Tag: Starlink

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SpaceX reveals plans to launch 350 Mbps satellite internet on planes

Using the internet on a plane is typically an expensive and awful experience, but that could soon change.

Following the launch of Starlink for RVs, Elon Musk-owned SpaceX has revealed Starlink Aviation, a new project that aims to equip airplanes with the company’s Aero Terminal kits starting in 2023.

According to Starlink Aviation’s FAQ page, the service will be available worldwide to planes equipped with an Aero Terminal. The only catch is that the plane needs to have an unobstructed view of the sky. In theory, Starlink’s low-earth satellites should be able to provide internet to passengers when a plane is over water, taxiing or even waiting to take off.

Given most in-flight internet is limited to 100 Mbps (if you’re lucky), Starlink’s far faster 350 Mbps allows users to do more things while on a flight, including playing online games or even making video calls.

Starlink has yet to announce what airlines will offer its new Aviation service. It’s likely that since the Terminal kits won’t launch until 2023, it will be a few months before we get a list of airlines that are part of the platform.

That said, Hawaiian Airlines recently announced that it’s deploying Starlink in select aircraft, and Delta has stated that it’s running “exploratory” Starlink tests.

It’s unclear how much Starlink Aviation will cost passengers to use or what the price of Terminals Kits is for airlines.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: SpaceX Via: Engadget

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Mobile Syrup

What is Starlink’s ‘Best Effort’ service?

Image credit: Starlink https://www.starlink.com/

While most people are familiar with Starlink, the satellite internet service provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, fewer people know about Starlink’s new ‘Best Effort’ service. In short, Best Effort is an attempt by Starlink to clear its pre-order backlog by enabling service for people in areas where it’s already at capacity as long as those people are fine with “deprioritized service.”

Starlink holds a lot of promise for people in rural Canada and other countries where other internet options are unavailable, perform poorly, cost way too much, or all of the above. Some criticize Starlink for being expensive, but for rural users, it offers huge monthly savings over alternatives like LTE-based internet, which in Canada is typically slow and absurdly expensive (one Ontario resident told PC Mag that he could pay $300-$600 per month for internet over LTE with 15Mbps download speeds).

That promise is also why Starlink’s pre-order waitlist is so large. Starlink’s website shows where its Residential service is currently available — in North America, most of the eastern half of the U.S. and much of southern Ontario are marked as on a “waitlist” with expanded capacity coming in 2023. Best Effort is aimed at customers in those areas.

Map of Starlink’s North American availability. | Image credit: Starlink (screenshot)

Per a support page on Starlink’s website:

“Best Effort is a service option offered to existing pre-order customers in areas where Residential service is currently at capacity. It enables typical internet activity with the understanding that Best Effort users will be deprioritized behind Residential users, resulting in slower speeds.

“Best Effort uses the same hardware as Residential and the monthly service charge is the same, but unlike Residential, Best Effort users will have the option to pause service.”

Starlink offered a similar explanation in an email sent to customers living in those service areas. Moreover, the email noted that Best Effort users will experience “notably slower speeds” than Residential users during peak use times. Plus, Starlink says Best Effort should work fine for activities like email, online shopping, or streaming a standard definition (SD) movie, but won’t work for online gaming, video calls or streaming high definition (HD) or 4K movies.

Best Effort users can expect download speeds ranging from 5-100Mbps and upload speeds ranging from 1-10Mbps, lower than Residential’s 50-200Mbps and 10-20Mbps, respectively.

Considering Best Effort costs the same as Residential Starlink ($140/mo in Canada), some might be frustrated with the offering. However, others desperate for more reliable internet might happily pay $140 for Best Effort while they wait for Residential capacity to expand in their area.

Plus, customers can freely pause Best Effort service when they want and getting Best Effort lets them use Starlink while sticking in the queue for Residential. Starlink says it will automatically upgrade Best Effort customers to Residential service at no additional cost when there’s more capacity in their area.

You can learn more about Starlink in Canada here.

Image credit: Starlink

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Mobile Syrup

Elon Musk’s SpaceX had ‘promising’ talks with Apple about iPhone Starlink connectivity

One of the more interesting announcements from Apple’s ‘Far Out’ fall iPhone event was the addition of ‘Emergency SOS,’ a feature that enables iPhones to connect to satellites in case of an emergency.

Although Apple said it’s working with satellite service firm Globalstar to power the feature, some wondered what, if any, connection SpaceX and Starlink might have to Emergency SOS in the future, especially given the company’s recent partnership with U.S. carrier T-Mobile.

According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, it’s just been “promising conversations” so far.

“We’ve had some promising conversations with Apple about Starlink connectivity. iPhone team is obv super smart. For sure, closing link from space to phone will work best if phone software & hardware adapt to space-based signals vs Starlink purely emulating cell tower,” Musk wrote in a tweet.

To add some clarity, the Starlink x T-Mobile partnership leverages the carrier’s PCS spectrum (in the 1850-1990MHz range) to provide coverage for texting and voice calls. That’s likely what Musk means when he refers to “emulating cell tower.”

