How Starlink Will Change The Future Of The Internet
Starlink is a low latency, broadband internet system intended to grant access to high-speed internet around the world. This is enabled by a large constellation of low-earth-orbit satellites. Starlink’s main customers are people around the world living in areas not supported by affordable and accessible internet. This goal will hopefully provide reliable internet service to people in rural and remote areas.
How Starlink Works
SpaceX launches and positions each satellite creating a vast constellation covering the planet. SpaceX is working on creating satellites that are able to communicate with each other using laser communication. This means information can travel between them faster than a fiber optic cable. These satellites then send the signal to the Starlink dish installed at your home.
This process is still going through a lot of beta testing and is nowhere near the final stage. SpaceX is also working on physical satellite technology to help improve their communication with each other and back down to earth. Additionally, they plan on adding many more satellites to improve speed and coverage.
How Much Does It Cost?
Currently, Starlink’s beta service costs $499 upfront for the Starlink kit and an additional $99 each month. The kit comes with everything you need including the dish, power cables, router, and mounting hardware. Setup is also designed to be fast and easy only taking around 5-10 minutes to set up.
How Many Satellites In The Full Constellation?
Right now in orbit, there are around 1,700 satellites. SpaceX continues to add more and increase the constellation whenever it can. 1,700 is a lot of satellites but SpaceX wants far more. So far the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has approved them for 12,000. To add on top of that SpaceX has filed for an additional 30,000 satellites bringing the total to an astonishing 42,000 satellites.
The reason SpaceX wants to put so many satellites in orbit is that it’s required for good coverage. The satellites are in a very low orbit at 340 miles above the surface. This provides the benefit of lower latency as the satellites are able to transmit data quicker. The downside being since they are so close to Earth their coverage is very small. This requires them to need over 40,000 satellites to thoroughly cover the planet.
How Can SpaceX Afford To Launch So Many Satellites?
Launching tens of thousands of satellites is not cheap and very few companies could afford to do so. The main reason SpaceX can afford to consistently launch them is that SpaceX is using its own partially reusable rocket. It is not economically feasible to launch this many satellites through a different company. So far there have been around 30 Starlink launches. Those launches are thanks to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket carrying 60 satellites each launch. The Falcon 9 is partially reusable and costs around $62 million per launch. Still very expensive but a bit more affordable than a lot of the current launch providers.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has given them a head start but they have a better plan in production. SpaceX is devolving the most powerful rocket in the world Starship. When Starship is successfully completed they will launch Starlink satellites at a fraction of the cost. Not only is Starship planned to be cheaper but it’s also a lot bigger. SpaceX estimates starship could hold 400 Starlink satellites each launch. This combined with the lower launch costs and SpaceX will be putting satellites into orbit at a very fast pace. If you want to learn more about how special Starship is check out another one of my articles here.
What Type Of Consumer Does This Service Benefit?
The main audience for Starlink is people living in rural and remote areas around the world. Specifically areas with little to no access to the internet. The FCC reports that approximately 19 million Americans still lack access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds. That is nearly 20 million people who could benefit from Starlink in just the United States alone.
When you look at the global market it reveals hundreds of millions of people who could also benefit from this service. In some areas, it can cost a fortune to provide internet to secluded areas. Despite the high cost these services usually still lack speed and reliability. This is where Starlink will come in and completely change the way the world uses the internet.
How Does This Benefit SpaceX?
SpaceX being a private company needs to come up with a lot of its own funding. They have been awarded contracts from NASA but need to produce their own capital to accomplish a lot of their goals. SpaceX projected Starlink could provide an annual revenue of over $30 billion dollars. $30 billion is a lot of money and would directly have an effect on SpaceX’s progress and efficiency. SpaceX has very ambitious goals such as sending humans to Mars. If there is even a small chance of this becoming a reality they will need a lot of funding. Starlink will play a massive part in SpaceX’s future success and goals.
While the money is nice it’s not the only reason SpaceX is working on Starlink. They make it clear that providing people around the globe with internet who don’t currently have access is very important. So many people are left unconnected to what’s happening around the world. Starlink can not only provide SpaceX funds but also give people the opportunity to connect with what is happening worldwide.
Competition
While SpaceX is one of the first companies targeting low earth orbit internet satellites they are not alone. Just to name a few companies including Amazon, OneWeb and Telesat have similar plans.
1. Amazon – Currently Amazon is working on a service that is similar to SpaceX. They call it project Kuiper. Kuiper’s goal is also to provide fast and affordable internet to people around the world without access. Amazon wants to send over 3,200 satellites into low earth orbit for their coverage. This creates direct competition between the two services.
2. Telesat – Telesat is a Canadian satellite communication company. Telesat is also working towards launching a large array of satellites in low earth orbit to provide high-speed internet around the world. One main difference being Telesat has stated this service will be oriented towards business clients.
3. OneWeb – OneWeb is a global communication based out of the United Kingdom. OneWeb is planning a constellation of low earth orbit satellites. Specifically, they planned an initial amount of 650 satellites by 2022. Currently, they have launched almost 300 satellites.
Conclusion
Thanks to innovative technology and partially reusable rockets SpaceX and Starlink are in the process of providing fast cheap internet worldwide. They have only just started but are determined to finish the constellation of 42,000 satellites. Starlink will provide tens of millions of people around the world with fast internet they otherwise would not have access to. SpaceX is also able to profit off the service and fund many future missions including trips to Mars. Keep in mind they are not alone and what they are doing is no easy task. SpaceX will need to continue innovating and pushing forward at a fast pace if they want to accomplish their goals.