Starlink RV is now Starlink Roam

[ksanders]

The account you converted to maritime has a Flat/HP dish; correct?

The one I converted is the standard antenna, not the big dollar in motion one.

 

[Slainte 1]

I just bought - and it has shipped - Starlink Maritime. $2500 for the equipment and $1000 a month for the service. You can turn the service on of off as needed.......

For us, this seemed to be the best option for boating. We'll be in the North Channel and then down to the TSW. I'm hoping it works well........we shall see!

I'll let you all know.
Summer's almost here!!

 

[dannc]

But that's not the official coverage map
This is
https://www.starlink.com/map

Add: that link SteveK put up is way wrong.
It shows vaste sections of Australia with no hexagons at all whereas it does actually have full coverage according to the official map and, reports from users.

I would take the Starlink coverage map with a grain or two of salt as well.

For Australia, it appears they have coverage for the country. But looking at my state, they have areas that are available, wait listed, and coming soon. It does not make sense to me that the areas that are coming soon do not have service. I would bet they do from a technology perspective. My area is listed as wait listed, but we have not one, but two, ground stations, in my area, which is unusual, so we should have plenty of capacity. We have had Starlink for two years at this point. I don't see many dishes in my area because so many houses are surrounded by trees and they simply do not have the sky view to use Starlink. I find it hard to believe that my area is at capacity.

I suspect the Starlink map might be based on when they plan to ship dishes to an area, ground station capacity, regulatory approvals, and who knows what else.

Later,
Dan

 

[Statistical]

Is the new maritime plan allowed to be suspended like the RV plan? It wasn’t specified in the email they sent me. Nor the additional charge for extra GB.

Yes you can. Full month increments only. The overage is $2 per GB beyond 50 GB.

You also get unlimited deprioritized inland (which likely includes close to coast) service but you can't use that until you use the 50 GB priority service so depending on your schedule/route that might not be very useful.

Would be ideal if you could on demand switch between priority/offshore access and deprioritized/inland access. They you could save those 50 gigs for when offshore.

I expect that the Roam plan will get more restricted in the future. Likewise using the portable/standard antenna in motion is actually a violation of FCC regs as it isn't ESIM (Earth Station In Motion) certified although SpaceX isn't policing that as tightly as it could. No idea if "in future" means next month or next year though.

 

[Statistical]

What is your information source regarding “pressure from regulators”? Is this conjecture on your part, or do you have something factual on this particular topic you can provide?

Secondly, if this is conjecture, who would apply such pressure within the US regulatory environment?

There are several people on here who are in the Sat Comm industry and providing some detailed information and clarifications when they can. The rest of us, myself included, can only guess as to how this plays out.

Lastly, I have the HP Flat and it works fantastic. Exceeded my expectations. With that said, I went in eyes wide open and realize its not a sure thing, but not everything in life is. In the mean time, I will enjoy the system.

To be clear the standard/portable Atenna was never ESIM (Earth Station In Motion) certified. Technically SpaceX should never have allowed it to function in any motion at all. If you want to get by the specs about it SpaceX should have taken steps to block access even moving at <1 mph. They likely fudged it a bit to avoid customer complaints where hand moving the dish from one location to another for better reception shut it down as well as avoiding detecting "false" motion due to GPS errors. The standard dish was only ever certified as FSS (Fixed Satellite Service). "Fixed" here doesn't mean it can't move just it can't be used in motion.

The High Performance Flat Panel dish officially working in motion isn't some scam. It was ESIM certified. In fact it was a big deal that the FCC allowed that because initially SpaceX was only qualified to offer FSS service.

The reality is that portable dish shouldn't be used in motion but it does work in motion to a degree (cutoff seems to be around 15 mph). Likewise Roam plan is officially limited to land only but it does work on water at least water close to land. So today using a portable dish on Roam plan on a boat does work but it is very much unsupported. It may keep working like that for years or it might stop working tomorrow.

 

[tpbrady]

To clarify things, ESIM (earth station in motion) is a category of equipment used in the FSS (fixed satellite service). The FSS includes both geosynchronous(GSO) and non geosynchronous(NGSO) satellites. Starlink, One Web, Kuiper, and a group of others being planned are obviously in the NGSO category. You may also hear the term mobile satellite service (MSS) which includes Iridium, GlobalStar, and some of the services offered by INMARSAT.

Tom

 

[Wild Blue]

Starlink Roam Report: With the rectangular "low" performance antenna, online was spotty from Ventura to Anacortes on the Pacific Coast. Now that we're on the Inside Passage to Alaska, Starlink is live most of the time while underway at 8 knots.

Rounded Cape caution today with excellent coverage, except when the seas became bumpy. Of course excellent connection once anchored.

Cheers, Alex On Wild Blue

 

[Statistical]

Starlink Roam Report: With the rectangular "low" performance antenna, online was spotty from Ventura to Anacortes on the Pacific Coast. Now that we're on the Inside Passage to Alaska, Starlink is live most of the time while underway at 8 knots.

Rounded Cape caution today with excellent coverage, except when the seas became bumpy. Of course excellent connection once anchored.

