SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system is not authorised or licensed by South Africa. Recent discussions between SpaceX and South Africa’s licensing authorities could see this prohibition lifted. However, there are reportedly thousands of Starlink users in South Africa. The users have imported equipment from neighbouring states where Starlink is authorised and have accessed Starlink via its […]
Starlink subscribers around the world pay anything between $120 (USA), A$139 (Australia), €49 (average in Europe) and Ksh 6500 (in Kenya). But SpaceX has a major dilemma in setting its pricing structure in India. Not only is India a market with plenty of established cellular competition, but also vigorous competition from Eutelsat’s OneWeb and RelianceJio/SES, […]
Elon Musk’s previous comments that South Africa’s government was allegedly “racist” were raised during the tense meeting between President Trump and President Cyril Ramaphosa in the White House last week. Musk was present during the meeting but did not speak. South African billionaire Johann Rupert did speak and moved to quell tensions with remarks that […]
UK comms regulator Ofcom is consulting on a proposal to issue fixed-term spectrum licences to enable Starlink to use E band frequencies for Non-geostationary Orbit (NGSO) gateway earth stations at three sites in the UK. This is to expand backhaul capacity to support satellite broadband services. Ofcom notes that take-up of satellite broadband is rising, […]
A routine launch of 28 Starlink satellites today [May 13th] will be looking to break an impressive record for SpaceX. The new record is that the launch will be the 28th use of the Falcon 9 booster rocket. The launch will wrap up a succesful weekend for SpaceX. The company sent another batch of its […]
Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband by satellite system has received a ‘Letter of Intent’ from India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The official message covers Starlink’s satellite communications services. However, there are many tough limitations being set which might make a deployment a challenge. The move comes after months of regulatory scrutiny by the DoT, which is […]
According to analysis from Novaspace, SpaceX generated an estimated $11.8 billion (€10.4bn) in revenue in 2024, with Starlink overtaking its space transportation division for the first time. The company’s long-awaited profitability milestone is being driven by the steady maturation of its connectivity business and a launch model now optimised for reuse. While not unexpected, the […]
UK consumers are facing a surcharge of almost £200 (€235) over and above the initial signing on fee because of Starlink network congestion in some parts of the country, according to a report from Fibre Compare, Geoff Pestell, CEO at comparison site Fibre Compare, has commented on Starlink’s new surcharge and its impact on new […]
SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system has been approved by Bangladesh. Tests will begin this week on April 9th and the system is expected to launch commercially within the next three months. India has yet to approve Starlink. The interim government in Dhaka directed the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) on March 29th to make it mandatory […]
Various reports on a proposed $1.5 billion Italian plan for Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites talk of the agreement being ‘cancelled’ or ‘paused’ or ‘stalled’. In its place Eutelsat’s CEO has addressed the dilemma and specifically talking up Eutelsat’s ability to fill the Italian gap. Eutelsat CEO Eva Berneke told French parliamentarians that “Starlink ties Italy […]