Skip to main content

SpaceX Internet service Starlink asks for people to try it out





  • SpaceX is inviting users to receive updates on when the Starlink beta launches
  • Prospective customers are asked to provide email addresses and zip codes
  • Eligible users will receive a user terminal that captures satellite signals
  • The beta is expected to launch later this summer or early fall 

SpaceX is now inviting people to register their interest in the Starlink satellites and the internet services they will provide, as the company prepares to roll out the beta tests for the Starlink low-earth orbit (LEO) internet service. The Elon Musk-owned aerospace company intends to provide high speed internet connectivity from the Starlink constellation of satellites. It is expected that there will be gigabit speeds on offer, which for the rest of us means up to 1Gbps internet speeds, with the fairly low latency of up to 25ms. Starlink plans to offer these internet services for around $80 per month, which is priced at par if not lower than similar speed broadband plans in most countries, including India.


You can head to the Starlink website and sign up for updates, which the company says are to “get updates on Starlink news and service availability in your area”. Starlink says they target to launch the internet services across the US and Canada this year itself, and a near-global footprint at least covering populated areas, by the end of next year. Each Starlink satellite weighs about 250kg, which is significantly lighter than even the smallest hatchback car out there, and each satellite has 4 powerful phased array antennas.

The most recent additions to Starlink’s constellation happened on June 13, when 58 new Starlink satellites were launched into space. That means there are now 540 Starlink satellites in orbit. It is planned that the Starlink constellation will have a total of 12,000 LEO satellites. Late last month, SpaceX wrote to the US FCC for permission for 30,000 satellites as part of the Gen2 System.



“More than 85% of this system will operate at very low altitudes below 400 km, using eight total orbital altitudes ranging from 328 km to 614 km. Just as large deployments of new densified 5G networks are helping those in more urban environments, the densified satellite constellation SpaceX proposes will substantially increase capacity and drive up the number of consumers even in rural and remote areas with access to truly robust broadband,” the company said in the application.


Once you have signed up for the beta test, you will get a confirmation email, notes ZDNet. “Starlink is designed to deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable. Private beta testing is expected to begin later this summer, followed by public beta testing, starting with higher latitudes,” reads the email. “If you provided us with your zip code, you will be notified via email if beta testing opportunities become available in your area. In the meantime, we will continue to share with you updates about general service availability and upcoming Starlink launches,” it says. We have also signed up but have not received any confirmation email for our part of the world, at the time of writing this.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apple iPhone 12 series to launch in October!!!

As Apple confirmed that its upcoming iPhone 12 series would not launch in September, the iPhone maker is now said to hold the launch event in October. The India availability of new iPhone models in India happens typically a week after they become available in the US.  It should be noted that several industry analysts had earlier predicted that the iPhone models launching in 2020 would get delayed. The tech giant has not specified further details about the delay in the launch. However, Apple's announcement came soon after global chip making giant Qualcomm indicated at a brief delay in the launch of the iPhone 12 line up that could comprise four new models. Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm CFO had suggested the delay and said: “a slight delay that pushes some of the units out from the September quarter to the December quarter for us.” iPhone 12 range will be announced on the week commencing October 12 (which might mean an announcement on Tuesday, October 13, since Apple often unveils thin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Neuralink: Elon Musk unveils pig with chip in its brain

  Elon Musk has unveiled a pig called Gertrude with a coin-sized computer chip in her brain to demonstrate his ambitious plans to create a working brain-to-machine interface. "It's kind of like a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires," the billionaire entrepreneur said on a webcast. His start-up Neuralink applied to launch human trials last year. The interface could allow people with neurological conditions to control phones or computers with their minds. Mr.Musk argues such chips could eventually be used to help cure conditions such as dementia, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injuries. But the long-term ambition is to usher in an age of what Mr.Musk calls "superhuman cognition", in part to combat artificial intelligence so powerful he says it could destroy the human race. Elon Musk reveals brain-hacking plans Gertrude was one of three pigs in pens that took part in Friday's webcast demo. She took a while to get going, but when she ate and sniffed ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Safari to support password-less logins

Safari 14, the version of Apple’s browser that will ship with iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, will let you use Face ID or Touch ID to log in to websites built to support the feature. The functionality was confirmed in the browser’s beta release notes, and Apple has detailed how the feature works in a WWDC video for developers. The functionality is built on the Web Authn component of the FIDO2 standard, developed by the FIDO Alliance. It should make logging into a website as easy as logging into an app secured with Touch ID or Face ID.WebAuthn is an API that aims to make web logins simpler and more secure. Unlike passwords, which are often easily guessed and vulnerable to phishing attacks, WebAuthn uses public key cryptography and can use security methods like biometrics or hardware security keys to verify your identity. It’s a standard that individual websites need to add support for, but being supported by the stock browser in iOS has the potential to be a major boost for adoption.This isn’...
Post a Comment
Read more