Cheers, Alex On Wild Blue

When it was spotty what was your speed? >8.5 knots? Others have reported SpaceX has a speed limit of around 10 mph (8.5 knots) if you are using the standard dish as it isn't licensed for use in motion.

 

[Wild Blue]

Interesting: Our speed was between 8.0 and 9.5. Didn't record the speed related to no connection.

We will focus on that as we proceed up the IP to AK

Alex on Wild Blue

 

[O C Diver]

To add another waypoint, I cruised up the East coast last week from St Augustine, FL to Beaufort SC. Distance off shore ranged from about 4 to 12 miles. Service was fine except for the following.

I ran into some very rough weather and was rolling quite a bit. I lost signal 3 or 4 times from the rolling. The signal wouldn't come back, until I cycled the power switch off for a couple of minutes and then back on. Each time after that, it reconnected with the satellite as soon as I cycled the power switch.

I'm not sure if the angle was to far off horizontal or I was pointing at a satellite too far off shore that told the system not to try to reconnect, but as soon as I cycled the power, it reconnected. One more piece of electronics that may be fixed with a simple reboot.

Ted

 

[SteveK]

Ted. Is your motor still working or have you mounted it in flat position.

 

[O C Diver]

Ted. Is your motor still working or have you mounted it in flat position.

She's dosen't pivot anymore.



Ted

 

[Statistical]

She's dosen't pivot anymore.

View attachment 138266

Ted

Nice looking setup. Since the standard dish wasn't intended for motion I wonder if you reached some edge case that confused the dish and had it looking for sats in the wrong place. Nice to know a power cycle restored service.

 

[dannc]

Nice looking setup. Since the standard dish wasn't intended for motion I wonder if you reached some edge case that confused the dish and had it looking for sats in the wrong place. Nice to know a power cycle restored service.

My guess is that a rolling and/or pitch boat can loose the satellite it was connected too, which messes up not only the current connection, but how the system determines which satellite will be used after the current one moves out of range. Rebooting forces the system to scan for a satellite.

Our Starlink pointed north after it's first power up which was the expected result. However, after the recent Starlink outage a few weeks ago, I noticed the dish is now pointed east. Apparently this was done on the US East Coast to maximize use of satellites offshore to free up satellite capacity over land.

Later,
Dan

 

[Don L]

My SL has worked fine the last week traveling between Bahamas and Florida at speeds up to about 7 mph

 

[O C Diver]

So I went through the Dismal Swamp canal yesterday afternoon and this morning. Amazingly, I remained connected 90% of the time. Speed was way down which I guess is to be expected in such a narrow aperture for the antenna to see the satellites.



Ted

 

[slowgoesit]

So I went through the Dismal Swamp canal yesterday afternoon and this morning. Amazingly, I remained connected 90% of the time. Speed was way down which I guess is to be expected in such a narrow aperture for the antenna to see the satellites.

Ted

Ted, what do you draw, and did you touch bottom at all?

 

[O C Diver]

Ted, what do you draw, and did you touch bottom at all?

4.5' drart. Didn't touch bottom. Maintained depth is supposed to be 6'. Most seems to be 8'. I don't watch the depth sounder when going through anymore. I usually have to avoid a few floating branches though. I do put the antenna down to lower my air draft to 17'. There is plenty of open area, but sometimes there's a high branch over the canal. To give you some perspective, I travel 5 knots (the speed limit) and run autopilot adding or subtracting a degree or 2 at a time. It's wide enough to pass a boat in the opposite direction, going slowly. Some areas are a little tighter, so you plan the occasional passing in the widest spots.

Ted

 

[Toadhall]

FYI :

I’m in the PNW.

Just went from Sequim Wa to Seattle.

Avg speed 7.5 knots.

55 miles. No issues with star link

Joe

 

[Statistical]

Starlink is changing names of plans and adding options because it wouldn't be Starlink without making changes twice a month.

Probably the most useful thing (if SpaceX ever gets around to blocking offshore use) is Roam (now called Mobile) will be able to pay as you go $2/GB for priority data which includes "ocean" coverage.

Doesn't seem SpaceX has started blocking in-motion or "ocean" access and the website is currently a mess but seems they are putting stuff into place.

 

[Sababa]

From Starlink today:

Over the past 60 days, your Starlink has been used in areas that violate the terms and conditions of your service plan: your plan does not include service on the ocean. Starting as early as May 9th, 2023, you will be unable to connect to the internet on the ocean except to access your Starlink account where you can make updates to your account.

To ensure uninterrupted service on the ocean, please take action before May 9th, 2023. The following options may be a good fit for you:

Change Service Plan to "Mobile Priority - 50GB/1TB/5TB": Plans with Mobile Priority data enable our fastest network speeds and can be used on the ocean and land, and in motion with the Flat High Performance Starlink. After using the included Mobile Priority data, you will continue to have unlimited Mobile service on inland coverage (including lakes and rivers) anywhere Starlink has service around the world. Additional Mobile Priority Data (with service on the ocean) can be purchased by the GB.
Opt-in to Mobile Priority Data per GB: Opt-in to purchase Mobile Priority Data by the GB, if you are on a Mobile plan ("Roam"). This is a metered option - all data consumed when opted-in will be charged on your next monthly bill. You can opt-out at any time.

