Starlink antennas are popping up at campsites across Australia as grey nomads and van-dwelling families increasingly want to stay connected to the internet while heading off the beaten track.
A photo shared on the Facebook group Starlink Users Australia this week showed rows of dishes at a campsite in the Northern Territory, with pots and traffic cones placed alongside them to prevent them from being run over.
Portable antennas connect to satellites deployed by the American company SpaceX, which allow access to high-speed Internet from almost anywhere in the world.
Other photos of the group showed the plates placed on the roof of a 4×4 vehicle, on the dashboard of a pickup truck and on top of a picnic table at an Outback campsite.
One image even showed how someone had built a makeshift waterproof housing by drilling a hole in a plastic container for the electrical cable and sealing it with silicone, which they said still managed to transmit a good signal.
Previously, the service was limited to a home address, but from 2022, customers who pay a fee will be able to take their antenna anywhere in the country and it should work from anywhere in the country. A model that fits in a backpack is also planned to be launched.
According to those who use them, the antennas are not only useful for watching Netflix or staying connected with emails and calls to civilization.
“For anyone who wants to study at home, anyone who wants to go out and run their business… it’s the best solution,” one user told Yahoo News.
A picture recently shared on a Facebook group of a campsite in the Northern Territory shows just how common these dishes are.
The rise of the #vanlife trend over the past decade – where influencers hit the road and blog about their experiences – is also likely to get an even bigger boost from new technology.
But some looking to get back to nature complain their experience is being ruined.
“YouTubers post directions to some awesome spot that no one knows about and then 20 groups show up every weekend and trash the place,” one person recently said on a Reddit camping forum.
Others have complained of overflowing rubbish bins, 4×4 vehicles destroying the grass and vans parked where they block views or access to other visitors.
A well-prepared traveler installed his Starlink antenna on a trailer
Many shared photos they had taken of plates marked with traffic cones or brightly colored pots to prevent cars from hitting them.
SpaceX owner Elon Musk recently thanked Tesla shareholders for voting to approve his $56 billion pay package.
He now runs six companies, including SpaceX, Tesla, social media giant X (formerly Twitter) and artificial intelligence firm xAI, which Musk created in 2023.
Tesla shares have lost nearly 60 percent of their value since their peak in 2021, when Musk began selling billions of dollars of his stake in part to help fund his purchase of Twitter, raising concerns that he would spread himself too thin.
SpaceX went from making a loss just a few years ago to making a profit of around $3 billion in 2023, thanks in large part to Starlink customers.
It has launched around 6,000 low-orbit satellites and has more than 2.6 million customers, many of which are businesses and governments.
