Starlink, is it a good option.

[AntonyA]

This June, we're planning to travel extensively around Europe for about five months. Fortunately, we're not restricted by the 90-day Schengen limit. Our main concern is reliable internet access while on the road.


We're considering two options: Starlink or a SIM card setup with a router. We've seen some attractive eSIM data deals, but we're unsure whether there are routers that support eSIMs—or if it might be better to use a spare mobile phone with a data-only SIM and hotspot it to our laptops and TV. Starlink seems reliable but expensive.


Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We will be traveling to France, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Thanks in advance!

 

[starquake]

Gosh how did I miss that - £5 a day only when travelling is a good deal for unlimited data!

Is it, but it's more than we pay per month on Three, so it's one we only use whilst en-route to colect the local sim we then use ourselves.

Way we look at it if we in France or anywhere for 3 days or less use the £5 a day thing, if going to be over 3 days, buy a 1 month local sim as it'll be cheaper.

 

[ian27]

We're considering two options: Starlink or a SIM card setup with a router. We've seen some attractive eSIM data deals, but we're unsure whether there are routers that support eSIMs—or if it might be better to use a spare mobile phone with a data-only SIM and hotspot it to our laptops and TV. Starlink seems reliable but expensive.

So, (I work in IT, and I spent time on this last couple of years) there were no consumer cellular routers yet that natively support consumer Esims. There are several routers designed for IOT use that natively support M2M Esims, but you don't want one of those. Gl.inet for one has recently introduced this functionality, but I haven't tried it yet (I have one of their routers). The way to get round this is with any cellular router, is to buy a special physical sim card, that allows the loading of an esim profile onto it - which you do on a phone - then you move the sim card to your router, the router sees it as a normal sim card. I've uses esim.me for this, there are other suppliers mentioned in this thread further back. obviously the advantage of esims you can get hold of it remotely in 5 minutes whereas sourcing the physical local sim requires a physical trip somewhere. Also - esim deals vary a lot from provider to provider - some of the so-called "travel esim" deals are actually not that great.

in general, using a good router with a good roof antenna will always give you the best signal, versus a mobile phone, if there is signal to be had. Then, your ongoing cost is then just whatever sim card you choose to use. I find this is more than adequate - worth saying that my high end router (Glinet X3000) and high end 4x4 antenna (Panorama dual sharkee) pulls down good fast signal in plenty of places that my phone does not. cellmapper.net is useful to check coverage for any specific places you may be visiting.

 

[ian27]

Gosh how did I miss that - £5 a day only when travelling is a good deal for unlimited data!

actually I would say that is far from a good deal for any significant duration it will add up to more than the cost of a new sim in a matter of days. I use smarty in the UK, their roaming is 12GB a month included which is enough for light use, but I would never use this £5/day thing to boost it : if expecting long team / heavy usage, a different sim is called for.

 

[matbic]

So, (I work in IT, and I spent time on this last couple of years) there were no consumer cellular routers yet that natively support consumer Esims.

Pepwave sell very nice units that support eSIM and have a nice phone app to help you install them.

You can load consumer eSIMs in to them they call it BYO eSIM.

Peplink's eSIM Technology

Peplink’seSIMTechnology Learn More BYO eSIM* refers to Bring Your Own eSIM. This means that you can use up to two of your own cellular carrier’s eSIM service for quick and easy swapping. * BYO eSIM only supports Consumer eSIMs. Check out the BYO eSIM Activation Procedure here. Peplink eSIM is...

www.peplink.com

Agree with you about getting a good antenna(s).

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[matbic]

actually I would say that is far from a good deal for any significant duration it will add up to more than the cost of a new sim in a matter of days. I use smarty in the UK, their roaming is 12GB a month included which is enough for light use, but I would never use this £5/day thing to boost it : if expecting long team / heavy usage, a different sim is called for.

Oh which one?

 

[StillGoing]

Gosh how did I miss that - £5 a day only when travelling is a good deal for unlimited data!

£5 a day is far more expensive than Starlink unlimited (£155 v £96).

 

[matbic]

£5 a day is far more expensive than Starlink unlimited (£155 v £96).

Yes £5 a day is steep for a month - there are much cheaper ways to do that! If cost is a priority- Local SIM cards! Or for convenience there are unlimited data SIM/eSIM deals for Europe in the £40-60/month (much less if you don’t need unlimited data). eSIMs are particularly cost effective as you only pay for the time/data you need and can be loaded up exactly when you need them.

