In our Starlink review, we were impressed by the new satellite internet service introduced by tech billionaire and Tesla founder Elon Musk. While still in its infancy, Starlink could very well change the Internet for billions of people around the world. SpaceX has so far launched 1,325 Starlink satellites. Its most recent mission has helped expand coverage in the UK NASA and SpaceX has also reached an information exchange agreement to avoid orbital collisions.
Pre-orders are already underway for this new satellite internet service, which promises to deliver broadband speeds of up to 300 Mbps to anyone in the world, no matter where it may be. Whether it’s a rural farm in Iowa or the small island of Tuvalu, customers are reporting significantly improved internet speeds, which are already changing their ability to stream and change online to school.
On the heels of Starlink’s pre-orders, Elon Musk was able to increase SpaceX’s share valuation to $ 74 billion, 60% higher than in August 2020. This shows investor confidence in Musk’s satellite mega constellation. SpaceX continues to launch more satellites – albeit with some delays – and the service is already reaching the North US, Canada and parts of Europe. We now have an even better indication of how the rollout is going, thanks to a new coverage map thanks to PCMag.
But what is Starlink? Below you will find an overview of this project that aims to connect everyone in the world to high speed internet.
Latest news about Starlink (updated March 19)
Starlink Release Date
Beta testing and pre-orders for Starlink have already started. Unfortunately, it is limited to people based on geographic location and on a first-come-first-served basis. This is likely so that engineers at Starlink can not only test users in large cities, but also in more rural areas across the US and the world.
Based on a submission to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Starlink has confirmed that it has more than 10,000 customers as part of the Beta Test for better than nothing. SpaceX, the commercial rocket company of Elon Musk, will be the vehicle that lands Starlink satellites in a low-Earth orbit (LEO). SpaceX has already received a $ 856 million grant from the US government to help provide broadband access to rural America.
Given the size of the US, it rarely makes financial sense for internet companies to lay cable or fiber lines. Because Starlink is wireless, it offers a solution to this mystery. With the publication, 24% of rural Americans say that access to broadband remains a major problem.
SpaceX has already launched more than 1000 Starlink satellites. Although a great achievement, this satellite internet constellation will be fully operational, it will require a total of 12,000 satellites. Starlink currently produces 120 satellites per month.
Aside from pre-orders and beta testing, according to another FCC filing, Starlink says’ with the current launch cadences, SpaceX expects to launch commercial service in the northern United States and southern Canada before the end of 2020 and then will rapidly expand to almost global coverage of the populated world by 2021. “
As long as things go according to plan, Starlink should be fully operational sometime this year. Although, according to the Starlink pre-order website, coverage will only be available for some addresses by mid to late 2021.
Starlink availability and coverage
In terms of availability, Starlink prioritizes ‘high latitudes’, meaning areas in the northern part of the earth, such as Canada and the upper parts of the United States. Ultimately, the goal will be to connect Starlink to all parts of the world. In a tweet, Musk explained that Starlink would hit first cities like Seattle, and “gradually get closer to the equator.”
Thanks to a report from PC Mag, the publication is working with the speed testing platform Ookla to see exactly where Starlink is most used.
Since Starlink is satellite internet, the coverage may vary by the second. With just over a thousand satellites in orbit, some parts of the world will have better coverage, depending on when the Internet constellation passes through. There are some coverage maps available online that show where satellites orbit, and from this placement it appears that there are arrays of satellites around the Northwestern United States, as well as clusters near New Zealand and Australia.
Interestingly, there are customers in the US who are willing to give Starlink a try. It is peculiar given that these customers also have access to traditional internet providers, which can offer more internet speed. Maybe these users are big Elon Musk fans, or they really do not like the big internet providers.
Below is an outline of the speeds of different provinces.
Starlink price
Starlink pre-orders currently cost $ 99 per month. But the service requires a prepaid hardware fee of $ 499. This includes the small satellite dish that can be set up at a home or business, as well as a router and power supply. There is also a $ 50 delivery and handling fee.
For all those who want to order, you only need to pay back a deposit of $ 99. Ordering can take up to six months or longer.