 

[SteveK]

Sababa, were you on the ocean, where were you in the past 60 days

 

[mvweebles]

I don't understand. If you have a mobile plan and go offshore, is the $2/GB additive? What is the total monthly cost?

$2/GB isn't much. When traveling to Mexico with Verizon, was alloted 0.5GB/day with each additional GB being $5/each. I could early full time with email and conference calls until almost lunchtime on 0.5GB. I have since gone to T-Mobile at a significant savings over Verizon (though Verizon was slightly better service at the time).

While I have my doubts about the details, pay-as-you-go would work really well for many cruisers who only occasionally venture very far off shore.

Peter

 

[Statistical]

I don't understand. If you have a mobile plan and go offshore, is the $2/GB additive? What is the total monthly cost?

$2/GB isn't much. When traveling to Mexico with Verizon, was alloted 0.5GB/day with each additional GB being $5/each. I could early full time with email and conference calls until almost lunchtime on 0.5GB. I have since gone to T-Mobile at a significant savings over Verizon (though Verizon was slightly better service at the time).

While I have my doubts about the details, pay-as-you-go would work really well for many cruisers who only occasionally venture very far off shore.

Peter

The total monthly cost would depend on how much data you use. 20GB @ $2/GB = $40 on top of the $150 = $190.

Keep in mind though you manually turn on and off priority data. If you leave it on and sit in port it will use that priority data so you would want to use the app and only turn it on when you need it.

Would be ideal if SpaceX offered a "only use priority data when basic data is not available (i.e. oceans)" but they don't currently.

 

[mvweebles]

The total monthly cost would depend on how much data you use. 20GB @ $2/GB = $40 on top of the $150 = $190.



Keep in mind though you manually turn on and off priority data. If you leave it on and sit in port it will use that priority data so you would want to use the app and only turn it on when you need it.



Would be ideal if SpaceX offered a "only use priority data when basic data is not available (i.e. oceans)" but they don't currently.

Agree that auto-engage would be ideal. But $2/GB is definitely affordable. At least for a couple weeks until Elon changes his mind.

Statistical - have tracked your comments here on TF and also on CF. Thank you for your posts - important topic for many right now, myself included. Peter

 

[Sababa]

Sababa, were you on the ocean, where were you in the past 60 days

I’ve only been in Puget Sound within the land-based coverage cells. I’m not sure if they are tracking use on the water in coastal areas or if this is a result of my having raised a stink with their customer service rep about what their plans mean (or meant—see earlier in this thread).

Regardless, I’m inclined to leave as is while I’m in inside waters just to see what happens. If I continue to receive adequate best effort service in motion then fine. If it doesn’t work I’ll go on and toggle the opt-in metered mobile data.

 

[Fletcher500]

Sababa, I have never boated in your area. To clarify, you were in the area that is mostly marked off as a covered location for land per SL? See attached.

Surprised they were able to pin point you as being in the “ocean” when most of that grid is covered for land.

On the FB SL site no one had reported that message, but I have not checked in there for a few days.

I also only want to do coastal, and the SL map shows the same deal down here but it sounds like I may get the same message as you.

 

[klee wyck]

That was a mass mailing. My boat is tied to the dock in La Paz and I got the same email. Same chatter over on Southbound group.
My strategy will be to ignore it until I get cut off. I am never really offshore.

 

[Sababa]

Sababa, I have never boated in your area. To clarify, you were in the area that is mostly marked off as a covered location for land per SL? See attached.

Surprised they were able to pin point you as being in the “ocean” when most of that grid is covered for land.

On the FB SL site no one had reported that message, but I have not checked in there for a few days.

I also only want to do coastal, and the SL map shows the same deal down here but it sounds like I may get the same message as you.

No, I haven’t been in any of those “holes” in the last 60 days. I’m pretty confident they flagged me for this due to my exchange with customer support where I said I’d been using it on the water near land and wanted to know if that was included in their definition of “land-based service.” Apparently not.

 

[heysteve]

From Starlink today:
Over the past 60 days, your Starlink has been used in areas that violate the terms and conditions of your service plan: your plan does not include service on the ocean.
<snip>
Opt-in to Mobile Priority Data per GB: Opt-in to purchase Mobile Priority Data by the GB, if you are on a Mobile plan ("Roam"). This is a metered option - all data consumed when opted-in will be charged on your next monthly bill. You can opt-out at any time.

I'm in La Paz and just received this email. Just SoC cruising so I assume by "ocean" they mean anything not on land. I wonder how precise their location data is... if I'm in a marina slip am I on the ocean?

Their grammar is poor, but it appears that you cannot choose the Mobile Priority Data if you've been grandfathered in with portability as I don't see that option. Presumably you must first change your plan to the new "Roam" service plan then you can do what the email suggests.

Manually turning the Priority Data switch on and off sounds fairly annoying to say the least.