But for the odd day it seems convenient.

 

[Wh05apk]

£5 a day is far more expensive than Starlink unlimited (£155 v £96).

Or id mobile at £17pm unlimited on a 1 month contract.

 

[MisterB]

I think EE also offer a daily add on to allow full use of your contract in the EU at around £2.50 pe day

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[matbic]

Or id mobile at £17pm unlimited on a 1 month contract.

Unfortunately is only good for 30G/month when roaming in EU even if you have unlimited data for UK. Still it’s useful for UK and a quick trip abroad!

 

[BrochMike]

Unfortunately is only good for 30G/month when roaming in EU even if you have unlimited data for UK. Still it’s useful for UK and a quick trip abroad!

Temporary promotion means the 30GB roaming cap is currently waived.

EU Roaming Fair Usage | Help & Advice | iD Mobile Network

Read everything you need to know about our fair usage policy designed to prevent our inclusive EU roaming feature from being misused.

www.idmobile.co.uk

£18/mth for 1 month unlimited, no tie-in...(possibly cheaper via cashback/comparison sites)

 

[Carpmart]

Temporary promotion means the 30GB roaming cap is currently waived.

EU Roaming Fair Usage | Help & Advice | iD Mobile Network

Read everything you need to know about our fair usage policy designed to prevent our inclusive EU roaming feature from being misused.

www.idmobile.co.uk

£18/mth for 1 month, no tie-in...

That’s great until they remove the concession half way through a Euro tour!

 

[BrochMike]

That’s great until they remove the concession half way through a Euro tour!

Agreed, but then you just get something else (local SIM, VPN or whatever).

Most (if not all) UK SIMs have limited duration as well as limited usage in their T&Cs, so this is currently one of the best options.

ID's version is typical:
"If over a 4-month period you spend 63 days or more in our free roaming destinations, you will be subject to further charges"

 

[pandas]

actually I would say that is far from a good deal for any significant duration it will add up to more than the cost of a new sim in a matter of days. I use smarty in the UK, their roaming is 12GB a month included which is enough for light use, but I would never use this £5/day thing to boost it : if expecting long team / heavy usage, a different sim is called for.

I know nothing about these things but seems like a couple of sims to swap out would overcome the main issue of fair usage for some and if with different providers it may help the signal in particular places. Just got a Pay as you go Tesco 30GB for £10 a month and a couple of smarty sims. Not heavy users though. I heard there was an increasing subscription issues for Starling - in Kent for example. But just hearsay.

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[Randomstop]

Yes £5 a day is steep for a month - there are much cheaper ways to do that! If cost is a priority- Local SIM cards! Or for convenience there are unlimited data SIM/eSIM deals for Europe in the £40-60/month (much less if you don’t need unlimited data). eSIMs are particularly cost effective as you only pay for the time/data you need and can be loaded up exactly when you need them.

But for the odd day it seems convenient.

Please point me to any unlimited European eSim card for £40-60/month, I will sell my Starlink…

 

[pandas]

Please point me to any unlimited European eSim card for £40-60/month, I will sell my Starlink…

Please point me to any unlimited European eSim card for £40-60/month, I will sell my Starlink…

Tesco unlimited £25 per month 24 month contract (not an eSIM but presumably you can transfer it? £30 on a 12 month contract.

Sorry not sure why it ended up in you text panel

 

[Highley Giley]

Yur mention of the mini & 12 volt led me to look witha view tpo using it at home to reduce the consumption on 220volt. Google took me to the starlink page that is offering 50Gb/month roaming for 40€. No mention on it of the additional spanish gov.es 9€ tax?
That would be more than enough for the wife to stream her tv. + it also offers the ability to pause which I do not have with the home system. Last summer we swopped to "non prioritised" service which is around 150Gb speed whilst away as it wasn't being used & reduced the 49€ to 38€/month. Stayed on it when we came back as I have no use for high speeds it is only the wife wanting to watch tv that needs more than 10Gb to stream.
Might investigate the mini system as it can also be used on the move ,up to 160kph so they say & we are not worried about the 2 months limit .I shall have a look on my account later?

My wife was on about doing that at home but she regularly watches tv at all hours of the night so I really could not see the point.+ it takes 24 hours for it to reload any obstructions again.