What users are saying
The response to Starlink’s internet service was overwhelmingly positive from the few customers who received service. Go to the Starlink subreddit, and you will see users posting images of their new satellites with accompanying speed tests. In Missouri, users report download speeds of 150 Mbps. Another user in Idaho uploaded 72 hours of test results, averaging 71 Mbps.
A user in the UK has seen a huge jump in internet speed after installing Starlink. Aaron Wilkes of Kent, went from 1 Mbps to 175 Mbps. While Wilkes pays more for Starlink, he feels the price is worth it.
“The ability to download content so quickly compared to our standard BT line is incredible,” Wilkes said in an interview with the PA news agency.
The popular YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips was also able to acquire a satellite system from Starlink. They were able to stream four 4K videos simultaneously and played successfully through a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive game with little difficulty.
And director Jesse Senko, who lives in rural Ontario, Canada, explained in the video below how Starlink upgraded its workflow on a large scale.
Starlink specifications
Unlike other satellite internet providers, Starlink’s LEO satellites promise to provide low latency broadband speeds no matter where you are. While Starlink first had speeds of 1 Gbps, the target has since been increased to 10 Gbps. To put it in context, users would be able to download a 4K movie in less than 30 seconds. Starlink would be a great blessing to people living in rural parts of the world.
Latency on Starlink is surprisingly low due to satellite internet. Early beta tests show that Starlink averages 34 milliseconds. Although it may not be as fast as fiber, which can take up to 17 ms, any delay below 40 ms is solid for most applications. Certain types of online games, especially shooters and fighting games, benefit most from low latency. But sports games or MOBAs will work well on Starlink.
Therefore, it is no surprise that OneWeb (half owned by the UK government), Amazon’s Project Kuiper, Boeing, Telesat and the Russian and Chinese governments are all planning satellite internet configurations.
Yet it is a monumental task to make a project of this magnitude literally off the ground and profitable. While the Russian and Chinese governments may bear the greatest costs, companies such as Starlink and Amazon take a significant risk. Previous satellite internet constellations have gone bankrupt.
There is also a lot of interest in when a Starlink exchange comes into effect. In a tweet, Musk responded that an IPO is planned, but that will come after SpaceX has a more predictable cash flow. For Musk and Starlink, the goal now is not to go bankrupt.
Starlink in your Tesla?
SpaceX appears to have made a request to the Federal Communications Commission to bring Starlink satellite Internet services to aircraft and ships. In a letter to the FCC by SpaceX Director of Satellite Policy, obtained by CNBC, David Goldman states, “This application will serve the public interest by authorizing a new class of ground components for SpaceX’s satellite system that offers the range of broadband capabilities available. for moving vehicles throughout the United States and for the movement of vessels and aircraft worldwide. ‘
The company will handle the installation of vehicles by ‘qualified installers’ and mention the need for high quality internet ‘while on the move.’
There are various issues about internet access. Some countries, such as China, have a strictly controlled Internet infrastructure. Websites that may be good to see in the US are probably not in China. But it’s satellite internet, which means it’s accessible from anywhere. It looks like Starlink will provide the rules of the country in which you live, “whatever is restrictive.”
However, it is now all academic. Due to the size of the Starlink satellite terminal, this is currently not possible for cars. Elon Musk declared it in a tweet.
Not to connect Tesla cars with Starlink because our terminal is way too big. It’s for planes, ships, big trucks and RVs.March 8, 2021
Starlink lookout
Since broadband businesses do not have competitors in many cases, Starlink and other satellite internet configurations are a welcome injection of competition. More importantly, the service enables regions to connect with broadband speeds, where previously there were no options.
The Hoh Tribe, a Native American tribe in the western state of Washington along the Pacific coast, for example, said that Starlink was “catapulted into the 21st century”. According to the Newsweek article, the Hoh Tribe tweeted that faster internet speeds helped with distance education and access to health care.
With the wireless nature of Starlink, it can enter any part of the world, undermining the need for cables. By doing so, rural areas that remain neglected can now be linked to broadband speeds. The cost of $ 99 is still too high for many parts of the world, but as Starlink will see competition from other companies, prices are likely to fall over time.
Elon Musk hopes to complete the Starlink Internet constellation sometime in 2022.