Starlink FAQ
See the Starlink FAQ below. Contact Concord to help get your yacht up to speed with Starlink satellite internet.
Latest Starlink Info
Why Choose Concord Marine Electronics for Your Yacht's Starlink System?
When considering a high-performance internet system such as Starlink for your yacht, Concord Marine Electronics, the Best Marine Electronics Company in Fort Lauderdale, emerges as your ideal choice for maritime satellite internet.- No Additional Fees:
With Concord Marine Electronics, you avoid the extra costs often imposed by authorized Starlink resellers. We facilitate direct contracts with Starlink for your monthly airtime, ensuring no additional fees are added to your yacht satellite broadband - a staple of Fort Lauderdale Marine Electronics.
- Expert Yacht Installation:
As a Marine Electronics Expert and Local Marine Electronics Specialist, Concord Marine Electronics not only offers Starlink High Performance equipment but also provides expert installation, tailored for the maritime environment. Our experienced team ensures proper setup, addressing unique challenges faced by yachts, and optimizing your onboard network for the best high-speed internet, including Satellite Internet Services Fort Lauderdale and Marine Satellite TV Fort Lauderdale.
- Equipment Availability:
Strategically located inside the Lauderdale Marine Center, we maintain a ready stock of Starlink High-Performance Systems, offering immediate solutions for yacht broadband connectivity.
- 24/7 Yacht Tech Support:
As a 5 Star Marine Electronics Florida provider, Concord Marine Electronics offers around-the-clock technical support for your yacht internet access. Our team is available 24/7, ready to assist with any challenges with your Starlink system.
- In Summary:
Opting for a Starlink High-Performance System from Concord Marine Electronics means investing in a high-quality system, expertly installed, without additional monthly fees, backed by comprehensive 24/7 tech support.
Click here to request a price list.
Concord Marine Electronics' Starlink FAQ for Yachts:
For optimal performance, the Mobile High-Performance antenna is recommended, compatible with all available Starlink plans. This is the best choice for Expert Starlink Marine Installation South Florida.
Starlink currently offers no data caps for yacht broadband services, fitting perfectly with the needs of Marine Satellite TV Fort Lauderdale and Viasat Marine Internet Florida users.
Contact Concord Marine Electronics, your Reliable Viasat Marine Internet Provider Lauderdale for detailed airtime costs.
Starlink is known for its exceptional performance, although there are occasional interruptions. Concord Marine Electronics, being a Trusted Marine Satellite TV and internet provider, can offer solutions to minimize these disruptions.
Starlink Maritime, Verizon 5G & AT&T Blender
Our [MDS Blender Marine Installation] service seamlessly integrates multiple 5G and Starlink systems, ensuring a reduction in internet dropouts.
How Starlink Maritime Blender Works
The Mobile High-Performance Flat Panel version is recommended for consistent and reliable service, a service proudly offered by High-Rated Marine Electronics Near Lauderdale Marine Center.
Our technicians at Concord Marine Electronics are highly experienced in Starlink installations, ensuring that you receive the best service in Fort Lauderdale.
We offer the Mobile High-Performance Flat Panel antenna, ideal for yachts in motion and international travel.
Starlink offers extensive coverage, continually expanding with new satellite launches, a key feature for maritime connectivity.
Direct tech support for Starlink is available through email, with Concord Marine Electronics providing additional support and guidance.
We assist with warranty support, and streamlining communication with Starlink for any repairs or replacements needed.
Various factors can affect the performance of your Starlink system, which our experts at Concord Marine Electronics can help mitigate.
The key difference lies in latency, with Viasat generally having higher latency compared to Starlink. Concord Marine Electronics offers both systems, providing tailored solutions to fit your maritime internet needs.
Click here to request a price list.
For more information or to schedule your Starlink installation, contact Concord Marine Electronics today at +1 954 779 1100. We are your go-to source for Fort Lauderdale Marine Electronics, offering expert solutions and unparalleled service.
Links:
Starlink News
4G/5G Yacht Internet
Viasat Satellite Interent
Marine Data Solutions Provider
Starlink Info
See Updated Text Below
Tech Talk video dialog with Captain Douglas Meier from “The Bottom Line – Yacht Industry News” and Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions.
