SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced on Monday via Twitter that the satellite internet service of his company Starlink would have speeds close to 300 Mbps later this year.
This is approximately twice as fast as presently promoted and would represent a substantial step ahead for the service as it seeks delivery of high-speed internet to underserved areas across the world.
According to c|net, Musk's tweet came as a response to a posting from a customer their "at-home speed test results" with a newly installed connection via Starlink.
Latency, a gauge of how long it takes the internet signal to "travel to space and back" will also drop to roughly 20ms this year, Musk said.
This then would be a verification of the strategy of the company to launch its satellites into low-Earth orbit, reducing the distance that there is a need for such signals to travel.
Speed will double to ~300Mb/s & latency will drop to ~20ms later this year
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2021
Astronomers' Concern
This strategy has raised red flags as well, with astronomers concerned about barriers to "night sky visibility," something SpaceX has been working "to address with updates to its satellite design."
The company executive continued replying to another user who was asking for a coverage map, explaining to them that Starlink is covering the majority of Earth by the end of 2021, all by 2022.
Musk also said, from there, it is all about "densifying coverage," even though he noted that the coverage of the satellite internet is best appropriate for areas that have low- to medium-population density.
To date, Starlink boasts of more than 10,000 customers and consists of a growing constellation or network of more than 1,200 low-Earth orbit satellites that can provide the internet signal to homes that are equipped with a receiver dish.
Internet Coverage Expected to Grow
This information technology site also said, the $99 monthly service, which charges $500 as well, for an initial equipment cost, is now accepting preorders for customers in certain areas of Canada, the United Kingdom, the northwest United States between "latitudes 45 and 53 degrees north," and other select sites.
The scope of that particular coverage, the report specified, is expected to grow as SpaceX continues to launch more satellites into orbit, eventually, "as many as 30,000 of them.
Satellite Internet Venture
After several years of development within SpaceX, not to mention, after it sought almost $885.5 million in financial backing from the Federal Communications Commission late last year, the progress of Starlink appears to be accelerating this year.
Last month, after around three years' worth of successful take-offs, the project exceeded around 1,000 satellites sent into orbit. Earlier in this month, as earlier mentioned, the company revealed is now serving over 10,000 customers.
To date, its internet service is into an expansion process of its preorders to even more potential customers, with those presently living minus the access to high internet speed as one of the top priorities.
According to the company's website, users "can expect to see data speeds" varying between 50 and 150 Mbps, and a latency between 20 and 40 milliseconds in most areas over the next couple of months.
Along with this information, Starlink also cautioned of short periods of connectivity at all. As more satellites are launched, more ground stations are installed, and network software are improved, the website said, "data speed, latency and uptime will improve dramatically."
Check out more news and information on SpaceX and Starlink on Science Times.
