Wi-Fi connectivity is a consumer expectation throughout the travel industry. From airports and hotels to airplanes and trains, Ookla has examined all of these just this year alone. Now Ookla has walked the gangway to the cruise ship industry to see what type of connectivity is offered on the seas. Data from Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence, […]
SpaceX’s global Starlink broadband network is currently listed as finally coming to the poorly served Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory, sometime in what’s left of 2025. Starlink’ activity map currently says “available now” for the Islands. The bad news, however, is that the service is already being used by hundreds of local customers who […]
Starlink has begun hiring staff in India ahead of official launch of its broadband-by-satellite service. Local reports say that the plan is to start inviting subscriptions “early in 2026”. Starlink has posted job openings for several high-level finance and accounting positions on its professional sites. These key positions, including Accounting Manager, Payments Manager, Senior Treasury […]
UK multiplay operator Virgin Media O2 has announced a new multi-year landmark partnership with Starlink Direct to Cell, marking a UK-first initiative to enhance rural mobile network coverage and improve customer experience. The operator is the first in the UK to utilise Starlink’s position as the world’s largest and only satellite-to-mobile constellation with 650+ satellites […]
UK spectrum regulator Ofcom has granted “temporary authorisation” for SpaceX’s Starlink service to harness the E band (71-76GHz and 81-86GHz) frequencies for their mega-constellation of compact ultrafast broadband satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The move will reportedly boost Starlnk’s backhaul data capacity at their three UK gateway Earth station sites. Starlink has reportedly been […]
SpaceX’s Starlink has started security tests ahead of its commercial launch in India. Reports from India say this is one of the final steps needed prior to starting commercial broadband services in the nation. The tests form part of India’s obligatory security clearance process for both foreign and domestic telecom operators. However, India’s Telecom Regulatory […]
AST SpaceMobile, which has a Japanese partner with Rakuten Mobile, will have competition in terms of Direct-To-Consumer connectivity. The threat comes from a joint venture between wireless telecom provider NTT Docomo and financial powerhouse Softbank. NTT Docomo and SoftBank are preparing to launch direct satellite communication services for smartphones in 2026, leveraging the Starlink satellite network […]
Grey-market/cross border smuggling of satellite kit has meant that SpaceX has disabled some 2,500 former users in Myanmar (the former Burma). Myanmar is not yet offering a Starlink service, but nearby Malaysia is authorised. A statement from Lauren Dreyer (VP/Starlink Business Operations) at SpaceX said: “SpaceX complies with local laws in all 150+ markets where […]
SpaceX launched its 10,000th Starlink satellite on October 19th at 17.39 UTC. Some observers said there had been a malfunction but SpaceX later confirmed all the satellites had been deployed and the valuable booster stage of the rocket successfully landed on its floating drone ship eight minutes after launch. Indeed, the day represented a double […]
Using Speedtest data, Ookla has taken a look at the early usage of T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service across T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and FirstNet users in the US. Speedtest data highlights the early usage of T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service, which works on most new iOS and Android smartphones released in the past 2-4 years. The service is available […]