Per Reuters, Apple has dedicated $450 million USD (about $587 million CAD) from its advanced manufacturing fund toward satellite infrastructure to support the service. Emergency SOS will be available in the U.S. and Canada starting in November.

Source: Elon Musk (Twitter) Via: Reuters

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Mobile Syrup

Starlink, T-Mobile partner to connect mobile phones to satellites

SpaceX’s Starlink and T-Mobile are joining forces to connect smartphones to satellites and eliminate dead zones “worldwide,” although actual global availability remains uncertain.

Here’s the gist: second-gen Starlink satellites, which are launching next year, will be able to broadcast service using a part of U.S. carrier T-Mobile’s mid-band PCS spectrum (which is in the 1850-1990MHz range). More specifically, phones would access a “slice of connection,” as The Verge describes it, offering around 2-4Mbps total across a given coverage area.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted the same numbers, saying the 2-4Mbps per cell zone “will work great for texting & voice calls, but not high bandwidth.”

All this assumes you have a clear view of the sky, however.

Per a T-Mobile press release, the satellite-to-cell service will be available “everywhere in the continental U.S, Hawaii, parts of Alaska, Puerto Rico and territorial waters” and is expected to launch by the end of next year in “select areas.” The company hopes that one day, it will also include data.

However, as The Verge points out, the system will use a traditional cell spectrum, which introduces problems with global access. On the one hand, using cell spectrum means your current phone will work (at least if it supports mid-band 5G). The downside is that T-Mobile doesn’t own the rights to that spectrum worldwide. That means Starlink would have to try and gather carrier partners in other regions with those spectrum rights to expand the system beyond the U.S.

In Canada, it appears Telus is one of the holders of PCS spectrum, specifically, PCS-G Block spectrum for New Brunswick and Northern Ontario it acquired at auction in 2017.

In other words, Canadians and others living outside the U.S. probably shouldn’t get too excited by the prospect of cell service from satellites. The companies are seeking partnerships with other mobile carriers to set up reciprocal spectrum sharing agreements so that customers can connect to Starlink, but it remains to be seen if any Canadian carriers get on board.

However, analysts told The Verge it might be easier for Samsung and Apple to integrate existing satellite connectivity into their smartphones. There have been rumours flying for some time that Apple plans to launch some kind of satellite capability in the iPhone, but so far, those rumours haven’t played out.

Header image credit: T-Mobile

Source: T-Mobile, Elon Musk (Twitter), Via: The Verge

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Canadian company signs SpaceX’s first Starlink deal with an aircraft manufacturer

Aircraft manufacturer De Havilland Canada will utilize SpaceX’s Starlink internet on its Dash 8-400 aircraft.

The Toronto, Ontario-based company announced it would use Starlink’s satellite-based services for in-flight Wi-Fi, providing customers with high-speed, low latency internet unavailable from other satellite or air-to-ground systems. De Havilland Canada says this is the first agreement between Starlink and any original equipment manufacturer (OEM).

“The Starlink antenna’s lightweight and aerodynamic form factor enable a more sustainable operation with fuel savings not capable with other legacy systems,” the company said in a press release.

The agreement is part of updates the company is making to the aircraft to “enhance customer appeal.”

“As we work toward relaunching the production of the Dash 8-400 aircraft, our design weight increases and cabin enhancements, which are available to retrofit in-service aircraft, illustrate De Havilland Canada’s ongoing commitment and investments to support the worldwide fleet,” Jean-Philippe Côté, the company’s vice-president of programs, said.

Image credit: De Havilland Canada

Source: De Havilland Canada Via: Tesla North

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SpaceX partners with Silent Yachts to add Starlink Maritime to electric catamarans

SpaceX and Silent Yachts are partnering to utilize Starlink Martitime’s internet services. The partnership sees Silent Yachts install the Maritime version of Starlink across its solar electric catamarans.

Silent Yachts specializes in the development and production of the first and only ocean-ready solar yachts. In a bid to integrate high-speed internet services, the company is partnering with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Starlink. By doing so, the company can utilize its Maritime version after Starlink was just approved by the FCC to operate on moving boats, planes, and other vehicles.

SpaceX’s Starlink Maritime hopes to offer “high-speed, low-latency internet with up to 350 Mbps download while at sea.” While this offshoot service is still quite new, it’s available across a large amount of the ocean. Globally, SpaceX has enough coverage to warrant a partnership with Silent Yachts. Plus, it plans to expand the coverage even more over the next few months.

Starlink Maritime does come with a hefty price tag. Space X offers Starlink Maritime at a monthly rate of $5,000 USD (roughly $6,490 CAD). Additionally, there is a one-time hardware purchase of $10,000 USD (roughly $12,981 CAD). The kit includes two high-performance Starlink terminals and pipe adapter mounts. Users can also pause and resume service at any time.

There’s no word on how pricing will shake out when purchasing an electric catamaran from Silent Yachts.

