According to a report from the Financial Times, the price of a Starlink satellite terminal has doubled in Ukranian due to increased demand and Russian attacks on the country's electrical grid.
The Starlink terminals in Ukraine are going to increase in price. According to emails sent to Ukrainian Starlink customers, the monthly subscription will increase from $60 to $75 on December 29th, though this is still cheaper than its original $100 rate, which was dropped back in August. A Starlink dish costs $600 in the US and $110 per month.
It is not clear whether the Ukrainian government will be impacted by these price increases. According to the Financial Times, prices have gone up for individual users in Poland, but are still the same in most of Europe.
After Russia invaded the country on February 24th, a request was made to Musk to support the service inUkraine. In areas where mobile networks are unavailable, the Ukrainian military has used Starlink units.
Russia is attempting to cripple the country's energy grid by bombing it and Ukraine is trying to restore services that have been disrupted. As Starlink uses direct satellite connections to deliver a signal, it isn't impacted by the attacks, leaving many civilians in areas reclaimed from Russian forces dependent on the service to maintain critical communications. The demand for Starlink has gone up in the last few weeks.
It is possible that the price increase is how the company will be able to recover previous losses. In September, the company asked the Pentagon to pay for additional Starlink terminals for Ukraine, as well as pay for ongoing costs, after Musk claimed that the company was losing $20 million a month. Musk promised to continue funding satellite internet service in Ukranian even if it meant the company lost money.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
