You don’t really understand what it means to lose connection until you leave the city.
Equatorial Guinea. A small country on the west coast of Central Africa. I’m overseeing the construction of a medical facility here. Exchanging drawings, holding video calls with Korea, coordinating materials and schedules. All of it runs on the internet. And the internet here kept failing me. Slow, dropping out, stalling at the worst moments.
So I chose Starlink. I signed up in Korea and carried it across a continent to get here.
Why Starlink
The limits of the local network were clear. A local SIM, hotel Wi-Fi, none of it was stable enough. For someone managing a construction project, the internet isn’t a convenience. It’s the foundation of the work. When it takes forever to send a single drawing, when a video call cuts out halfway through, the work backs up.
Starlink provides internet through low-earth-orbit satellites. The weaker the ground infrastructure, the greater its advantage, because it connects by looking at the sky rather than a cell tower. In an African region far from infrastructure, reaching for Starlink was a natural choice.
The Choice to Buy in Korea
I signed up in Korea rather than locally. For hardware, I chose the Starlink Mini. The reason was portability. The Mini is the smallest model, with the antenna and router integrated into one unit. It fits in a suitcase. When you have to move your connection across a continent as luggage, that size is decisive.
I chose the unlimited roaming plan at 153,000 KRW per month. This is the key point: to use hardware registered in Korea while abroad, you need a roaming-tier plan, not a fixed regional one. Starlink’s usable regions depend on the plan, so overseas use requires a roaming plan without exception.
Across a Continent
Carrying satellite internet hardware bought in Korea into Africa. Customs and import were my biggest worry, but the short version is that there were no real problems. The Starlink Mini being small and light made it easy to move as luggage. “Satellite equipment” sounds imposing, but in practice it’s the size of a laptop bag.
The Moment It Connected
I set the unit down at the site, placed the antenna where the sky was open, and connected through the app. The Starlink Mini is simple to set up. Power it on, point it toward the sky as the app instructs, and it starts searching for satellites. A moment later, it connected.
At a site in Equatorial Guinea, with hardware bought in Korea, through a satellite in the sky, I was linked to the world. That sensation is hard to describe. Internet in a remote place isn’t just about convenience. It’s the feeling of not being isolated. The reassurance that you can reach the world whenever you need to.
How It Actually Performs
The thing you’re most curious about first: speed runs around 200Mbps. Given the conditions of a remote African site, that number is remarkable. Sending drawings, video calls, transferring large files, everything the work demands runs without issue. It doesn’t fall short of a typical home internet connection in Korea.
For power, I run it off a standard outlet at the site. The Starlink Mini draws relatively little power, so an ordinary supply handles it easily. Needing no complex power setup is a major advantage for remote use.
With unlimited roaming, I use it without worrying about data. Long video calls, large drawings back and forth, none of it requires watching usage. Everything is covered within the fixed monthly cost of 153,000 KRW.
What 153,000 Won a Month Is Worth
It isn’t cheap, honestly. But it changes when you consider what it buys. Stable 200Mbps internet in a remote place. The certainty that the work won’t stop. The reassurance of not being cut off from the world. For someone overseeing a construction project, this is closer to an investment than an expense.
It isn’t a product everyone needs. But for people working in remote locations abroad, long-term travelers, and anyone heading into a region with poor telecom infrastructure, the combination of a Starlink Mini and unlimited roaming is the most practical answer currently available.
Editor’s Note
The name OFF PLAN also means outside the plan. An interior designer ending up building a hospital in Equatorial Guinea, and bringing satellite internet bought in Korea to that site, none of it was in the plan.
Being connected is a bigger thing than it seems. A single satellite in the sky, one small device carried across a continent, links a remote site to the world. On top of that connection, drawings move, meetings happen, and a hospital gets built, today again. What 153,000 won a month buys is not internet. It’s the freedom to keep working wherever you are.
Starlink Mini | Unlimited roaming plan, 153,000 KRW/month
Signed up: Starlink Korea | Used in: Equatorial Guinea (Central Africa)
Measured speed: approx. 200Mbps | Power: standard wall outlet
Hardware: integrated antenna-router, portable form factor
Plan: unlimited roaming (roaming-tier plan required for overseas use)
Customs & import: no notable issues
