Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite-based internet system, which we have been following with interest over the years – we last heard from them when the company announced they would start beta testing back in 2020. SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk, the father of Tesla, he is also one of the men behind PayPal. Meanwhile, SpaceX also engages in more traditional space tech, with both the space shuttle Starship and their reusable Falcon rockets.
“We’ve 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 timeframe,” SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said at the virtual Macquarie Technology Summit. SpaceX has been granted permission to launch up to 12,000 satellites, so the system still has a long way to go.
Now SpaceX has reached another milestone and expects to have global coverage in September of this year. This means that you should be able to get stable and fast internet no matter where you are located, as long as you have access to Starlink.
As of today, Starlink is only available in several English-speaking countries, but SpaceX has registered subsidiaries in many more and is constantly expanding into new countries. Shotwell explained that SpaceX will have to secure regulatory approval to provide telecommunications services in every country where it wants to offer Starlink’s internet.
As of February of 2021, the system had some 10,000 beta testers, and SpaceX is giving more and more people the opportunity to try it out.
