- Starlink is SpaceX’s broadband service that broadcasts internet from satellites launched in orbit.
- Since its launch in October, it has more than 10,000 users and operates in more than six countries.
- Here’s everything you need to know about Elon Musk’s Starlink.
- Visit the Insider Business section for more stories.
Elon Musk is getting closer and closer to realizing his dream of creating a super-fast internet around the world, which transmits from satellites orbiting to Earth.
In the past two weeks, SpaceX’s Starlink Internet has reached over 10,000 users worldwide and has begun offering $ 99 pre-orders for the service to more countries and cities on a global scale.
Starlink’s public beta test, known as “Better Than Nothing Beta”, was launched in October and was a huge success among those living in remote areas of the northern United States, where it was first launched.
What’s the hype about Starlink?
SpaceX is building a large satellite internet network in space called Starlink.
The aerospace company launched its first batch of Starlink satellites in orbit in May 2019. It now has more than 1,000 operating satellites ready for service. The goal is to have up to 42,000 satellites in orbit by mid-2027.
Satellites are strapped to the top of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and placed in orbit, typically releasing 60 satellites per launch.
The goal is to create a high-speed broadband system generated by satellites that surround the Earth and provide internet for people, especially in rural areas with no connection.
Viewers watch the Canaveral National Seashore as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 60 Starlink satellites is launched.
Paul Hennessy / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Starlink is not cheap
The beta subscription currently costs $ 99 a month. It costs an additional $ 499 for the Starlink kit, which includes a mounting tripod, a WiFi router and a terminal for connecting to satellites.
On Monday, the company started offering pre-orders for Starlink to other countries so that users can make a $ 100 deposit to get the service as soon as it is available. The deposit will be applied to the amount due in the Starlink kit.
In general, users will pay $ 600 in advance for Starlink.
UK users are paying £ 439 for the kit and £ 89 for the subscription fee. Compared to other ISPs that charge £ 79 a month for speeds up to 516 Mbps, this is not cheap.
On SpaceX’s side, the company won $ 885 million in federal grants in December to expand Starlink, but small internet service providers say that shouldn’t be allowed because Musk’s company is using “unproven” technology.
A photo of SpaceX’s Starlink user terminal, or satellite dish, installed on a roof. The company’s founder, Elon Musk, called these devices “UFOs on a stick”, and they were designed to connect to the Internet through a fleet of orbiting spacecraft.
Ashish Sharma / SpaceX
The fastest speed recorded so far is 215 Mbps
SpaceX said in an email to subscribers to the Starlink beta test in October that they should expect speeds between 50 and 150 Mbps, with intermittent interruptions. But some users are reaching much higher speeds.
A list compiled by Reddit’s Starlink community shows that the fastest download speed so far has been 209.17 Mbps, recorded in New York. A person in Utah recorded his speed test in December showing 215 Mbps.
Starlink reached speeds of 175 Mbps in freezing temperatures, strong winds and snow. Users were impressed with the terminal’s heating enough to melt any snow or frost on it.
Melting snow at the Starlink terminal.
Anonymous
Available to order in six countries
Starlink was initially operating in parts of the northern United States, southern Canada and, more recently, the United Kingdom.
On Monday, Starlink began placing orders for other parts of the world.
People in Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and parts of the United States and Canada – where Starlink is not yet working – have confirmed on Twitter and Reddit that they were able to make a deposit to get Internet service in mid-2021.
Read More: See how many millions of users Starlink may need to compensate, even if it loses $ 2,000 for each satellite dish it sells, according to experts
More countries can give Starlink the green light this year, including Spain, Italy, India, Japan and the Caribbean, according to a Teslarati report.
Insider explained on Tuesday how to sign up for the service that works “first come, first served”.
A photographic illustration of a satellite tracking application showing one of SpaceX’s Starlink spacecraft transmitted over the Internet on a map of the Earth.
Pavlo Gonchar / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
Starlink helped rural communities connect
SpaceX agreed in October to provide internet to a rural school district in Texas next year via Starlink. A total of 45 families will have access to the Internet in the area, followed by another 90 families later.
Scott Muri, the district superintendent, told Insider that he agreed to the deal because many student families have “zero internet” and no conventional way to get it.
Then, in December, SpaceX connected Pikangikum First Nation, a remote indigenous community of 3,000 people in northwestern Ontario, to Starlink. Before the Internet service, Pikangikum was unable to offer higher education or health care and was struggling with high suicide rates. Now, they can access everything.
Dave Brown, CEO of FSET, the company that connected SpaceX and Pikangikum, said in an interview with Insider: “We took a community that was one of the most technologically disadvantaged anywhere in the world. Now they have become one of the most technologically advanced , but they are still remote, they live where they are and they don’t have to move. “
Did you set up Starlink recently? How are you finding this? Contact this reporter by email: [email protected].