Starlink's first Wi-Fi 7 router surfaces in FCC filings

SpaceX appears to have developed its first Wi-Fi 7 router for Starlink. An FCC filing from Thursday, first spotted by a user on Reddit, shows a router built around Wi-Fi 7, a first for Starlink, which has used Wi-Fi 6 hardware until now.

SpaceX filed the device under the model number UTR-261, and it appears to be the next version of the Router Mini (UTR-251), which was approved by the FCC back in April of last year and became Starlink's newest router at the time.

The filing links the router to 802.11be in its EHT20 and EHT40 modes. That is the technical name for Wi-Fi 7. The router still works with older Wi-Fi bands too. In simple terms, this should mean lower delay and more room for several devices to share one connection at once. It will not make the satellite connection itself faster, though. Starlink dishes are still limited to about 400Mbps, well below what Wi-Fi 7 hardware can handle. SpaceX has said it wants to push the service toward gigabit speeds one day, but that depends on upgrades to the satellites and dishes, not the router.

The design also looks more capable, as diagrams in the filing show two Ethernet ports and a USB-C port. That is double the single port on the Router Mini. The router also seems built to run on Power over Ethernet as well as a normal AC adapter.

SpaceX asked the FCC to keep photos of the device and its manual private for 180 days, so we still do not know what it looks like. What the filing does confirm is that it is made in Vietnam and meant for indoor use only. That fits with a separate FCC decision last month that gave Starlink a temporary exception from the ban on new foreign-made routers. That exception was likely needed before a Vietnam-made router like this one could be sold in the US at all.

Starlink also recently announced the V5 dish. It is noticeably smaller and lighter than the older V4 and uses less power, too. However, getting there meant a few trade-offs. The V5 is not built for use while moving. Its top speed is a bit lower at 375+ Mbps, and it launched without Standby Mode, the option that lets V4 users keep their connection active at a slower speed instead of paying full price or canceling.