When did the French one go up? it used to be 40€ same as spain just they did not have the gov.es 9€ tax?

It is still €40 pm

 

[Wh05apk]

Please point me to any unlimited European eSim card for £40-60/month, I will sell my Starlink…

Not sure if they do esims but Tesco are £20 clubcard price, and id mobile are £17 (esim available)

 

[Randomstop]

Not sure if they do esims but Tesco are £20 clubcard price, and id mobile are £17 (esim available)

Unlimited European roaming?

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[pandas]

Unlimited European roaming?

Yes -does that mean a Starlink is going up for sale soon?

 

[matbic]

Please point me to any unlimited European eSim card for £40-60/month, I will sell my Starlink…

https://connectpls.com/ SIM or eSIM various options with no-limits EU roaming.

https://www.airhubapp.com/esim/Europe lots of options including EU Unlimited data eSIM, also lots of data (300G) for $30 for 30 days is useful.

I have used both eSIMs all over EU/Nordic work well in my router.

Also:

https://www.idmobile.co.uk/ - unlimited EU roaming at the moment they say they will “notify you when the promotion ends and when the 30GB Roaming data limit is reinstated.” But £16/month for unlimited data is good value for now!

https://www.tescomobile.com have no roaming fees until 2026 unlimited data £20/month, not sure how it works if contract goes in to next year.

Anyone else found anything similar/better?

 

[wfdTamar]

I can't see any mention of the conditions for roaming on the Lobster site except something about 4 months in the T&C's.

It's odd that a sim bought in one EU country can't be used EU wide without restrictions. You'd have thought that'd be a benefit of the EU. I used a Free.fr sim last summer and it worked great. Any E-sim I've looked at was much more expensive than a physical sim (I can't understand why they are though).

I use a dual sim 4x4 MIMO router/modem with rooftop antennas. (I would have gone with one 4x4 MIMO antenna, but I had a 2x2 MIMO, so just added a second to effectively get a 4x4 setup). In theory I can have a sim from two networks to give better coverage, but in practice my needs aren't quite so great as to justify that expense.

I have a Cudy P5 modem/router which is about half the price of the Teltonika equivalent, but I've recently got a Teltonika RUTX50 to try as I think the software in it might be better (the Cudy is pretty good though).

I reckon I'd only go for Starlink if I absolutely needed internet all the time due to the cost (and now EM reservations).

 

[Matt_e]

And its also pretty costly for the months you are active. I decided against it for the van as I dont trust Musk not to throttle it or jack the costs up once I bought the hardware.
When he has some competition to keep his pricing “honest” I might reconsider

While the henchMusk is not a great person, my experience (having owned Starlink for a while) is the company is better than most.

Where they excel is on hardware replacement - pleanty of stories of hardware failing/falling off of RV's/being eaten by dog/alien/neighbour well outside of warranty and it is replaced FOC.

The 'downside' is they have a highly optimised support system - no phone calls, only access is through the app and you may have to wait a few days for a response.

The cost is... Ok. But given the alternative satellite service is more expensive for a far slower service, if you need it then overall it is very good value. One point - for the Uk the costs have slowly decreased because we have pretty good (relative to other countries) broadband in the first place, so there is little in the way of a cpative market.

The downside as others have mentioned for this OP is that you only get 2 months roaming outside of your country/area and (having asked Starlink when the restriction came in), for us in UK that means 60 days in Europe.

 

[Randomstop]

https://connectpls.com/ SIM or eSIM various options with no-limits EU roaming.

https://www.airhubapp.com/esim/Europe lots of options including EU Unlimited data eSIM, also lots of data (300G) for $30 for 30 days is useful.

I have used both eSIMs all over EU/Nordic work well in my router.

Also:

https://www.idmobile.co.uk/ - unlimited EU roaming at the moment they say they will “notify you when the promotion ends and when the 30GB Roaming data limit is reinstated.” But £16/month for unlimited data is good value for now!

https://www.tescomobile.com have no roaming fees until 2026 unlimited data £20/month, not sure how it works if contract goes in to next year.

Anyone else found anything similar/better?

Those are nice options, thank you! As I am based in Europe, european providers seem to be more logical, but I guess no issue with purchasing eSim from a U.K. or U.S. based company.
That said, the unlimited option (from connectpls let’s say) is 59 pounds, not that different from European Starlink pricing at 72 euros (about 62 pounds at today’s rates).

