"SpaceX aims to connect rural communities around the globe to reliable satellite internet. The aerospace company is in the process of deploying thousands of Starlink satellites to orbit where each will beam broadband internet connection down to Earth. "With performance that far surpasses that of traditional satellite internet, and a global network unbounded by ground infrastructure limitations, Starlink will deliver high speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable," the company states.
SpaceX currently operates approximately 960 Starlink satellites and plans to launch at least 120 satellites per month this year. The company is offering service to select customers living in high-latitudes by invitation only via Starlink.com, however, as more satellites are deployed to orbit SpaceX will increase its capability to provide Starlink internet to more customers worldwide. As of today, SpaceX has customers living in rural communities located in Canada, northern United States, and even the United Kingdom, according to social media users who have purchased the service. The company is also working alongside the U.S. government to provide free Starlink service to school districts and households in rural areas that cannot afford the service. Read more: SpaceX will provide Starlink Internet to Virginia’s Wise County School District and Rural Community.
To receive internet from the satellites in space customers purchase a Starlink Kit that includes a phased-array antenna dish, mounting tripod, and Wi-Fi router device. SpaceX says the technology these devices feature is more advanced than what is currently on fighter jets. SpaceX priced the equipment at $499 USD, with a monthly service fee of $99 USD. Long-term, Starlink customers will be supporting SpaceX’s ultimate mission to develop the Starship fleet that will enable humanity to colonize Mars." tasmanian
————-
And now pilgrims, I see that Starlink has applied for licensing to operate in Greece where they would offer universal access at prices more expensive than at present from a patchwork of little internet providers, but at speeds up to 150 MPS. This is far, far higher than in Greece today where speeds are often down around 10 MPS.
Pilgrims! If this works on a business basis, you can expect that Starlink will spread across Europe and then the world transforming the internet providers market wherever it goes. pl
https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/starlink-hiring
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Set to Bring Starlink Internet to Greece | GreekReporter.com
500$ for equipment and 100$ per month for a 150 mbps DL is not really that competitive.
These days i’m having a fiber connection setup with 0$ for equpiment and some 35$ per month for a 100 mpbs DL (and a telephone line).
Of course I’m not on some small Greek island with bad infrastructure but in an urban European area.
Starlink sounds great for areas that have bad or no infrastructure, though. Also, they claim that latency will be up to 20ms which sounds great for a system based on satellites.
zm,
I have live within 30 miles of the Research Triangle Park in NC and have zero prospects of fiber optic service. My students last year with telephone line service were hardly able to maintain Zoom connections for a 40 minute class, the phone based internet service is so poor. I pay nearly $200/month for what is essentially a mobile phone hot spot connection with a 50 GByte/month limit before further charges occur. As much as I dislike Elon Musk, I am looking forward to Starlink being available in my neighborhood. (I also hold my nose while using Amazon because it saves a lot of time and driving.)
fotokemist
Why do you dislike
elon Musk?
Just a small note – tesmanian is tes(la)mania(n), not tasmanian. Tasmania is the major island south of the Australian mainland. tesmanian is a Tesla fan site.
Having said that, Starlink will be welcomed by many remote areas in Australia, as it is far superior to our own satellite service.
fotokemist
Those prices are really high. For comparison, a couple of weeks ago I bought a backup internet connection in a form of mobile 4G services with 60GB for less than 8 $/month.
Judging by your situation Elon Musk with Starlink has a good business model.
In the absence of significant scientific breakthrough, we need more people like him pushing the envelope.