It was last February 2021 when we got an email from Starlink inviting us to reserve and put down a $499 non-refundable down payment for the Starlink Kit.
By February 2023, Starlink became official in the Philippines and anyone who is interested may get it with a one-time payment of Php 29,320 fee for the hardware and a monthly recurring fee of Php 2,700 for the satellite internet service.
While the satellite kit was a bit prohibitive, the monthly fee of only Php 2,700 was a rather attractive offer. It was very competitive even when compared to regular fixed broadband fiber services and even against fixed mobile broadband services (5G).
Even more attractive was the ability to bring it anywhere (especially remote areas) in the Philippines and get the same internet service. So, while you are in the (fixed) Residential Plan, you can switch anytime to the Mobile – Regional Plan of only Php 3,300 for a month and be able to bring your Starlink on every camping trip or out-of-town AirBnB vacation. Once the trip is over and you return back home, switch back to the Residential Plan.
So, for my situation, this is a great solution because of the versatility and affordability of Starlink. Use it at home as a secondary (back-up) internet for my fiber broadband, take it with me on my weekend visits to the farm where cellular signal is very weak, and then bring it on our quarterly YugaTech team-building out-of-town.
By the way, prior to Starlink, we were testing out Kacific satellite internet at the farm for about a year. So yes, before Starlink, I am already familiar with the old-school satellite internet, which was very expensive, not very fast and prone to weather disturbances.
For many users in my situation, Starlink was heaven-sent. Up to 300Mbps downstream, 20 – 40ms latency (big yay! for Mobile Legends players) and a MSF that has gotten the attention of all local ISPs.
Fast forward today: the current Residential Plan now costs Php 4,099 per month. You want unlimited roaming? That’s Php 5,999. That’s 52% in crease in a span of 3 years (80% increase on roaming). Ouch!
An almost yearly price increase on the basic Starlink plan is hard to bear it almost feel like this was a bait-and-switch scheme where you’ve committed to something that becomes hard to swallow. And who knows, Starlink will most likely increase the monthly fees again next year.
Now, here we are, facing the very basic question we did not think we’d ask ourselves this soon — is Starlink still worth it?
* If you’re in a location where traditional wired broadband is non-existent and cellular signal is erratic, I’d say Starlink is still the clear choice. It’s fast, consistent and reliable despite the higher monthly fees.
* If you are in an area where there’s 4G to 5G signal, it’s going to be a toss up between a fixed wireless plan or Starlink. In my case, the farm is now powered by a PLDT 5G WiFi prepaid plan that only costs Php 1,299 a month. That’s less than 1/3 the price of a basic Starlink residential plan. It’s not as fast and as consistent (maxes at 30-40Mbps at night and 10 – 20Mbps at day time) but works just fine to run Netflix and about half a dozen TAPO CCTVs.
For remote areas with good 5G signal, Starlink might still be a reasonable choice if you are going to share the connection with a couple of neighbors and share the monthly fee (Note that Starlink has limitations on using Starlink residential plan to run a business like Piso WiFi or net cafe. See terms and conditions.)
* If you’re in the city with regular fiber broadband and looking for a back-up internet, Starlink is no longer an affordable choice. I’ve gone ahead and applied for a Globe GFiber Prepaid as the secondary or back-up connection.
For the past 3 years, Starlink has enjoyed a lot of positive PR and a surge in demand. However, the recent string of price increases are causing a lot of subscribers like me to take a pause and seriously reconsider whether it still makes sense to keep using Starlink in the near future.
Perhaps Starlink needs a direct competitor. There are actually 2 more satellite internet service providers that are planning to open up service in the Philippines this year.
Given that, I will eagerly wait until the end of the year to reconsider. For now, all I can do is “pause” the Starlink account for Php 320 a month and wait and see.