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[Randomstop]

Yes -does that mean a Starlink is going up for sale soon?

I am still within the return period. Thing is that Tesco is in U.K. and I am in Europe. For our friends in U.K. - I hope there is no fine print with fair use policy which is enforced (different companies have different takes on the fair use clause)

 

[Toby2518]

Another option to consider is a Dongle.

We use a data-only dongle (e.g. Netgear mifi)  with a SIM card from Tiekom in Spain.

They'll post the SIM to you. This gives us 400Gb/month in Spain and 200Gb/month elsewhere in Europe for approx €40/month on a rolling monthly contract.
When back home in UK we pause the SIM at a reduced cost of €3/month.
Tiekom uses the Vodafone network but doesn't work in Switzerland (check their website for coverage). When that happens we buy a local data-only SIM card and pop that into the dongle. When we were in Vietnam and Cambodia last year for example (not in the van!) we took it with us and it worked brilliantly.
The dongle itself is small (fag packet sized) and highly portable. That's the beauty of it.

When we're away from the van exploring or having lunch (), we take it with us and still have Internet access.
Never tried Starlink so can't comment on speed comparisons but we've been using the Netgear for 4 years now and on the whole it's been pretty good.

Exactly the same a Tiekom customer for last 3-4 years using sim and an e-sim. Absolutely excellent service and sim is parked when not needed.

 

[Randomstop]

So, (I work in IT, and I spent time on this last couple of years) there were no consumer cellular routers yet that natively support consumer Esims. There are several routers designed for IOT use that natively support M2M Esims, but you don't want one of those. Gl.inet for one has recently introduced this functionality, but I haven't tried it yet (I have one of their routers). The way to get round this is with any cellular router, is to buy a special physical sim card, that allows the loading of an esim profile onto it - which you do on a phone - then you move the sim card to your router, the router sees it as a normal sim card. I've uses esim.me for this, there are other suppliers mentioned in this thread further back. obviously the advantage of esims you can get hold of it remotely in 5 minutes whereas sourcing the physical local sim requires a physical trip somewhere. Also - esim deals vary a lot from provider to provider - some of the so-called "travel esim" deals are actually not that great.

in general, using a good router with a good roof antenna will always give you the best signal, versus a mobile phone, if there is signal to be had. Then, your ongoing cost is then just whatever sim card you choose to use. I find this is more than adequate - worth saying that my high end router (Glinet X3000) and high end 4x4 antenna (Panorama dual sharkee) pulls down good fast signal in plenty of places that my phone does not. cellmapper.net is useful to check coverage for any specific places you may be visiting.

It seems that the Teltonika RUT241 eSIM (along with a couple of other routers) supports eSims…

 

[Mike Hawkins]

This June, we're planning to travel extensively around Europe for about five months. Fortunately, we're not restricted by the 90-day Schengen limit. Our main concern is reliable internet access while on the road.


We're considering two options: Starlink or a SIM card setup with a router. We've seen some attractive eSIM data deals, but we're unsure whether there are routers that support eSIMs—or if it might be better to use a spare mobile phone with a data-only SIM and hotspot it to our laptops and TV. Starlink seems reliable but expensive.


Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We will be traveling to France, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Thanks in advance!

Perhaps you should look at a Lebara SIM. Firstly, they allow up to 30Gb per month roaming in the EU (O2 only 20Gb). They use the Vodaphone system. To exceed 30GB before your next month’s contract, you have to buy an add-on which is similar in price to Aerolo. Your countries are not complicated as all are EU countries (not sure about Switzerland. I use Lebara all the time and am delighted with it. My wife uses a Lebara SIM when her O2 limit of 20 Gb is reached. We are away from home for 90 days and, unavoidably, there are odd occasions when there isn’t a signal. Only Nazi Starlink offers a better guarantee.

 

[Fragle]

Only Nazi Starlink offers a better guarantee.

Pathetic statement. Just no need.

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[jdk62]

Can the usual suspects keep politics out of a useful thread. You never know, you might find you enjoy posting more when you are not trying to wedge your politics into each and every post. It will certainly make for easier reading for the rest of us too. Thank You.

Fair point… As long as this approach reflects all postings on Fun