Recently, SpaceX also announced Starlink for RVs, further covering its expansion across many vehicles. In Canada, it is available at a monthly fee of $192.10 plus an upfront cost of $931.12.

Image credit: Silent Yachts

Source: TeslaNorth

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Starlink speed in Canada increased by 58 percent over the last year

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service saw an overall increase in download speeds over the last year, with Canadians seeing a nearly 58 percent speed increase.

Based on data revealed by speed test company Ookla, Starlink’s median download speeds increased from 61.84Mbps to 97.40Mbps in Canada between Q1 2021 and Q1 2022. The U.S. saw a similar increase, going from 65.72Mbps to 90.55Mbps during the same period.

While download speeds were up, upload speeds were down. Ookla says the media upload speed decreased by 23 percent in Canada from 16.69Mbps to 10.70Mbps during the same period. Similarly, media latency increased slightly from 51ms in Canada to 55ms. Ookla says that these changes will likely be “negligible” for most users.

Starlink performance in Canada and the U.S. | Credit: Ookla

Ookla also included data looking at Starlink in other regions, and in North America overall. Interestingly, Starlink was faster in Mexico than in Canada and the U.S. with a median download speed of 105.91Mbps. Starlink handily outperformed the roughly 40Mbps median download speed for fixed broadband services in Mexico.

In Canada, Starlink had slightly slower median download speeds than fixed broadband providers, which had a median speed of 106.86Mbps.

Starlink performance in North America | Credit: Ookla

Overall, the data looks good for Starlink. Sure, it may not be the fastest, but for many people living in rural areas, the service is a game-changer. Starlink’s average speeds are competitive with average fixed broadband services, while also having much great reach in rural areas where there may not be fast or reliable broadband available.

As such, it’s not surprising to see that Canadians are increasingly relying on Starlink. The Quebec government, for example, started a program to subsidize the cost of Starlink for select rural households, while the federal government used the service to connect homes in rural Manitoba. Of course, there’s competition brewing too: Amazon recently applied to bring its Kuiper satellite internet project to Canada.

Source: Ookla

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Amazon’s satellite internet service could be coming to Canada

Amazon wants Project Kuiper to service Canadians.

Kuiper Systems, also known as Project Kuiper, is a set of satellites Amazon plans to launch to provide broadband internet connectivity to people all over the world.

Project Kuiper is on the Canadian Radion-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) current list of proceedings open for comment.

The CRTC governs telecom companies and their access to the Canadian market and submitting a proceeding for comment is an early step to getting regulatory approval.

Announced in 2019, Project Kuiper has yet to officially launch the satellites. But that hasn’t stopped the company from gaining regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the U.S. or announcing a partnership with Verizon.

The project is directly competing against SpaceX’s Starlink service, which is already available to Canadians. Starlink started launching satellites in 2019, the same year Amazon announced Project Kuiper.

Amazon has already signed deals for 83 launches under the project over the next five years.

Canadians have until July 18th to provide a comment.

Image credit: Amazon

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Quebec sending letters to eligible households offering subsidized Starlink

Back in May, the Quebec provincial government announced plans to use SpaceX’s Starlink to provide internet access to 10,000 Quebec homes. Now, some residents have received letters offering a subsidy to use Starlink.

As spotted by Tesla North, a Redditor posted a picture of a letter they received from the Quebec government. The letter details how the government checked to see which homes would not be able to be served by high-speed wired or wireless broadband internet for the foreseeable future. Homes within this group were selected and received letters like the one pictured below offering a “free connection kit” and subsidized subscription.

According to the Redditor, the program subsidizes the cost of Starlink by $40, bringing the monthly cost to about $100. It’s worth noting that price hikes in March increased Starlink to $140/mo and upped the connection kit to $759.

Recipients are directed to fill out a form online. Depending on that response, the letter says the government may initiate an “authentication process,” eventually leading to Starlink orders and services starting in July.

Although imperfect, Starlink has proven useful in connecting rural Canadians to high-speed internet. Quebec isn’t the only government relying on Starlink to connect residents — the Canadian government used Starlink to help connect hundreds of homes in rural Manitoba.

Source: Reddit Via: Tesla North

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Elon Musk’s Starlink now has 400,000 subscribers globally

Elon Musk’s SpaceX recently revealed that it now has more than 400,000 subscribers around the world.

The service first launched back in October 2020 and has steadily grown since. For example, at the start of this year, Starlink stated that it had 145,000 subscribers, whereas roughly two months ago, the company revealed that the number had grown to 250,000.

The new subscriber figure was revealed during a call with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on May 19th.

The low Earth orbit satellite-powered internet is currently available in 36 countries around the world, including most southern areas of Canada. SpaceX has so far launched 2,500 Starlink satellites.

On the service’s website, only Afghanistan, Cuba, Belarus, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela are not listed as “coming soon.”

In Canada, Starlink costs $140 per month and $649 for the equipment to set up the service. The company also recently introduced a new mobile version of its equipment designed for RVs. Read more about it below:

Source: CNBC Via: Tesla North