SpaceX fans furious after Starlink hikes prices up to $110 a MONTH – on top of $600 initial fee

ELON Musk’s satellite-based internet provider Starlink is getting pricier.

The memo sent to customers cited inflation as the singular cause of the price hike.

It will cost a pretty penny to have your internet beamed in from Musk's constellation of satellites — It will cost a pretty penny to have your internet beamed in from Musk’s constellation of satellites

Disgruntled customers took to Twitter to express their frustration with Starlink's price jump — Disgruntled customers took to Twitter to express their frustration with Starlink’s price jumpCredit: Twitter

Starlink is a subdivision of SpaceX and the two businesses have worked in tandem to fill the sky with over 2,000 satellites.

The service provides connection to 250,000 subscribers in 25 countries.

Based on these numbers, Starlink will bring in $27.5million in monthly revenue on subscription fees – a mere drop in the bucket for SpaceX, which is valued at $100billion and currently charges $55million for a joy ride in a SpaceX rocket.

This makes the price jump doubly confusing – Starlink is not a cash cow for Musk or SpaceX.

In fact, part of Starlink’s ethos is to provide service to those in need of connection, like people in rural areas.

Musk even sent 5,000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine after a Ukrainian official tweeted at the billionaire saying the country needed the internet after Russia sabotaged their connection to the outside world.

The Verge reported that Starlink kits are manufactured for $1,300 and sold at a loss, further pushing the narrative that Starlink is a well-meaning initiative undertaken by the richest man in the world – as opposed to a profit driver.

Starlink has disappointed before – the company went back on its word when Starlink President Gwynne Shotwell promised there would be no tier system and then developed a premium service that runs at an even higher cost.

Most read in Tech

Nintendo fans slam Sonic Switch controller design and claim they 'can't unsee it'

Nasa confirms 5,000 more planets beyond Solar System including rocky Super-Earths

Overall, the internet speed provided by Starlink is on par with standard fiber optic connection in densely populated areas, and much better than the connection powering sparsely populated states like Idaho and Montana.

Musk spoke at the Mobile World Congress conference last June and said he hoped to have over 500,000 users within the next 12 months – nine months later, the company is inching toward that goal but turning some potential clients away with the price hike.

Users who committed to Starlink at the original price within the last 30 days have the option to claim a full refund.

Starlink clients who joined within the last year are eligible for a partial refund of $200 while those caught in the middle of signing up can pay a reduced price of $549 for a kit.