Starlink, SpaceX’s Internet Connectivity Constellation, could take the super-fast internet to counties in England.
UK testers started this month to receive the Starlink Kit, the set of tools needed to access SpaceX’s beta service currently in beta. The company aims at super-fast gigabit speeds at low latencies, meaning users can point a plate at the sky and go online. Customers in the U.S. and Canada joined the service in late 2020, and SpaceX aims to provide coverage for most of the world in 2021.
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For rural and underserved communities, it can be a lifesaver. Living in the “pleasant pastures of England”, as captured by poet William Blake, may sound like a dream – but it can soon turn sour when you can’t get Netflix to stop buffering.
The problem, as described by the comparison service Broadband.co.uk, is that many of these idyllic thatched-roof villas tend to go online over the phone lines. Living away from the stock market makes speeds slower than advertised, as well as old equipment and lack of competition. It is the kind of pain experienced by rural Americans also crying out for Starlink.
SpeedTest data shows that the UK is 47th in the world at medium speeds, far behind Singapore in first and the United States in 11th. Switching service USwitch discovered last month that the country’s slowest street had an average speed of just 0.12 megabits per second – the traditional measure of data speed, where eight megabits equals one megabyte.
In its May 2020 connection report, British regulator Ofcom revealed that five percent of households do not have access to Internet download speeds of at least 30 megabits per second. The matter became a point of debate in the 2019 election.
Starlink may have the answer – and users are already connecting in the “green, pleasant land of England”.
A Reddit user named “fishboy51” shared his setup on Thursday in the village of Burley, located in the heart of the New Forest.
The picturesque park of southern England once served as the royal hunting ground for William the Conqueror. About 1,000 years later, a close resident is now playing on his Xbox with internet speeds of up to 187 megabits per second.
Another user named “OptiSport” shared his connection last week from rural Devon in southern England – a marked improvement over previous half-megabit speeds.
Starlink offers fast internet speeds, thanks to SpaceX’s plan to orbit satellites much closer to the Earth’s surface. The 550 km orbit means that the signal travels less distance before reaching the user. It is necessary to place many more satellites in space, and SpaceX has requested permission to launch up to 42,000.
SpaceX Starlink: What is the price of the beta service?
The price varies depending on the location.
U.S – Users in the United States are paying $ 499 per month for the Starlink Kit plus $ 99 per month to access the service.
Although the value is about twice the monthly price of traditional land-based connections, it is comparable to that of Viasat and HughesNet. While HughesNet charges an initial fee of $ 449 for the kit, Viasat charges only $ 299 in cash. Both companies allow users to rent the kit for less than $ 15 a month.
Canada – Tesla North reports that beta testers in Canada are paying CA $ 649 (US $ 510) for the Starlink kit. The service costs CA $ 129 (US $ 101) per month.
UK – Teslarati reports that users in the UK can expect to pay £ 439 ($ 596) for the Starlink Kit plus £ 54 ($ 73) for shipping, which means an initial cost of £ 493 ($ 669). The service costs £ 89 ($ 121) per month.
CompareTheMarket found that satellite internet can cost between £ 20 ($ 27) to £ 87 ($ 118) per month, plus installation costs that can go up to £ 600 ($ 814). This means that the service may have a chance to compete in areas where land-based connections are not really an option.
SpaceX Starlink: how to sign up for the beta service
SpaceX’s official Starlink website asks interested fans to enter their email address and service address to verify that they are eligible to participate in the “Better than Nothing” program.
More rural users may have difficulty entering their addresses, since Starlink only accepts addresses recognized by Google. One way around this is to insert a “Plus Code”:
- Open Google Maps using the website or application.
- Find the correct location on the map. Click and hold on the correct spot if you are using a mouse or tap and hold if you are using a touchscreen.
- Press the “dropped in” label near the bottom.
- The Plus Code will appear in the information list next to a “+” symbol. For example, the Plus Code for the Tower of London is “GW5F + 6J London”.
- Copy the Plus Code and paste it on the Starlink website.
SpaceX Starlink: when will it launch in my region?
Starlink launched its beta service for users in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Its goal is “almost global coverage of the populated world by 2021”.
Where could it be next? In November 2020, CEO Elon Musk suggested that he could launch the service to users further south in the United States as early as January. European Union countries can start going online in February and March. India may be online in mid-2021. Teslarati reports that the next likely candidates are Australia, Greece and Germany, as these three countries are in advanced stages of the licensing process.
Because the coronavirus pandemic has caused more people to connect and connect, Starlink can be an ideal way to ensure that underserved communities are not left behind.
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