Demand surcharge reported at $750 for new customers in Seattle, Portland and Spokane

What changed

On June 23, 2025, Broadband Breakfast reported that new Starlink Residential customers in several Pacific Northwest cities were being shown a one-time demand surcharge of $750 at sign-up. The same report listed smaller surcharges elsewhere:

Area (as reported)	One-time surcharge, new Residential order
Portland, Seattle, Spokane, Coeur d’Alene (Idaho)	$750
Asheville, North Carolina	$500
Anchorage, Phoenix	$250
Sacramento	$100

The report quoted Starlink’s website: “in areas with high demand, there is an additional one-time charge to purchase Starlink services.” The surcharge is not a monthly fee. It is added once, on top of the kit and first month.

Who it affected

• New Residential customers at addresses in high-demand areas. The amount is set by address, not by city name; the report noted that other cities in the same states, such as Yakima, Boise, Greensboro and Juneau, showed no surcharge at the time.
• Existing customers who stayed put were not charged by this change. Starlink’s support page says the charge applies when you buy, activate a new plan, change plan or move into a high-demand area.
• The report did not cover Roam plans.

What it did to the cost

The surcharge lands entirely in year 1. For a new customer at a $750 address, year-1 cost rose by exactly $750 over the same order one address away with no surcharge. Spread over three years it is $250 a year, or about $20.83 a month. At the $100 Sacramento level, it adds about $2.78 a month over three years.

Because it is one-time, the surcharge matters most for anyone who expects to cancel within a year. Starlink’s support page says the surcharge is refunded if you return the kit within the 30-day return window, so it is not lost if you back out early.

What stayed the same

• Monthly plan prices did not change in this report.
• The surcharge rules (one-time, per address, refunded with a 30-day return) are described on Starlink’s support page.
• Addresses outside high-demand areas were not affected.

What happened next

The amount kept rising. About a week later, $1,000 was reported in parts of Washington, Oregon and Idaho (July 2025 post). By mid-2026 press reports described tiers up to $1,500 (July 2026 post).

What to check yourself

• Enter your exact service address on starlink.com and read the full checkout total before paying. The surcharge only shows for your address.
• Add any surcharge to the calculator as a one-time line to see its effect on year 1 and year 3.
• Our hidden fees guide and before-you-order checklist cover when the surcharge applies and how the 30-day refund works.

What we don’t know

• Starlink does not publish a map or table of surcharge amounts, so we can’t say how many addresses paid $750.
• The report did not say whether the amounts applied to Residential 100/200-type tiers and the top tier alike.
• We could not open a June 2025 capture of the checkout ourselves; the amounts are as reported.