Starlink has just been introduced in the US territories of Guam as well as the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
The introduction of the service in the Pacific Ocean territories follows recent launches in the Maldives, Benin, Georgia, Zambia, The Bahamas, and many more.
Starlink is currently licensed to operate in 66 countries, plus many territories such as Puerto Rico or Réunion.
In 2023 alone, Starlink has expanded into 20 countries. Many more, including juggernauts like India or Indonesia, are on the verge of being approved, too.
Meanwhile, Starlink also managed to grow to over 2 million customers and got rid of the waitlist requirements for its Residential tier in the US.
As a result, the business has now become cashflow positive according to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, a stepping stone in his ambition to colonize Mars.
Interestingly, Guam and CNMI are priced differently when it comes to Starlink’s Residential package.
In Guam, citizen are charged USD 70 per month, plus USD 620 for hardware and shipping. In CNMI, it costs USD 65/month, on top of USD 625 for hardware and shipment.
According to various Facebook posts, the Northern Mariana Islands were whitelisted a few days prior to Guam for Residential service.
But even prior to that, Starlink was actually being used by the residents of both territories. Most of them simply subscribed to the Global Roam tier, which cost USD 200/month.
Connections from Guam to Starlink would end up at a ground station in Japan, thus providing users with a Japanese IP address and making services like Hulu or HBO inaccessible.
It remains to be seen whether Starlink will now route the request to another ground station, especially considering the increased deployment of its Gen 2 Mini sats, which feature inter-satellite connectivity.
This is awesome
I concur!
Fabulous… Welcome to Guam and the CNMI Starlink.
Having using Starlink now for just over two weeks in Guam, I’m happy to report this is fantastic option for internet service. I’ve experienced download speeds up to 220 mbps and uploads to 30 with clear skies. With overcast and rain I’ve experienced speeds about 1/2 of those with clear skies… Still very impressive. Your experience may differ.
Will in work on Wake island? That’s in-between Hawaii and Guam?
Hi Scott, yes it should.