In early February SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service was announced for Australia. While there’s no hard live date yet, Elon Musk says it will be capable of double the speeds it is already advertising.
Starlink speeds are looking good
At the present time Starlink is still in beta. However, the website reveals how fast the expected speeds are.
“During beta, users can expect to see data speeds vary from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms in most locations over the next several months as we enhance the Starlink system,” the Starlink website says.
“There will also be brief periods of no connectivity at all.”
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For satellite internet, this is actually pretty damn good. And this is because Starlink is a low-orbit satellite system that is roughly 60 times closer to earth than competitors, like Sky Muster.
However, apparently we can expect even better speeds from Starlink, and soon.
Musk confirmed this in a tweet while replying to a Starlink beta user.
“Speed will double to ~300Mb/s & latency will drop to ~20ms later this year,” Musk said.
Speed will double to ~300Mb/s & latency will drop to ~20ms later this year
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2021
Another Twitter user asked about an active coverage map, with Musk stating that it will be worldwide sooner rather than later.
“Most of Earth by end of year, all by next year, then it’s about densifying coverage,” Musk confirmed.
The CEO also noted that cellular-based internet will still have an advantage in high population areas. However, he reiterates that satellites are a better solution for “low to medium density areas.”
Most of Earth by end of year, all by next year, then it’s about densifying coverage.
Important to note that cellular will always have the advantage in dense urban areas.
Satellites are best for low to medium population density areas.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2021
And he’s certainly not wrong there. In Australia, we have a large rural population that doesn’t have access to wired NBN. Mobile connectivity can also be an issue.
For them, satellite is the only stable internet solution. However, compared to wired NBN, it’s much slower.
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While services such as Sky Muster Plus have improved upon speeds and data inclusions, Starlink offers another option.
And if Musk is right about download speeds being capable of 300Mbps, Starlink won’t just rival satellite NBN, but some wired connections as well.
After all, NBN 250 and NBN 1000 are still relatively new to the scene and can only be used by FTTP and some HFC customers. That leaves a huge gap that Starlink may be looking to fill.