Working Online - Is Starlink the future for Digital Nomads?

When you work online and travel there is one thing that you need to be able to actually work. The internet. Technology has been evolving over the years, opening up even more places around the world for digital nomads to settle.

Since our first stop will be Barbados, and since my work all happens online, a major consideration for me is what is the internet like and how much does it cost? Barbados has better internet than I am used to at home in the UK, but does it come at a higher cost than I am used to paying as well? Most rental apartments are advertised with internet included so it shouldn't be a problem, but what if we need to get our own service? What's available and how much would it be?

A recent study published in the Barbados Today Newspaper said that broadband internet fees in Barbados were the 24th most expensive of all the 220 countries surveyed. According to the 2022 Global Broadband Price Comparison you can expect to pay, on average US$106.54 per month. If I compare my current fee in the UK which is only USD$30, it is a huge difference.

So why is it so expensive? Well, Barbados is an island and there are problems getting the internet to where it is needed. Some islands have undersea cables but others have to rely on more expensive hybrid satellite solutions. Since I teach regularly online, I need to have a stable connection and it has to have the bandwidth to be able to have a flowing conversation, not starting and stopping or buffering.

Since most digital nomads need the internet, the clue is in the name, some less developed countries can really interfere with work and getting an income. So is there a solution? If we compare this form of travelling with other people who travel such as RV-ers and van lifers this could give us some ideas for taking the internet with us, rather than depending on the facilities already in place.

There are lots of hotspot technology available for RVs and mobile phones now have unlimited data plans, which could be used to tether a laptop for work, but there are usually still limitations on where they can be used. What if I want to float on a boat in the middle of the ocean, but I still want to be able to work and upload videos and speak to my family? Up until very recently, that was only possible on cruise ships but was both prohibitively expensive and hideously slow. But now there is a new option - Starlink. This is the internet provided by SpaceX. Their whole concept is high-speed, broadband internet in remote and rural locations. SpaceX only launched their satellites for Barbados a few months ago and confirmed on Twitter in November 2022 that Starlink was now available in Barbados-

They even have special equipment for RVs and boats that will work anywhere there is satellite coverage. The satellite coverage is increasing all the time as SpaceX launch more satellites. This is still in its early stages, but it could be the future of internet use. People could be camping in the middle of nowhere and as long as the equipment can see the satellites in orbit they would be able to stream a movie or video call with their friends.

Here is the coverage map for Starlink in the area. Anything in light blue can access the internet right now. This will increase all the time as more satellites are launched by SpaceX

https://www.starlink.com/map

There is an outlay for the equipment at the beginning, but after that, it is only USD$115 per month for the RV system and could open up so many other opportunities (once the satellite system has been fully installed) to live in less developed and cheaper countries. US$115 may sound like a lot to people in the UK, but in Barbados that is only a couple of dollars more than the typical local internet prices. Starlink can be taken with you wherever you go and you can be online wherever you are easily in seconds. I would be happy to pay more for my internet if it meant I could live in a less expensive country and could guarantee that I could still work.

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