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- SpaceX’s Starlink internet service already offers download speeds of more than 100 Mbps according to the company.
- Those speeds are fine, but they’re not exactly devastating.
- The fact that Starlink can be used anywhere will be its true selling point.
SpaceX just launched another batch of its Starlink satellites today, bringing the total number of satellites in Earth orbit to more than 700. That’s a ton of high-speed data hardware floating overhead, but when will it start? , you know, does it really work?
It already has, according to SpaceX. The company says that its private beta is already underway and that it offers quite impressive speeds for its users. How TechCrunch SpaceX’s Kate Tice reportedly revealed the information today during the broadcast of the Starlink launch. But how fast is “fast”? Well it’s not the the fastest, if that’s what you’re thinking.
Based on what Tice said during the webcast, the satellite network in its current form is delivering speeds north of 100 Mbps. Now if you live in a large city or even a relatively populated suburban area, you are probably getting higher speeds or even faster than that at the moment, depending on your provider. So what is the problem?
Well, there are a few things that make SpaceX’s Starlink Internet special. For starters, it’s still growing, and if the network is offering speeds of around 100 Mbps right now with only 700 satellites in orbit, imagine how fast it could be with the planned 12,000 satellites. Of course, at that point, the service will be (or should, at least) be publicly available, so that means a lot of traffic to deal with.
In all honesty, we don’t know how fast it will arrive, but for now, let’s assume that 100 Mbps is the upper limit. Even if that’s the case, the service has a trick up its sleeve that no other ISP can boast: you can use it anywhere.
If you are heading to the heart of the United States right now and walking up to some rural households and asking them what their internet speeds are, you will probably be surprised. I live in Wisconsin, and I don’t have to travel far from city limits to find rural Internet providers with speeds that are around one-tenth of what I get at home. It’s tough, but that’s just the limit of technology in many places.
By contrast, SpaceX’s Starlink should be able to deliver very fast speeds to rural areas without a hitch, not to mention streaming it to remote parts of the planet that don’t have access to any kind of internet. For the millions of people who live in those areas of the world, it could be a real game changer. Of course, SpaceX needs to launch a few thousand more satellites before it can actually open the floodgates.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in virtual reality, wearable devices, smartphones, and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as a technology editor at The Daily Dot and has been featured in USA Today, Time.com, and in many other print and web media. His love of reporting is second only to his addiction to games.
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