Comms and Signal · Starlink
Starlink Mini on the Roam Plan
Internet from the sky, in a backpack; this link adds a free month of service
Options at starlink.com
- Roam 100 GB$55.00/mo
- Roam 300 GB$80.00/mo
- Roam Unlimited$175.00/mo
Worth the upgrade
Why it's on my list
The backbone of my backup-internet and off-grid comms pages. Standby Mode keeps the plan alive for a small monthly fee and still allows emergency messaging; when you need full speed you upgrade in the app with a few taps. Order through this link and you receive one month of free service 30 days after activation.
- Opens the brand's store in a new tab; the order, shipping and support are theirs
- I earn a commission on this link at no cost to you
- Price read from the brand's page; checked 20 days ago
What it is
The compact Starlink kit with the router built in, small enough for a backpack, on the Roam plan: up to 300+ Mbps, plug and play, works in motion, Standby Mode pauses the plan for a small monthly fee and still allows emergency messaging, 30-day trial. Roam 100 GB and 300 GB cover the US and Canada; Unlimited covers 160+ countries. The backbone of the backup-internet guide; the Star-Batt and the K1S are what run it with the grid down.
What it is
The backpack-sized Starlink, on a plan you can park at $10 a month and still use
The dish is the backbone of my backup internet guide and my favorite trick on the off-grid communication page. Cell towers need grid power and die within hours of it; the satellites are in orbit and the dish talks to them directly, so as long as you can power the Mini you have internet. The move that makes it a prep instead of a bill: run it a month to learn it, then drop to Standby Mode, which still passes about half a megabit, unlimited. The Star-Batt page is the box I'd run it from.
The plans
Roam, month to month, changed from the app
Why it matters
Roam has no contract: change tiers or drop to Standby from the app, month to month. The 100 GB plan is the one to learn the dish on; after the cap it falls to unlimited low-speed rather than cutting off. My page tracks the prices as of its last edit; the kit price is at checkout, and my link adds a free month 30 days after activation.
The numbers
- Roam 100 GB: high-speed data, then unlimited low-speed after the cap; US and Canada
- Roam 300 GB: US and Canada
- Roam Unlimited: 160-plus countries
- 30-day trial on the hardware
Standby Mode
The $10 a month that keeps the dish alive in the closet
Why it matters
Standby parks the service at $10 a month and still includes unlimited low-speed data at around 0.5 Mbps, with latency of 20 to 30 milliseconds, so messaging apps feel responsive. Half a megabit is email, texts, Wi-Fi calling when the cell network is down, weather and forecasts, and a status check-in with family. When something big hits, bump the plan back up from the app, through the dish's own connection, and full speed is back in minutes. The fine print: the free pause ended in 2025, Standby launched at $5 and doubled to $10 in 2026, and nothing stops it moving again; price it into the plan.
What half a megabit gets you
- About 0.5 Mbps, unlimited, best effort
- Email, texting, Wi-Fi calling, weather pages, Signal
- Upgrade to full speed from the app in minutes, over the dish itself
- About $120 a year to keep satellite internet in the closet
The hardware
Dish, router and modem in one panel the size of a laptop
Why it matters
Under three pounds, fits in a backpack, needs a clear view of the sky and a power source. It accepts 12 to 48 volts straight through its barrel jack, which is how the pocket kit and the Star-Batt feed it without an inverter. It pulls 20 to 40 watts running and spikes to 40 to 60 while it boots and hunts for satellites, so undersized cables drop out right when the dish is trying to lock on; buy the 100 W-rated cable, not the 65.
The numbers
- Dish, router and modem in one flat panel, under 3 lb
- Works in motion; up to 300-plus Mbps on a full plan
- 12 to 48 V DC in through a 5.5 x 2.1 mm barrel jack
- 20 to 40 W running, 40 to 60 W while booting
- Standby latency 20 to 30 ms
Powering it when the grid is down
The four kits on my backup internet page
Why it matters
A dish with no power is a frisbee. My backup internet page runs the same Mini off four different batteries, cheapest to most capable, and my portable solar guide charts the Mini at about 25 hours on a DELTA 3 Classic alone, indefinitely with the panel out. What stops working in the first hours of an outage is on the blackout guide.
The options
- Pocket kit: Zoupw K1S, 3 to 4 hours continuous, flies carry-on
- Basecamp kit: Star-Batt Mini, 18 to 24 hours, weatherproof, one piece
- Solar kit: DELTA 3 Classic and a 400 W panel, no countdown
- Tool battery and inverter: about 6 hours per 10 Ah pack, if the batteries are already yours
The backup internet kits on my list
Where it earns its place
- Backup Internet with Starlink Mini and Portable PowerA running list of ways to power a Starlink Mini off-grid, with plan costs, the Standby Mode downgrade, and runtimes from a pocket power stat…
- Off-Grid Communication Options (No Cell Service Required)My ranked rundown of ways to communicate when cell towers go dark, from satellite texting and Starlink Mini standby to Meshtastic, GMRS, ham…
More in Comms and Signal
Radios that work with no tower, a booster for a weak one, and internet from the sky.