Starlink officially launch Mini 2 broadband dish with built-in Wi-Fi and Battery

Ultrafast satellite broadband provider Starlink has finally announced the official launch of their new next-gen Mini 2 dish terminal, which is intended for roaming users and confirms previous reports by revealing that it comes with a swappable built-in battery and Wi-Fi 6 capability. But early adopters will need to pay $999 (£750), although that does include 1 year of access to the Roam Unlimited plan.

“Introducing Mini 2, the next-generation portable Starlink. Get up to 4.5 hours of connectivity on a single charge with the quick-swap battery, or plug in with USB-C. With built-in Wi-Fi, all you need is a clear view of the sky to get online in 60 seconds,” said Starlink’s social media post last night, announcing the launch.

The provider has also setup a pre-order page for the new kit, which confirms all of the headline specifications. The hardware does, however, draw slightly less power than the Mini 1 and may also deliver slightly slower upload speeds, although Starlink was never particularly fast in that department anyway. The focus here is clearly more on durability and portability.

The catch is that at around £750 (we don’t yet know the official UK pricing) the upfront cost could act as a barrier to entry for some, although it’s much better value when you consider how it also includes a full year of access to their Roam Unlimited plan (i.e. this would normally be around double the offer price). But not everybody who roams needs the unlimited plan, so it would have been nice to see a bit of extra choice.

As it stands Starlink’s website makes clear that “preorders [are] now open by invitation for select US customers. Coming soon to more customers and countries,” so we don’t yet know when this will be made available to UK consumers. But it’s unlikely to be a particularly long wait. The first shipments of the new kit are estimated to begin in mid-December 2026.

Starlink introduced the original Mini 1 dish using a similar approach and later significantly discounted the hardware, so in any case it’s probably worth waiting a few months until after the early launch phase is over.

At present Starlink has an overall total of c.11,200 satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for both broadband and roaming mobile services – mostly at altitudes of between c.340-550km. Residential users in the UK typically pay from c.£32-40 a month (dynamic pricing) for their 100Mbps unlimited data plan, which also promises uploads of c.15-35Mbps and low latency connectivity (sub-50ms). Faster speeds are available at extra cost and roaming plans also exist.