Filmed December 2022, some details have been updated in this text version.Captain Douglas Meier:
This week on Tech Talk, we’re going to be talking about Starlink, what it can do, what it can’t do and where it’s going. We’re going to utilize Mike Robilio’s knowledge. He’s from Marine Data Solutions, and he’s going to give us an update on what’s going on with Starlink. Hi Mike, so Starlink constellation of low Earth orbit satellites, they’re all spinning simultaneously. They All look like Teslas.Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
Right, exactly…. Laughing……The Starlink satellites send Internet to a terminal that’s on your boat. There are two terminals that will work on the boat. Once called an RV, the other one is called Maritime.Starlink Internet
Captain Douglas Meier:
How much is the RV one?Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
RV is $600.00 for the hardware, and $135 a month for the airtime. Do you want me to explain to the differences right now? Yes. OK, so the RV system has been moved to “best effort” service, which means it does not have any priority service. So when you’re with your RV unit, whether you’re on land or whether you’re somewhere on the water in the Bahamas all the other dishes around you have priority over you. (Residential, business, and Maritime systems)Captain Douglas Meier:
I heard that a lot of guys were on the RV and a cruise ship pulled into the port like a vacuum and sucked all the Internet out and they were kind of like left with no service.Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
That’s exactly what happened. The cruise ships have the Maritime version, which has priority service.Captain Douglas Meier:
Can yachts get the Maritime versions?Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
Yes, they can. It’s $5,000 for the hardware and $5,000 a month for the airtime, which in the big picture is actually affordable as compared to the cost of traditional marine Vsat.Captain Douglas Meier:
Now, Marine Data Solutions, your company, you guys put this out. (holds up MDS 242 5G unit) This is a cellular based yes system, yes, this is good for about 20 miles offshore.Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
Yes, with the correct antennas, yes, 20 mile range.Captain Douglas Meier:
OK. So if you had this and then you want to go really offshore and you get Starlink, you have those two options, yes. And is the internet service the same? Is Starlink unlimited data like your sim cards?Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
The Maritime Starlink version is capped at 5 terabytes a month for $5000. When you go over that 5 terabytes, you have to pay $2.00 per GB.Captain Douglas Meier:
Per Gig? My son uses 5 Terabytes on Xbox every week !!Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
Yeah, understandable. The RV version is capped at 1 terabyte, but because you’re not priority service, the speed for RV system is limited to a maximum of 50 megs down. So they’re saying the speed on the Starlink Maritime is between 50 and 260 megs, and on the Starlink RV it’s between 5 and 50 megs is what you can expect for speeds.Captain Douglas Meier:
There’s talk online about Starlink RV geofencing offshore, and there’s talk online about if you have the RV version and you’re moving, it shuts down. Is there any truth to that?Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
Yes. What I hear is that when you’re over 10 knots, the Starlink RV does stop working, but it doesn’t do that everywhere. We hear reports that off of Baja, Mexico, it’s working great at 20 knots, and then there’s people in the Bahamas and it stops working at 10 knots. So some are having Starlink RV shutting down underway, and others are not having that issue. We can’t tell if it’s geographically a problem or if it’s just that the Starlink equipment got a different software update, we can’t tell yet. It’s so new, but there are definitely people with Starlink RV having problems receiving internet with vessel in motion.Captain Douglas Meier:
For sure. OK. And where do you see Starlink and yachts going, say in the next 12 months? Where do you see everybody? Where are we going to end up? Because it’s like nobody knows, right?Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
It’s all it’s the Wild, Wild, West right now with Starlink. They’re changing the rules as they go every day. But my expectation is going to be that the RV units will become less and less usable because they are not a priority system. And the more boats, ships and cruise ships that are out there with the maritime version, they will consume the high priority bandwidth. They’re gonna take the bandwidth that’s available in that location, and it’s not just a maritime version. So if you have a home or a business version in the Bahamas, those people with a home and a business version get their priority service and the RV gets whatever’s left over. So the RV is going to become less and less of a solid option. But there are other things coming that will help.Captain Douglas Meier:
OK last question, where’s the coverage for this system? You have this wonderful map. (Points at TV screen) This is yours? This is your network? Yes, this is really cool.Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
Yeah, this is our system.Captain Douglas Meier:
OK, but we’re talking Starlink. Where is Starlink available?Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
On the Starlink website, they’ve got a coverage map and it changes constantly as they launch more satellites.Captain Douglas Meier:
In Europe?Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
Yes, yes, the Med is completely covered. Some of South America is covered now. I think Australia’s completely covered. There’s a lot of coverage.Captain Douglas Meier:
Definitely the Caribbean, the Bahamas, yes, New England, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, all that.Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
Yeah, that’s all covered really well now.Captain Douglas Meier:
So basically, I guess what I’m gathering from this is it’s work in progress, yes, but with the cost involved. And let’s say you’re a Florida, Bahamas, Caribbean?Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
Yes, the Starlink system actually covers a lot of that ground too. It does. It covers all of it.Captain Douglas Meier:
OK, so maybe a hybrid of both systems?Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
So what’s coming is the problem with Starlink is that there’s not enough satellites up there yet. There’s less than 4000 and the constellation is scheduled to be 30,000. So we’re at 10% of coverage right now or a little more. So there’s a lot of times when there’s just not a satellite up there and so you have a 2 minute gap of no service or maybe you have a 30 second gap, which lots of people are currently experiencing.Captain Douglas Meier:
Right. And that’s what a lot of people are having happened right now. So between losing priority status and being throttled on the RV and you don’t have that quite as many satellites as we need, there’s dropouts in the service.Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
So what we’ve got coming is equipment that will blend the Starlink with the 4G and 5G systems. So the blended internet systems will eliminate those Starlink service dropouts and the user internet experience will be uninterrupted. Will also be faster than both of those systems singly. And when one or the other drops out, the other is going to give you what’s available. So what we’re trying to do is eliminate the internet service dropouts.Captain Douglas Meier:
OK, so and it’s coming, and over time it’ll be fixed with Starlink, but they’ve got to launch another thousand satellites. Is that what you’re doing?Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
Launching satellites? No…. (laughing)Captain Douglas Meier:
Well, I know you put one up the other day. No, I mean, Marine Data is going to kind of build a hybrid system.Michael Robilio from Marine Data Solutions:
Yes, yes. So we’re working with several manufacturers and we’re testing now to get that equipment ready to go where you’re going to be able to blend Starlink and 5G to have a seamless service. No matter where you go.Captain Douglas Meier:
Thank you!! All right, gang. That’s Tech Talk. It’s work in progress. There’s no cut and dry answer on what’s going on, but there’s a lot of stuff on the horizon. Thanks, Mike.Contact Concord for more Starlink info.