Another hit from SpaceX

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is known to be a technology driven giant that keeps coming up with innovations that blow up our minds and help humanity progress. Of particular interest is Starlink  which intends to deliver high speed broadband internet through a satellite internet constellation. The idea really is genius as it could really solve internet connectivity problems in some areas that are just hard to access via fibre such as remote and rural areas. This is achievable because Starlink is unbounded by traditional ground infrastructure. Upon full completion, Starlink will consist of thousands of mass produced satellites in low earth orbit (LEO) working in sync with ground transceivers.

The Starlink satellites are in close proximity to earth than traditional satellites by a factor of 60 resulting in lower latency. This makes them ideal for applications such as video calling and online gaming. For professional gamers who wanted to participate in E-sports but were limited by connectivity in their area this seems like a viable option to finally boost your career and make that money. If you are looking to binge watch on Netflix but previously couldn’t do so because of limited internet access in your area, the Starlink offering seems to be a good deal for you. There are a lot of advantages that the internet brings business wise. For example, farmers in remote areas could setup an online shop and have their products ordered from there and manage payments. They could also have access to real time weather information and even consult with an agronomist via Skype or Zoom to get farming advice.

The kit comes with your starlink, power supply, cables, mounting tripod and wifi router. These accessories get you online as soon as setup completes and everything is all powered up. An important point to note is that the mounting tripod however is designed for ground level installation or a quick setup scenario. If one requires their starlink mounted on the roof then they can sign into their account and purchase roof mounts. The ideal operating requirements for the best experience using the starlink is that it should be installed in a clear field of view. What this means is that there should be no obstructions such as trees or chimney blocking the equipment as this may disrupt your internet connectivity. Think of it this way, the connection between the Starlink satellite and your starlink is a beam that moves as the Starlink satellite moves. If an object such as a tree gets in the way, the beam would be cut off resulting in the internet disconnecting. As of now, the pre-requisite clear field of view is a 100 degree cone around the center of the dish (after tilting) with a 25 degree elevation minimum. Users whose areas are surrounded by buildings and tall trees may not be good candidates for early adoption of Starlink. However, Musk’s company says as more satellites are being launched the field of view constraints will reduce catering for a wide variety of users.

Starlink is considered to be in its beta stage right now. The company states that during beta,  users can expect varying data speeds from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s and latency variances from 20ms to 40ms over the next few months as they are actively enhancing the Starlink system . In a tweet, Elon Musk said he expected the service to double its top speeds to 300Mb/s by the end of 2021.  Starlink is currently providing service to more than 10 000 customers and experiencing an increase in order volume. This order volume may result in your starlink being delivered 2 – 4 weeks dependant on where you are on the ordering queue. Order processing is on a first come first serve basis.

The Starlink kit costs $500 USD and the internet service is pegged at $99 USD montly subscription. It seems like a sweet deal.