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Most of you might remember Elon Musk as one of the richest people on Earth, and few may remember him for his electric car company, Tesla, and others for his space-exploration venture SpaceX. But you may not remember him for his satellite venture Starlink, which sells internet services across the globe.
Starlink is growing rapidly in 2021. In February, the company of Elon Musk disclosed that it serves more than 10,000 customers. This project is expanding preorders to more potential customers as well. The service's main priority is to serve people without access to a high-speed internet connection.
SpaceX expects Starlink to reach global serviceability sometime between September to December but the regional availability depends on regulatory approval. Elon Musk told an audience at a Mobile World Congress in June this year, that this satellite internet venture would be available worldwide except at the North and South Poles starting from this August.
This widespread internet service has also been into many controversies since members of the scientific community have raised issues regarding the impact of Starlink's low-earth orbit satellites in night sky visibility. Starlink's competitors such as Viasat, HughesNet, and Amazon's Project Kuiper have already started to slow Elon Musk down by prompting many regulatory joustings. Let's learn more about Starlink and its internet services.
Starlink is the network of orbital satellites which is a division with SpaceX, which was developed in 2015, with initial prototype satellites which were launched into orbit in 2018.
SpaceX deployed nearly 1,000 Starlink satellites into orbit successfully. Early this year as part of Starlink's mission of 2021, SpaceX launched 60 satellites from Kennedy Space Center using a launchable Falcon 9 orbital rocket. Till the recent launch on May 26, a total of 1,737 have both satellites in the constellation.
As of now, the connection is limited to the northwest US, parts of Canada, and the UK. But this is going to grow very soon in all parts of the world. The coverage is now focused between 45- and 53-degrees north latitude.
Musk in an interview at Mobile World Congress early this year said that Starlink will hit worldwide availability except at the North and South Poles starting this August. But in June, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said Starlink would reach global serviceability sometime this fall. He added, "We have successfully deployed 1,800 or so satellites, and once all those satellites reach their operational orbit we will have continuous global coverage so that should be like September".
Like other internet providers, it also wants to sell its internet access across the globe, especially in rural areas.
The website of the internet company reads, "Starlink is ideally suited for areas of the globe where connectivity has typically been a challenge. Unbounded by traditional ground infrastructure, and can deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable or completely unavailable".
To avail of the service by just setting up a small satellite dish at your home to receive signals. It also has an app facilitating Android and iOS users to help customers pick the best location and position to receive signals, this is done using augmented reality.
As of now, the services are just available in parts of the US, and Canada, but this service is likely to grow and reach more than 10,000 users. The company wants to be the high-speed internet-providing service in the world.
The website of the internet company says, "Users can expect to see data speeds varying from 50 to 150 megabits per second and latency from 20 to 40 milliseconds in most locations over the next several months. As we launch more satellites, install more ground stations, and improve our networking software, data speed, latency, and uptime will improve dramatically".
To this, Musk also tweeted in February that he is expecting the service to double its top speed to 300Mbps by the end of 2021. Hope you all got the answer regarding the speed.
The cost of the service as of now is $99 per month, plus taxes and fees along with an initial payment of $500 for the mountable satellite dish and router. Starlink with its "Better Than Nothing" beta program takes pre-orders from customers willing to join the service. The company says it will take orders on a first-come, first-served basis and so orders may also take six months to avail of the service as well.
Most people are wondering as $99 per month is huge even though the speed is less than other fiber internet connections, but to this Musk bets that this service is worth the money.
The company also said that it has no plans to add speed nor pricing tiers as of now but the $500 upfront cost of the receiver dish may be some down within a few years.
According to the early reports from Fast Company and CNBC indicate that Starlink's first customers are satisfied even though the service was not providing connectivity during the beta.
Even though fiber-optic cables are much faster than satellites, they can reach people of underserved long before fiber could ever do. The recent FCC filings also suggest that it could result in increasing phone services. Musk in 2018 said that it could help SpaceX by generating revenue to fund long-held company projects to establish a base on Mars.
Shotwell speaking about the company's vision for Starlink said, "If you send a million people to Mars, you better provide some way for them to communicate. I don't think the people who go to Mars are going to be satisfied with some terrible, old-fashioned radios, but they will want their iPhones or Androids on Mars".
As Starlink's FAQ reads, "We recommend installing Starlink in a location that avoids snow build-up and other obstructions from blocking the field of view. Heavy rain or wind can affect your satellite internet connection, potentially leading to slower speeds or a rare outage".
Other issues include concerns about the proliferation of privately owned satellites in space and its astronomical controversies. In 2019, the International Astronomical Union released an alarm-sounding statement warning consequence for stargazing for the protection of nocturnal wildlife. And so, Starlink has begun to test a variety of new designs to reduce the brightness and visibility of its satellites.
