Starlink for travellers, overlanders, 4x4ers & campers [2023 update]

Do you travel in remote areas, outside mobile phone reception, yet also want or need high-speed Internet access?

Maybe Starlink is for you. It’s a satellite-based high-speed Internet access system, and there’s coverage pretty much everywhere in the world.

You will need to carry a satellite dish and a means to power it, usually a pure-sine inverter of at least 400w. It isn’t an emergency communications system, but once set up you’ll have nice quick Internet access, often better than you would be experiencing at your home. You can even use it to rescue a kitten.

In the video below I explain what Starlink is, and isn’t, go over the current options for subscription, and talk about my experience as a travelling Starlink user. That’s as of March 2023, but the Starlink systems is evolving and with it also the accessories – so further on in this blog post I’ve made a list of some useful Starlink accessories that I didn’t cover in the video.

Starlink Accessories

Here’s some accessories I didn’t mention in the video but will in the next update:

• Multi-Reel cable management – the Starlink cable is quite long as it’s designed for buildings, not caravans. Most travellers need just 2-3 metres not 30, so they use shorter cables. But it’s nice to have the option of a longer cable…but where do you store it? Here’s the answer, you put it in a Multi-Reel which can also be used to store a variety of other ropes, hoses and cables (the link below is an affiliate link using the code SLRP1 for $ off compact Multi-Reels or Starlinkpack:) https://flatoutmultireel.com.au/collections/starlink-rv-cable-reel?l2sfbc
• Starlink Carry Bags – again, Starlink isn’t really designed to be portable yet so there’s no bag. Fortunately, there’s now a few different carry-case options; here’s one https://outcamp.com.au/products/starlink-satellite-carry-bag?variant=42090711777471 and here’s another https://www.drifta.com.au/product/drifta-starlink-bag/
• Mounts and adaptors – this shop has a few useful mounts and adaptors. Not specific to travellers, but useful for making a mount for your RV or caravan. https://spacetek.com.au/collections/starlink-mounts

Did I miss anything? Send me a contact note!

More Starlink info

This section is additional information and links to go with the video:

• Known locations where Starlink works in Australia – the official Starlink coverage map is here -> https://www.starlink.com/map
• User generated map -shows known ground stations with locations of users who have confirmed Starlink works for them. As of early 2022 it is useful as a guide to coverage, but may not be updated.

• Real-time Starlink satellite map – hows, in real-time, the location of each Starlink satellite. The coverage areas are shown by the green cells – https://satellitemap.space/#
• Tuck’s Truck – brilliant resource for those who really want to understand Starlink tech for overlanders. https://tuckstruck.net/starlink/
• Starlink satellites live tracker – https://satellitemap.space/

• Community stats about Starlink – stats about Starlink gathered from actual users across the world. https://starlinkstatus.space/

Starlink webinar

I held a webinar where I interviewed Marcus Tuck, who is almost certainly the most experienced Starlink traveller in the world, and discussed emergency communications for remote travelers, as well as how Starlink and other systems work. This blog post contains the video recording and various links about remote communication systems.

Will Starlink replace satphones for 4×4 overlanders?

This video is old, as in January 2022! I’ve kept it around Unlisted for historical purposes, and it’s interesting to see just how far Starlink has come in the last year or so.