UK consumers are facing a surcharge of almost £200 (€235) over and above the initial signing on fee because of Starlink network congestion in some parts of the country, according to a report from Fibre Compare, Geoff Pestell, CEO at comparison site Fibre Compare, has commented on Starlink’s new surcharge and its impact on new customers. He also highlights Starlink’s emerging rival, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, and outlines how it could compare to Starlink’s offering.
“The latest surcharge applies to customers in the South-East of England, predominantly in London. It has been introduced as a one-time fee for new customers activating residential service plans in areas experiencing high network demand. The fee is intended to manage network congestion and support infrastructure improvements. You can check if your area is impacted by the fee on Starlink’s website,” said Fibre Compare.
“Other regions across the UK are currently not subject to the surcharge, though they may incur the fee if congestion arises in their locality. Starlink’s services are costly, when compared to average broadband prices — so this surcharge may put customers off until the areas are capable of meeting demand,” the report added.
Starlink’s UK residential services start from £75 per month, with a £299 equipment fee — speeds may vary depending on your location.
Pestell also highlights a possible future choice for would-be satellite subscribers, from Amazon’s Project Kuiper, noting: “More UK households could soon gain access to satellite broadband services, as Amazon enters the market. The company is aiming to revolutionize internet connectivity through satellite technology with the launch of Project Kuiper — in fact, their internet satellite fleet will soon be going into orbit, with the launch date confirmed (April 28th).”
“Similar to Starlink, Kuiper will provide a satellite terminal and a router to enable Wi-Fi access in your property. Kuiper was launched in 2018 and received approval from the FCC in 2020 for Amazon to deploy satellites. Two prototype satellites were successfully placed into low-Earth orbit in October 2023,” Pestell added.
Amazon has not yet unveiled pricing for its Kuiper satellite broadband services. However, according to its Innovation Page, the company aims to provide affordable services similar to its eero, Fire TV, and Ring packages. Prices will likely vary depending on the Kuiper variants.
“Amazon is expected to launch Kuiper services later this year and then carry out beta testing in the latter half of the year. If all goes according to plan, this could indicate that public services will be accessible in Q4 of this year, with the UK being among the first nations to do so,” continued Fibre Compare.
Kuiper is expected to offer three variants, delivering different speeds. Compared with fibre broadband and similar to Starlink’s capabilities, it is unlikely that the service will provide symmetrical download and upload speeds — one of the downsides of satellite broadband.
• The ultra-compact model will offer speeds of up to 100 Mbps – ideal for everyday HD streaming or remote working.
• The standard model will deliver up to 400 Mbps, capable of 4K streaming and high-fidelity music streaming.
• The largest model will be reserved for business, government, and other telecommunications applications, offering speeds of up to 1 Gbps.
