SpaceX is now selling official Starlink dishes in Venezuela after activating the satellite internet service in the country. But would-be subscribers should expect a demand surcharge.
In early January, SpaceX began offering free Starlink access in Venezuela, right as the US conducted air strikes and captured the country’s former leader, Nicolás Maduro. The only problem? Local users couldn’t easily benefit from the free Starlink access since the satellite internet service was never officially sold in the country in the first place. Instead, Venezuelan users had to source Starlink dishes from the black market.
In the weeks since, SpaceX has started selling its dish hardware in local stores. Starlink’s support page lists three Venezuelan vendors—Daka, Multimax, and Soytechno—as official retailers for the satellite internet service. Daka has been advertising the sales while Soytechno created a dedicated online page, offering the standard Starlink dish for USD$469.
(Credit: Starlink)
Although Venezuela’s free Starlink access ended on Feb. 3, SpaceX is offering a 50% discount for new customers who sign up for the Residential plan. However, SpaceX has since updated a support page to note that it will start imposing an extra one-time “demand surcharge” for new sign-ups in certain areas of the country.
“Important: Beginning March 6, new Residential activations in Venezuela will include a one-time demand surcharge that varies by service address,” the company wrote.
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That’s bad news for local users. In certain parts of the US, the demand surcharge can reach $1,500, while in other areas it’s $500. In Mexico City, the surcharge is currently around $1,000.
Venezuelans without access to a reliable high-speed internet are likely trying to adopt Starlink, which uses orbiting satellites to beam broadband to users on the ground. The World Bank estimates that Venezuela’s internet penetration reached 62% in 2017. However, median fixed internet speeds in the country are fairly slow at 100Mbps, according to Ookla’s Speedtest data.
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About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.