Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband by satellite system is aggressively pursuing airline ‘direct-to-seat’ in-flight services. Starlink Aviation is promising connection speeds of up to 350 Mb/s (per aircraft) which it says is fast enough for video calls, online gaming and other high data rate activity. Starlink says it is offering connectivity to the world’s private jet […]
Starlink has formally applied for a GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite) licence from India’s Department of Trade (DoT). The service was previously ordered to refund potential subscribers after offering pre-orders before holding a licence. Starlink, once licensed, will join OneWeb (backed by Bharti Airtel) and Reliance’s Jio satellite division (which is working with […]
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 54 Starlink satellites today, October 20th, from Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 10:50 am ET (14:50 pm UTC), and a backup opportunity is available on Friday, October 21st at 10:29 a.m. ET (14:29 UTC). The […]
Hurtigruten Expeditions, the Norwegian cruise operator, has added SpaceX’s Starlink terminals and equipment to its fleet. Oslo-based Hurtigruten says it has been working with facilities company Speedcast since March to test and now integrate Starlink broadband connections. Hurtigruten specialises in Scandinavian and Arctic sailings, and says the fitting of equipment will wrap by the end […]
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has announced that Starlink has launched in Japan, making the country the first in Asia to deploy the broadband-by-satellite service. Starlink will, in particular, tap into potential demand from mountainous areas and remote islands suffering from spotty or hard-to-access internet service. The monthly service fee is 12,300 yen (€86.55) on top of […]
SpaceX launched four NASA astronauts to the international space station on October 5th from Cape Canaveral. A few hours later, from the Vandenberg Space Force base in California, another Falcon 9 rocket lofted 52 Starlink satellites into orbit. Both rocket boosters made pinpoint landings on their floating barges a few minutes after launch. The Starlink […]
A report from TMF Associates and CEO Tim Farrar is blunt, and rare amongst analysts in admitting he has now changed his mind about SpaceX’s prospects. Until 2020, TMF was sceptical about any of the many LEO broadband-by-satellite operations. TMF’s analysis was justified in that LeoSat failed in late 2019, OneWeb hit bankruptcy in March […]
Qatar’s Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has licensed SpaceX’s Starlink to provide satellite links to the peninsula. The CRA licence authorises Starlink Satellite Qatar to provide satellite broadband Internet services to individuals and enterprises in the State of Qatar via the Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation of SpaceX, which provides comprehensive global Internet service coverage. “The […]
Elon Musk has revealed on Twitter that SpaceX has now manufactured more than 1 million Starlink user terminals. Starlink has enjoyed a steady rise in its subscriber numbers. In March this year Starlink claimed 250,000 users. By May that had expanded to 400,000. By June this year the business claimed it had 500,000 users. That […]
September 24th saw Elon Musk’s SpaceX launch an additional 52 Starlink satellites (mission 4.35) into orbit at 7.32pm Florida time. Musk’s business also responded to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s request to advance internet freedom and the free flow of information to Iran. Musk said last week that Starlink, which is already available to […]