Travel with Kevin and Ruth: Thinking about Starlink Satellite Internet

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Thinking about Starlink Satellite Internet

Actually, we're not only thinking about it, we've decided that we want it! There's only one thing stopping us.

Before we left Canada, we signed up for a cellular data plan that includes 100GB of data per month that works seamlessly in Canada, U.S., and Mexico. We've learned that if we want to use the data without feeling limited, 100GB per month suits our usage needs.

This worked perfectly fine for November and December when we spent much of our time in Valle de Bravo. However our plan uses the AT&T network here in Mexico, rather than the much more widely distributed Telcel network. In Valle de Bravo, we had a strong AT&T signal, while here in Valle de Juarez, there is no signal at all. So we have had to buy a Telcel SIM card for backup, and their data is much more expensive.

The town of Valle de Juarez.

I've known about Starlink, but really hadn't done very much research. But when we were with Aron and Owenita and Roger and Mona at the beginning of the month, we learned that they are both using Starlink. Sue and Roy are also using Starlink here at the house.

So I asked a lot of questions and learned a bit more about it. And it's exactly what we need. I actually wish we had got set up with it before we left Canada, but we didn't, so that's hindsight. But also, they have some new hardware available that is smaller in design, and uses less power which is an important consideration for those of us living life with batteries and solar panels.

The Starlink Mini is now on the market. It's exactly what we want. The only problem is... it's not yet available in Mexico! It's available in Canada, the U.S., and most of Central America... but not Mexico! And I've tried finding out when it's expected to be available, but to no avail.

We could take a trip to Guatemala and bring one back. Pricing is different in different regions, and Guatemala is one of the cheaper ones. The price for the hardware including shipping would be the equivalent of $230 USD ($333 CAD).

Once you have the hardware, the monthly cost for unlimited internet would be the equivalent of $81 USD ($117 CAD) per month.

And in the case of travelers like us, it is truly unlimited, in the sense that we would have access to the internet anywhere we park. Provided we have enough power to run the system, we would be online literally anywhere that we have access to a clear sky line of sight.

An alternative idea is to buy the regular size hardware, which is available here in Mexico. It's quite a bit more expensive, about $385 USD ($557 CAD). Then either live with that, or buy a Mini at a later date and attempt to sell the regular one privately. I'd much prefer to simply have the Mini right off the bat. I also have a referral code from Roger (who bought his here in Mexico) that gives us one month free if we buy through Starlink Mexico.

Anyhow, that's where we stand on that idea.

Yesterday, we took a trip into town. We didn't need much in the way of vegetables, and we've often showed you how inexpensive veggies are here in Mexico. But we needed some meat and there is a new butcher in town. Sue and Roy suggested we do some rib eye steaks, and while we try to avoid red meat, you do have to live a little.

That's a big rib eye steak!

So, we bought two pieces of salmon, two large boneless skinless chicken breasts, two big rib eye steaks, and a hunk of chorizo sausage. Total of 467 pesos ($32.50 CAD, $22.50 USD).

Ruth figures we will get 7 dinners for the two of us... a total of 14 meals out of all that.