SpaceX enters shopping malls with dedicated Starlink satellite Internet stores
Starlink is expanding both its online and physical retail presence across the US. After bringing its devices like routers, rooftop mounts, the Standard Kit, or Mini dish to Amazon, it has now opened its first retail store.
This has been expected, as SpaceX has been looking to man the position of Starlink Store Manager for a while now, but the ad was for Bakersfield, California.
The first physical Starlink store, however, is located in the "Midwest's #1 Shopping Destination," or the Nebraska Crossing shopping mall. The job posting for California still stands, though, and there are also three other locations incoming, two more in Nebraska, and one in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Starlink retail store locations
- Westroads Mall in Omaha, NE
- Nebraska Crossings in Gretna, NE
- South Pointe in Lincoln, NE
- Empire Mall in Sioux Falls, SD
The first dedicated Starlink stores seem to target underserved regions where Starlink is yet to gain a critical mass of customers. In Gretna, NE, where the first Starlink shop is located, for instance, there is no congestion fee charged for initial installation like in busy for SpaceX's satellite Internet regions. The Starlink Standard Kit is also offered there for free in the form of a rental with $0 monthly fee, and about the only satellite Internet affordability program of Starlink not offered there is the base $40 Residential plan with 100 Mbps speed limit.
Ditto for the other locations in Nebraska and South Dakota, where Starlink will be offering its own shops. The Starlink store offers equipment like dishes, routers, or mounts, as well as installation advice, direct customer service, and even merch, so that people who want to get their Internet in rural and underserved areas have a physical place to go to and ask questions.
"Visit our new store locations to purchase, activate, and pick up your Starlink Kit in person," says a customer memo, as SpaceX advises to "take the opportunity to learn about installation, speeds, reliability, and more" in the flesh.
