What exactly is Starlink? From a technical perspective, it is considered to be a satellite internet system. However, it is a potential blessing for the average internet users out there.
Here, we are not exaggerating by any means. Probably you enjoy speedy internet service, possibly at 1Gbps or even beyond in case you reside in a metropolis or a suburb. Nevertheless, just imagine struggling with internet speeds of 20Mbps day after day. What is even worse, you are able to choose between only a couple of internet service providers providing you with crummy service.
Sadly, lots of people throughout the US, as well as the world, are stuck in this situation. It is undoubtedly profitable to install fiber in an urban center, and provide Gigabit internet connection to numerous clients, but not so much in a non-urban area where just a few hundred individuals reside.
Take Starlink into consideration. This satellite Internet system coming from SpaceX has the ability to deliver Internet speeds of 150Mbps to practically any location on earth. The customer simply needs to have a clear view of the skies.
In the following paragraphs, we are going to mention some fundamental questions regarding Starlink which will come of use to you. This will also help to answer your question regarding how good Starlink satellite internet from SpaceX is.
How to subscribe to Starlink?
Visit Starlink.com. The website is going to take your address and will inform you whether the satellite web service is accessible in your location. Otherwise, the company will inform you regarding the predicted date when Starlink is going to arrive. It will be imperative for the majority of the users to wait for several months; Starlink is presently serving more than 10,000 consumers. Nevertheless, “tens of thousands” of individuals throughout the US have registered with the hope of trying it out at present. Apart from this, requests are being addressed on a first-come, first-serve basis. For reserving a spot, a refundable deposit of $99 can be placed by you through the pre-order function of the Starlink website.
How much will it cost?
The Starlink website advertises an equipment price of $499 for the router and antenna along with a monthly rate of $99.17. Unfortunately, that is in excess of the initial guesstimate price of $80 per month; however, it’s nevertheless less costly as compared to some of the higher-end plans of Viasat and HughesNet.
In fact, a Viasat satellite internet plan ranges between $30 and $150 per month for 20 Mbps up to 100 Mbps download speeds, and HughesNet plans vary from around $50 to $150 per month for 25 Mbps download speeds.
• Starlink price: $99 per month
• Cost of equipment: $499
So how exactly does Starlink function?
Satellite internet technology is functioning for a long time. It consists of beaming web data via radio signals by means of the vacuum of space. The signals are broadcasted by the Ground stations on earth to satellites which are in orbit, and these relay the information back to consumers on the planet. HughesNet has been amongst the major existing providers which use satellites 25,000 miles above the earth.
The system of SpaceX enhances the technology in a couple of significant ways: The company likes to make use of low-Earth orbiting satellites which circle our planet at just approximately 400 miles above the surface. Internet speeds can be enhanced drastically by the shortened distance while also decreasing latency. Secondly, SpaceX desires to release as many as 45,000 satellites in the forthcoming years for powering the system, thus guaranteeing worldwide coverage without any dropouts in service.
Exactly how fast Is Starlink? How consistent is the Internet?
At present, Starlink is providing somewhere between 80Mbps and 150Mbps when it comes to downloading speeds and approximately 30Mbps when it comes to uploading speeds. In the meantime, latency measures about 30 milliseconds, which happens to be on par with the Internet which is ground-based. SpaceX is planning to bump up the download speed to approximately 300Mbps later this year while cutting down the latency to around 20ms.
This increment of speed will take place as more Starlink satellites are launched by SpaceX into orbit, which numbers at more than 1,100 on March 2021. The long-term objective of the company is to operate a large number of satellites eventually, thus paving the way for download speeds of even 1Gbps to 10Gbps. According to the users, the speeds might vary, and at times short breakdowns can happen.
I reside in a metropolis or suburb. Is it possible for me to use Starlink?
Most likely not. SpaceX is planning to bring Starlink to locations having slow internet, especially in non-urban as well as remote parts of the planet. Therefore SpaceX is expected to give priority to users in those areas first. There is not much reason for Starlink to compete against significant ground-based web service providers, which will be able to provide high-speed internet plans at nearly $50 per month.
Elon Musk, the SpaceX CEO, has mentioned that satellite technology might find it difficult to supply adequate internet bandwidth to customers living in locations which are heavily populated. According to him, Starlink is ideal for the low to medium density of population. However, satellites are not ideal for high-density metropolitan areas.
Where is Starlink going to be available?
The first target of SpaceX would be to provide speedy satellite internet service to rural areas in Canada and the US. Following this, Musk and his business expect to expand their service to other areas on the planet.
This plan would need SpaceX to release approximately 2,800 more satellites, however, at greater heights between 800 and 900 miles above the Earth.
Verdict
All those who have resided in a particular area for any period of time without fast access to the internet will certainly find Starlink worth the cost. In fact, it happens to be the only game in town till others such as Amazon introduce competing services. Starlink is likewise certain to enhance and reduce its beta dropouts as the business releases many more satellites above the planet.
Elon Musk, in a recent Tweet, assured that Starlink is going to reach speeds of around 300 Mbps in the near future as more satellites are going to be released. Although this might not seem to be much significant for people who live in cities, it is definitely a blessing for the folks residing in the country.
