Can Your Satellite Internet Connection Cross International Borders?

Yes—maybe—it depends

Brianne Sandorf
Aug 30, 2022
Icon Time To Read2 min read

You’re summering in Canada, and you want to winter in Mexico. Can you take your satellite internet connection with you and get uninterrupted service?

In some cases, yes, you can. But it depends on the service you use—and on the countries you visit. If you go from Canada to the UK, you’re not likely to get uninterrupted service. You’ll probably need to register with a new provider once you get to Europe.

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Satellite internet connections across borders

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Why won’t my satellite dish work anywhere?

This mainly comes down to issues like local licenses, local laws, and where your service’s mother satellites are.

Can your satellite internet connection cross international borders?

Yes, depending on the service you sign up for and which countries you want to move between.

Let’s use Starlink as an example of a satellite service you could use. (It’s not the only service that plans to offer portable satellite features, but right now, it’s the best and most popular option for most digital nomads.)

Starlink now offers a feature called Portability. For an extra $25 a month, you can schlep your satellite dish with you when you cross between countries on your resident continent.

However, you aren’t guaranteed a certain level of internet service everywhere. Service depends on the Starlink coverage map, and you won’t necessarily receive prioritization outside your registered address.

Prioriti-what?
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“Prioritization” is the hierarchy in which users receive internet service. With Starlink, local users will receive internet service before anyone using Portability away from home. This probably won't affect you if you’re in a low-density Starlink area. But if you’re in an area where everyone has Starlink—ouch.

But if you want to cross the seas, not even Starlink offers uninterrupted service. We’re not seeing any global satellite services that provide internet anywhere, although we suspect they’re coming.

So if you want to continent-hop, one satellite service isn’t going to do it for you. You’ll probably need to sign up with a new service for each continent you visit and sometimes each country.

Can your satellite internet connection cross domestic borders?

Short answer: probably; though we can’t guarantee every service and every country works this way.

Long answer: if you’re in the United States and want to travel to another state with your service, that should work fine as long as you have a portable satellite service and not one tied to a certain address.

The same should go for other areas with a single internet-governing body (like the Federal Communications Commission in the US). For instance, if you’re in the European Union using an EU-approved portable service, you theoretically shouldn’t have a problem moving between those 27 countries.

Make sure to compare the fastest and slowest internet speeds across US States.

Recap

So can your satellite internet connection cross borders?

  • International borders: Maybe, depending on your service and what countries you plan to travel to.
  • Domestic borders: Probably, as long as you have a portable service.

When you take your satellite internet on the road, protect your home while you’re away.

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Satellite internet FAQ

Satellite internet is ideal for folks in rural areas or in need of a roving internet connection. For instance, digital nomads who travel the world in vans sometimes use satellites for internet access.

“LEO” stands for “low-earth orbit.” Many companies use LEO satellites to create their satellite networks.¹

Sources

Brianne Sandorf
Written by
After five years with Reviews.org, Brianne can and will tell you which internet or mobile provider you should sign up for. She’s talked with internet customers across the U.S. and beyond and addresses their real-life concerns in every piece she writes. Brianne also created the ratings system for the Reviews.org internet service provider reviews and wrote most of them. Brianne channels her lifelong interest in detective work by hunting for obscure, need-to-know information about internet service providers. She’s always learning so that she can pass her knowledge on to Reviews.org readers. Her writing and expertise have appeared in numerous other publications, including Move.org, Parents.com, and the Stanford student blog. Her work for Reviews.org is also cited in a research paper about smart home assistants titled “Expert-Generated Privacy Q&A Dataset for Conversational AI and User Study Insights.” Brianne is a homegrown Utahn who loves to travel and see new places. She graduated from Westminster College with a double major in honors and creative writing. After 20 years in a 8,000-person city, she now lives in Murray, a bustling metropolis of 50,000 where she and her husband raise their two little girls.

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