Starlink Opens Community Hosts Program to Share Short-Term Access

Starlink is recruiting Community Hosts so one kit can sell short internet passes to people nearby. The host orders a Starlink Kit and places it where several users can reach the signal. A neighbour buys a pass on that kit instead of ordering their own.

Users can buy one of four different types of passes, covering time periods of an hour, a day, a week, or up to a full month. The monthly pass covers up to four devices, while the others only provide access for one singular device. Users don’t need to host their own payment system or method. SpaceX runs the payments and access via their own services, and the Community Host earns money on every connection.

The program has just launched to beta applications on Starlink’s Community Host page, and is only available in the United States and Canada for now, but you can sign-up globally. Once SpaceX officially kicks off the program, applicants will be notified once their turn has arrived.

How Community Gateway Works

Nearby users will be able to connect to the Community Gateway network, and will be redirected to Starlink’s Community Host page. There, SpaceX will let them choose from one of the four access plans.

Once paid and connected, users will have access to the internet via Starlink. SpaceX has not said what speeds will be offered, or if speeds will be gated by the level of pass purchased, similar to how the Monthly pass adds an additional three devices quite yet.

We expect that this will likely be an option that is configurable by hosts, enabling users to get high speed wireless internet access, while priority remains with your own critical devices for bandwidth.

Hosting Details

SpaceX, through your Starlink, will provide connectivity, and take care of user access and payments, all without needing to setup anything complicated on your own end.

For now, no pricing details on the Community Hosts program are available yet, nor is any information on how SpaceX will conduct revenue sharing for the program. It seems that SpaceX will enable access for existing users as well, but will allow upcoming Hosts to provide access for their local communities or locations with new hardware sold under the Community Gateway program as well.

That means that if you have an existing site, you’ll be able to purchase additional Starlink dishes and routers to expand your coverage and better serve your existing community, and keep the access all within one single portal.

Who Can Host

SpaceX noted that anyone who can bring a Starlink connection to the people around them can take part in the program, whether it be property or business owners, local entrepreneurs, or anyone else setting up a permanent kit where there is nearby demand.

The Community Gateway program is designed to be used by static sites, not for roaming installations to support travelling groups. The sign-up form asks what kind of a location your Community Gateway would serve, and the list only includes static locations:

• Cafe, Bar, or Shop
• Several neighbouring households
• Single building with multiple units (apartment or condo complex)
• Community centre or public space

It also asks how many sites the applicant has in mind, how many users each site might see in a month, and which pass those users would buy most often. It also asks what price the applicant thinks that users would pay for high speed access at those sites, in their local currency.

Joining the waitlist requires an active bank account in the host’s own name or the business’s name. The host must be registered with their country’s tax authority and must have a tax identification number. They must also be willing to complete a U.S. tax form, the W-8.