Starlink Seeks Designation as Eligible Telecom Carrier

The Internet service currently being tested by Elon Musk's company - the so-called Starlink system - is already used by 10 thousand people. The service may soon become available to a larger group of users.

IN A NUTSHELL:

Starlink Internet, currently available for beta testing, has over 10,000 users;
Yechnical parameters of the connection: 100/20 Mbps (download / upload), 31 ms ping;
The company also plans to offer an Internet telephony service.

Starlink Internet, offered by billionaire Elon Musk's company SpaceX, has over 10 thousand users. The information appeared in a petition to the US Federal Communications Commission, which asks for Starlink to be recognized as an eligible telecommunications carrier.

The document also contains information on the number of satellites that make up the system (there are over a thousand of them, and more are regularly launch into the orbit) and the specs of the connection - in 95% of cases Starlink offers download / upload speeds of 100 / 20 Mbps and a ping of about 31 ms (although in some cases it is even better) . It's worth noting that we currently have to pay $99 for monthly access to Starlink. An additional one-time expense of $499 for the hardware (router, terminal and mounting system) is also required.

We also learned some details about other plans related to the Starlink system. For example, the company wants to offer VoIP service (voice over IP) at a competitive price, with an additional option of 24-hour emergency power supply, which will allow for the connection to be used also in case of power failure (e.g. when there is a breakdown in a nearby power plant). SpaceX also intends to offer services as part of the so-called Lifeline program (cheap access to the Internet, offered with government subsidies, which can be used by citizens meeting certain criteria).

It is worth noting that Musk's company needs the approval of the aforementioned committee in order to be able to use the grant from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and provide services in numerous US states. If all goes according to plan, Starlink could soon be made available to a much larger group of potential customers.