SpaceX says it already has 100.000 connections to the Starlink ISP, before it even achieves global coverage.
Starlink is a satellite system developed by SpaceX for the provision of satellite internet. The system will consist of thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit, in combination with ground transceivers. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed the number on Twitter, and also listed the 14 areas where the service is currently available.
100k shipped terminals!https://t.co/Q1VvqVmJ2i
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 23
"License applications are pending in many other countries. We hope to serve the Earth soon! ” he continued following the tweet.
SpaceX launched Starlink as a beta service in late 2020, offering potential testers a chance to be the first to do so, at $ 99 a month. The antenna and the terminal are not included in the monthly charge. Starlink sells the kit, ie the antenna dish, the base, its power supply, as well as a WiFi router, for an additional $ 499, which customers will have to pay in advance. However, the latest evaluations of the antenna they talked about temperature problems.
Starlink is designed to serve customers in remote locations, where internet options are usually limited or even non-existent. This is probably why customers are willing to pay the rather high cost. According to CNBC, the company said it had 90.000 users in July, indicating it had signed 10.000 customers in the last three weeks.
SpaceX has already developed nearly 1.800 satellites for the Starlink system, and plans to increase them to 42.000 in the near future.
