When Starlink Roam launched, it genuinely changed the conversation about motorhome connectivity. Satellite internet that actually works, in remote locations, fast enough for video calls and remote work. In theory, exactly what van lifers and long-term travellers have needed for years.

But is it worth it for your situation? Here's our honest take.

What Starlink actually delivers

In good conditions — clear sky view, no heavy tree cover — Starlink Roam delivers impressive speeds. Most users see 50–200Mbps download and 10–20Mbps upload, with latency around 20–60ms. That's more than enough for video calls, file uploads, streaming, and most remote work tasks.

Coverage across the UK and Europe is now very strong. The days of patchy service in rural areas are largely behind us for Starlink users.

The power question

The Starlink flat high-performance dish draws around 50–75W continuously during use — more during startup. Over a full working day that's a meaningful chunk of your battery capacity. If you're running Starlink alongside a laptop, monitors and other devices, your daily draw can be substantial.

This is why we include Starlink as standard in our Wanderer package, which is sized with the battery capacity to support it comfortably for extended periods.

How it compares to 5G mobile routers

In areas with good 5G coverage, a mobile router like the Teltonika RUTC50 with a high-gain antenna is faster, cheaper to run and uses less power than Starlink. We include this setup in our Worker package for exactly this reason — most UK and European locations with reasonable population have strong enough 5G signal to make it a better daily choice.

The real advantage of Starlink is in locations where 4G/5G is weak or nonexistent — remote highlands, European rural areas, coastal spots far from population. If you travel there regularly, Starlink earns its place.

Cost

Starlink Roam is currently priced at around £50/month for the regional plan, with hardware around £350–450 depending on the dish model. The mobile router alternative costs less monthly but requires a SIM and data plan.

For full-time or heavy travellers, the Starlink cost is easily justified. For weekend use in relatively well-connected areas, a 5G router is likely the smarter choice.

Our recommendation

For most motorhome owners, the ideal setup is both — a primary 5G router for everyday connected areas, with Starlink as the fallback for remote locations. This is how we configure our Wanderer package. Get in touch if you'd like to talk through what connectivity setup makes sense for how you travel.