Starlink is launching gigabit download speeds for existing users as fees may rise

Starlink will deliver gigabit downloads from its satellite network in 2026, just as promised, but the blazing speeds will first be available to owners of its most expensive equipment.

According to the memo that Starlink sent to enterprise clients, those Business Maritime plan users who paid $1,999 for its latest Performance Kit and are paying a monthly fee of at least $250 for the lowest 50 GB tier would enjoy doubling of their speeds by the end of December.

In short, Starlink customers bobbing around on ships and yachts could soon see download speeds nudging toward 1 Gbps as long as they own the Performance Gen 3 terminal, but their monthly bill may grow along with their bandwidth. The current spec sheet lists that dish at 475 Mbps down and 75 Mbps up, essentially the same as those of the Standard Kit that goes for $349 on Amazon, so doubling the download side would put maritime connections close to gigabit territory indeed.

Land-based business customers will reportedly get gigabit speeds in 2027 as the timing lines up with SpaceX's V3 satellite deployment roadmap. The company is targeting Monday for the Starship Flight 14 launch, which is expected to carry a batch of V3 satellites into orbit. As big as a Boeing 737 when their solar panels are unfurled, the V3 satellites offer 10x the throughput of the current V2 kit but need to be shot up with SpaceX's giant Starship rocket that is still undergoing test flights.

Elon Musk has previously said that the V3 constellation needs to reach serious numbers before Starlink can flip the gigabit switch broadly. Just the small inaugural batch it will launch on September 28 will add 3% capacity to the whole Starlink satellite Internet network.

There, however, might be some pricing shifts on the way as Starlink is apparently renaming its Local Priority and Global Priority tiers to Business Plan and Global Business Plan starting December 1, alongside a UK price hike and a new cap limiting Business Plan users to 30 days of service outside their home region before they get pushed onto the costlier Global tier.

Starlink already charges up to $2,150 a month for its top 2 TB business plan at today's 400 Mbps peak speeds, yet it wouldn't be surprising if faster maritime throughput arrived with some kind of new pricing structure attached. The V3 satellites will bring a drastic 24x boost in uploads as well, though the up to 160 Gbps bandied about may not materialize right away with the first batch that is just about to be launched.