If you never heard of Starlink before, well, now you know. The amount of times I heard Starlink in the past week… it’s certainly been one of the unsung heroes following Hurricane Melissa. So let’s learn more about it, and if you can invest.
Among the many issues following Hurricane Melissa has been the communications blackout in the western end of the island. Entire parishes have been with cell service and internet.
Melissa’s 185 miles per hour winds destroyed cell towers, so it might take a while before the island is fully reconnected. When you have family that you haven’t heard from, it’s the worst.
Enter Elon Musk’s Starlink. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, some of the first images we saw were because people had Starlink.
Starlink is satellite internet run by SpaceX. Instead of cables in the ground, they use multiple small satellites that fly low above the Earth. It’s just a small dish and a Wi-Fi box at your home that points to the sky.
Starlink got approval to operate in Jamaica in 2022. They have two monthly packages – Residential Lite for J$5,500 about US$34 per month and Residential for J$7,000 JMD, about US$44 per month. There’s also a one-time cost of about J$38,000, about US$240 for the dish and Wi-Fi box. You just point it at the sky to set it up.
Right after the Hurricane, Starlink seized the opportunity and immediately volunteered to have Jamaicans connect to its satellites for free. Jamaicans using Digicel and Flow could simply select Starlink from their data options. And thousands are still using it a week later. For many, it’s still the only connection they have.
Flow Jamaica activated an emergency service powered by Starlink so customers could send texts and data. Starlink also donated units to the Jamaican government.
They’re using it to help fix banking and other tech problems in the west. The police are using it to restore communication. The Universal Service Fund is using Starlink to connect communities. And regular people are using it to call family and tell them they’re alive, call for help, and get important updates after the storm.
Now people have complicated feelings about SpaceX and its CEO, Elon Musk, but Starlink has been an extremely useful resource during this Hurricane recovery period.
Like I mentioned, they are already licensed to operate in Jamaica, and this disaster proves how useful it can be when regular communication channels fail. Yes, Starlink has done a great humanitarian service to Jamaica, but it’s also a massive PR event for them too. Are Digicel and Flow in trouble?
Now can you invest in Starlink? As I said before, Starlink is owned by SpaceX, which unfortunately is not a publicly listed company, so no, you can’t invest in Starlink at this time.
As of mid-2025, SpaceX is worth a reported US$400 billion, with Elon Musk estimated to own a 40% stake. The rest is owned by venture capitalists and employees. Elon has reportedly said that SpaceX doesn’t need to raise capital to finance its programmes, so sorry guys, there’s no IPO on the horizon.
But if that ever changes, it would definitely be worth watching.
And that’s the bottom line.
If you would like to assist, you can donate or volunteer through the Jamaican government’s official platform: supportjamaica.gov.jm
If you prefer a non-governmental organization, you can give through foodforthepoorja.org
