Advanced Television

starlink

Musk targets India for Starlink

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite broadband service is now in beta-test mode over North America and a few other ‘friends and family’ locations overseas. SpaceX is on record as saying that initially Starlink will focus very much on North America and would probably expand its service overseas via local agents and resellers. However, Musk says that […]

November 20, 2020By Chris Forrester

Starlink working on lowering terminal costs

Would-be subscribers outside North America will have to wait some tome for access to SpaceX’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite system. Starlink VP Jonathan Hofeller, speaking at last week’s Euroconsult World Satellite Business Week virtual edition, told attendees that as far as North America was concerned Starlink would stay as a ‘direct to consumer’ business. Starlink is already […]

November 16, 2020

Starlink delivering 160 Mb/s

Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband-by-satellite service is providing impressive speeds to its beta-test users. Numerous reports are emerging that downlink speeds, according to speedtest specialist Ookla, are reaching 160 Mb/s and for at least one rural customer in Montana stated that his downlink speed was 174 Mb/s and upload of 33 Mb/s. Another on the West […]

November 4, 2020By Chris Forrester

Telesat: “No low-cost LEO antennas in near term”

Elon Musk is inviting consumers in rural America to install his Starlink satellite broadband system, at a cost of $99 a month. They also have to pay $499 for the antenna and its associated kit. However, it is widely accepted that Musk’s SpaceX is swallowing some of the antenna’s costs. As recently reported, the search […]

November 2, 2020By Chris Forrester

SpaceX prices Starlink services

Elon Musk’s Starlink service will cost US rural subscribers $99 (€84) a month. The beta-test users will also have to pay $499 for the phased-array ground terminal, a tripod stand for the antenna and a WiFi router. This price seems high, but for rural and frequently isolated potential users it could prove invaluable. The pricing […]

October 28, 2020By Chris Forrester

Bank: SpaceX worth $100bn

Elon Musk is sitting on another gold mine if a valuation from Morgan Stanley is anywhere near accurate. The bank – in a best-case valuation – says that Musk’s SpaceX rocket business and its Starlink satellite subsidiary is worth $100 billion. This is undoubtedly good news for Musk, not only in the core valuation but […]

October 26, 2020

SpaceX lofts another 60 satellites

Despite a few technical and weather-related delays SpaceX successfully launched another 60 of its Starlink high-speed broadband-by-satellite craft into orbit on October 24th from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral (at 15.31 UTC). This extra batch of 60 satellites was the 15th launch for the Starlink fleet, and takes the overall fleet size to well […]

October 26, 2020By Chris Forrester

SpaceX’s 15th launch readies, but challenges remain

Building on the success of its 14th launch on October 18th, SpaceX is readying its 15th batch of Starlink craft for a possible launch on October 21st. Currently a launch of the next batch of 60 satellites is scheduled for 12.36pm Florida time dependent on the usual weather and any last-minute technical delays. Subject to […]

October 20, 2020

EU to seek pan-European broadband-by-satellite system?

ASD-Eurospace, Europe’s space industry trade association, issued what it called an ‘Industry Manifesto’ on October 15 which called for a “resilient satellite system for secure connectivity […] to make Europe fit for the Digital Age”. The document calls for a constellation of Low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites, owned by the European Commission, and serving military, […]

October 19, 2020By Chris Forrester

Another 60 Starlink craft enter orbit

SpaceX launched another 60 of its Starlink broadband-by-satellite craft into orbit at 8.25am Florida time on October 18th. This was the 14th batch of Starlink launches and takes the delivered total of Low Earth orbiting satellites to 835 (although some have been deorbited). The 60 satellites on board were deployed into a near-circular orbit some […]

October 19, 2020By Chris Forrester