‘This Will Change the World’: Elon Unveils Starlink for Backpackers

The Starlink Mini is the latest and most compact internet terminal from Elon Musk's satellite internet company yet. It will allow users to take their Wi-Fi signal deep into the backcountry and almost anywhere else.

Photo byGoPro

Starlink released its latest, smallest, and most portable internet terminal yet in U.S. markets this week, the Starlink Mini. Now, backpackers, river rats, world travelers, and anyone else who lives out of a pack can access Wi-Fi anywhere they set this device up. The satellite internet provider also released a new internet plan with the Mini called Roam. Both are add-ons for existing Residential plans.

The portable dish measures 11.75 x 10.2 x 1.45 in. — slightly larger than a standard laptop. And at 2.5 pounds, it weighs about as much as one.

Starlink described the Mini as a “compact, portable kit that can easily fit in a backpack, designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet on the go.”

Starlink Mini Roam: Wi-Fi Where It’s Never Gone Before

Photo byStarlink

At $600, the Mini is $100 more than Starlink’s Residential units. Adding the Mini Roam service to an existing Residential plan will cost an additional $30 per month (on top of the $160 per month Residential plan).

Users get 50 GB of data monthly with the Roam plan and can purchase additional data for $1 per GB. You can’t get the Mini or Roam plan without an existing Residential plan — at least, not yet.

With the purchase of a Mini, customers get the terminal, a kickstand, gen-3 router, Starlink cable, AC cable, and power supply unit. According to the website, billing for the Roam service is paid in 1-month increments and can be canceled at any time.

It’s important to note that the Mini has no internal power, so you’ll need a power source. In a true backpacking scenario, the Mini with a power bank will only get you limited access to the internet.

According to The Verge, “the Mini kit consumes an average of just 20-40W … that means you can power the Mini dish for two to three hours from something like an Anker Prime 27,650mAh (99.54Wh) power bank, or a little over an hour with smaller 10,000mAh (40Wh) portable batteries you might already have laying about.”

According to Starlink, the Mini uses even less power than other Starlink terminals but still delivers over 100Mbps internet speeds. However, Starlink specifies that the Roam plan only provides this service “on land,” meaning it is not available for ocean use.

The Mini Roam setup instructions on the webpage only include two steps: Plug it in; Point at sky.

“I just set it up right now and am writing this post through space,” Starlink founder Elon Musk posted to X on June 16. “Took less than 5 mins. Easily carried in a backpack. This product will change the world.”

Regional Rollout

While the Starlink Mini and Roam plan is new in the U.S., it is not new globally. Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Panama have all had access to this device and Mini Service or Mobile-Regional Service plans since earlier in 2024.

Starlink first became available in 2019 and has grown to become a global leader in providing internet to rural areas. Today, the brand claims to have over 3 million customers worldwide. It recently made headlines for introducing the internet to uncontacted tribes in the Amazon.

The Starlink Mini is now available for purchase online in the U.S. Get yours and add a Roam plan to your existing Residental plan, and take your signal deep into the backcountry, way off-grid, where no Wi-Fi has gone before. You’ll never have an excuse to miss another email.