sky. Avoid high trees or buildings in the immediate vicinity if possible.
- Connect Starlink to the power supply.
- Starlink will automatically establish a connection, which may take a few minutes. There have been instances when we had to wait about 10 minutes for a connection to be established. Just be patient.
Power Consumption and Speed – Our Experience with Starlink
Power Consumption of Starlink
Our Starlink consumes about 60 Watts. We run it on a 230Volt inverter.
Starlink Speeds
After several months of testing, we can say that we mostly experience speeds between 200-250 Mbits download and about 30 Mbits upload. This is completely sufficient for us to conduct video conferences, stream movies, or upload photos to the cloud.
Conclusion on Starlink Internet in the Camper
We are really satisfied with the performance of Starlink. Without it, we couldn't work remotely or only with significant limitations. Even in very remote areas, where we sometimes don't have reception with our SIM cards for several hundred kilometers, the Starlink Internet works flawlessly.
The only downsides are the handling and the space required in the camper. The setup takes about 10 minutes each time, and during the journey, the satellite dish and stand take up a significant part of our storage space on the roof. However, we accept this because of the advantages. Maybe, for these reasons, we might consider modifying it in the future to mount the dish permanently flat on the roof.
