Starlink Will Deploy Satellite Broadband On Royal Caribbean Cruise Liners
The SpaceX internet service for boats was released last month.
Cruise ship giant Royal Caribbean has announced that it will equip its fleet with SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellite internet service. The dishes are designed to provide a “better onboard experience for guests and crews fleetwide” and will be installed on its Royal Caribbean International, Silversea Cruises, and Celebrity Cruises ships.
Earlier this year, SpaceX unveiled Starlink Maritime for watercraft for $5,000 per month, on top of a hardware investment of $10,000. In comparison, the typical residential Starlink configuration’s hardware expenses only $599, while the service costs $110 a month for 50 to 250 Mbps rates (Starlink likewise uses a premium service that costs $500 per month with up to 500Mbps speeds). The Maritime service will deliver up to 350 Mbps download speeds.
The company tested the service earlier this year, providing packages called “Voom Browse” and “Voom Surf & Stream,” according to Royal Caribbean Blog. That suggests that the service will likely be a paid upgrade, something that’s generally not affordable on cruise ships. The testers saw respectable upload and download rates and said they were able to watch YouTube and Netflix videos “with no lag or buffering.”
Those speeds might change when the service is fully commercialized, depending on how popular it is and how many Starlink dishes Royal Caribbean uses on each ship. Depending on the line, the company’s watercraft can carry anywhere from several hundred to nearly 7,000 passengers.
The cruise industry has struggled post-pandemic due to staffing, inflation, and other concerns. Starlink will be a good marketing point for Royal Caribbean, as cruise ships have notoriously poor internet service. Meanwhile, Starlink is aggressively pursuing the travel sector, announcing partnerships with Hawaiian Airlines and JSC, and recently launching a Starlink service for RVs and campers.
Read the original article on Engadget.
