Starlink arrives in Argentina: these are the official prices for Elon Musk’s satellite Internet

StarlinkElon Musk’s satellite Internet has taken a new step and officially started working in Argentina. It has long been known that SpaceX plans to enable the service from the second quarter of 2024. However, in recent days it has been on everyone’s lips after it became known that Free market and two circuits for devices, Fravega And Tsetrogar, will act as authorized retailers. But the most important thing was missing: Price.

Now this mystery has been solved. Starlink has made it possible to reserve equipment and services from Argentina through its official website. Thus, it became clear how much those interested in gaining access to this technology will have to pay once it becomes available. And it won’t be cheap, given the difficult economic reality the country is experiencing.

One of the many rumors about Starlink’s arrival in Argentina said that the satellite internet kit would cost around 500,000 pesos. This has been confirmed as users will have to pay 499,999 pesos for a kit that includes an antenna, a router and other elements necessary for its installation and operation.

The Starlink website also states that a deposit of P62,500 is required for booking, with another P31,000 added for shipping and management costs. The monthly cost of the service will also be 62,500 pesos.as indicated in the table with official values.

Official Starlink prices in Argentina

Starlink does not specify in what dollar equivalent the price of the kit and subscription fee in Argentina are calculated. Let’s keep in mind that due to exchange controls – the infamous “dollar stocks” – there are many quotes for the North American currency. In many cases, dollar prices are expressed in Argentine pesos. They are misleading, since they are calculated at the official cost. But users end up paying significantly more due to taxes on dollar transactions using credit and debit cards.

Unfortunately, Starlink did not clarify whether the price listed in pesos for Argentina is final.. This is important information. After all, the impact on users’ pockets could have been much greater if it had not been calculated at the “correct” value of the dollar.

As of this writing, the official change in Argentina indicates that 1 dollar is equivalent to 875.50 pesos.. However, international transactions, whether when traveling to another country or when contracting for services billed from abroad (Netflix, Spotify, Max, Xbox Game Pass, etc.), are charged according to the so-called “card dollar” This includes a tax surcharge of 60% – 30% PAIS tax and 30% advance income – and the quote remains one dollar for 1400.80 pesos.

This means that if the price Starlink shows for Argentina is based on the official exchange rate, but the card payment is processed internationally, the price in pesos for Argentine users will be much higher than stated on the website.

To give you a better idea, if Starlink were to obtain the price of the kit at 499,999 Argentine pesos by doing the calculations according to the official dollar (875.50 pesos), its original cost would be around $571. But if payments are processed in the US, the amount in pesos that Argentine users will have to pay will be much higher since it will be pegged to the “card dollar” (1,400.80 pesos). Therefore, if we multiply $571 by P1,400.80, we get the final price 799,857 pesos.

The same applies to other expenses. If the monthly fee of P62,500 is calculated using the official exchange rate, the base price would be $71.38. If this amount must be paid at the value of the “card dollar”, it increases to 99,990 pesos.

For context, the standard Starlink kit costs $599 in the US, with monthly fees starting at $120. Meanwhile in Spain the equipment is available for a limited time at a price of 225 euros, although its real cost is 450 euros. The standard service costs €40 per month, although there is a cheaper option for €29.

We will be following up to find out what quote was used to calculate the peso prices and whether payments will be processed locally or not. Currently there is news about What speeds will Starlink offer in Argentina? in exchange for this monthly fee.