Starlink has well over 8,000 satellites in orbit, but they have an orbital life of around five years. The first batch of 60 operational craft were launched in May 2019. This means that some of those early launches have now reached their ‘end of life’ targets. In the six month period from December 2024 to […]
Elon Musk’s plans to start Starlink broadband services in South Africa are currently stymied. But he is reportedly planning an ambitious work-around with a 2 billion Rand (€96m) overall investment in the Southern Africa region to get around local Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) regulations. South Africa’s Business Day reports that Musk will use the investment […]
There are more than a few ‘rivals’ to Starlink, but only Eutelsat’s OneWeb has a full fleet of satellites in orbit with which to challenge Elon Musk’s broadband satellite service. The other major potential rivals are Jeff Bezos-backed Amazon Project Kuiper and Canada’s Telesat and its Lightspeed fleet. But Kuiper has only just started launching […]
India’s National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre IN-SPACe is poised to approve Starlink’s application to start broadband services in India. The company has to sign a draft authorisation document with the space regulator IN-SPACe. Once the company signs the document, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre will pave the way for it to […]
Starlink is unlikely to gain permission to operate in South Africa any time soon, according to a local communications sector expert. Dominic Cull, a regulatory expert at communications sector legal advisory firm Ellipsis, said it will be at least two years before new regulations will be in place to allow for equity equivalents – and […]
T-Mobile will launch its new T-Satellite direct-to-cellular (DTC) service for US subscribers with SpaceX’s Starlink on July 23rd. It will follow this launch with support for data for third-party apps including WhatsApp and X in October. T-Mobile says the range of the satellite coverage will cover some 500,000 square miles of the country and include […]
Despite missiles raining down – and perhaps to ensure connectivity – Elon Musk has confirmed that SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite is now active in Iran. On June 13th, Iran’s communications ministry announced that “temporary restrictions have been imposed on the country’s internet” in response to Israel’s wave of attacks on military and nuclear facilities. The ministry […]
Novaspace, the space consulting and market intelligence firm, has released the 13th edition of its Prospects for Maritime Satellite Communications report, assessing the key trends and developments impacting this rapidly growing market. As the number of vessels using satcom services grows to 125,000 by 2034, reliance on GEO capacity will decrease. Vessels are moving their […]
Starlink has enjoyed considerable positive press these last few days, notably winning operating licences in India and South Korea, for example. But pilots flying some of United’s aircraft fleet are not so pleased. United Airlines has had to disable Starlink transmissions for its passengers on some flights because of interference to the aircraft’s normal operating […]
Space Norway, the European satellite operator, has signed an agreement with Starlink by SpaceX to provide Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity services starting with immediate effect. This contract further extends the company’s strategy of offering multi-orbit infrastructure combining geostationary (GEO), Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) and LEO satellites. The Starlink satellite constellation will enable Space […]