On Tuesday, SpaceX’s Starlink began taking pre-orders for its satellite broadband Internet service. It moves the service from the beta stage to the point where it is open and widely available to the public.
Users who want to sign up for the service can do so via the Starlink website. They must enter their email address and physical addresses. Depending on location, they may be eligible for a connection in the middle to later parts of this year.
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So far, only those interested in the US, Canada and the UK are eligible for pre-registration. Starlink says the required fee of $ 99 – the monthly price of the service – is refundable, but in the end the connection cannot be guaranteed. Once a user’s addresses are entered, it is noted on a payment page that orders are being taken on a first-come, first-served basis.
Starlink is another space-themed venture in which Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) Elon Musk, CEO and guideline, is involved. SpaceX has received approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to deploy a “constellation” of 11,943 Starlink satellites into orbit for the project. It offers broadband internet services, with low latency (delay), around the world.
So far, just over 1,000 Starlink satellites have been launched into orbit. The beta program launched in October, and according to the company, it has more than 10,000 users. Some of those people had to purchase a $ 499 “kit” to set up their access. This package includes a satellite dish and a WiFi router to channel the signal.
Unlike Tesla, Starlink – as part of SpaceX – is a private company. But Musk, who brought Tesla to the stock market in 2010, said Starlink would eventually be eliminated and made public. However, he gave little details about when this could happen.