Sci/Tech SpaceX prices Starlink satellite internet service at $99 per month

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jerk

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May 10, 2019
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SpaceX prices Starlink satellite internet service at $99 per month, according to e-mail

SpaceX is expanding the beta test of its Starlink satellite internet service, sending emails on Monday to people who expressed interest in signing up for the service.

Called the “Better Than Nothing Beta” test, according to multiple screenshots of the email seen by CNBC, initial Starlink service is priced at $99 a month — plus a $499 upfront cost to order the Starlink Kit. That kit includes a user terminal to connect to the satellites, a mounting tripod and a Wi-Fi router. There is also now a Starlink app listed by SpaceX on the Google Play and Apple iOS app stores.

“As you can tell from the title, we are trying to lower your initial expectations,” the emails said, signed “Starlink Team.” “Expect to see data speeds vary from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms over the next several months as we enhance the Starlink system. There will also be brief periods of no connectivity at all.”

The emails, sent to an unspecified number of users, marks the launch of SpaceX’s public beta test of the emerging internet service. For the last few months SpaceX has conducted a limited private beta test with employees — which the company has said showed strong results in both latency and download speeds, key measures for an internet service provider.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.

Those who received the emails would have filled out a form on the Starlink website, which asked for potential subscribers’ contact information and location. Elon Musk’s company posted that form in June and, less than two months later, SpaceX said that “nearly 700,000 individuals” across the United States had indicated interest in the service.

Starlink is SpaceX’s plan to build an interconnected internet network with thousands of satellites, designed to deliver high-speed internet to anywhere on the planet. The network is an ambitious endeavor, which SpaceX has said will cost about $10 billion or more to build. But the company’s leadership estimates that Starlink could bring in as much as $30 billion a year, or more than 10 times the annual revenue of its rocket business.

To date, SpaceX has launched nearly 900 Starlink satellites — a fraction of the total needed for global coverage but enough to begin providing service in some areas, including in the northwest United States. The company has begun to work with a handful of organizations in rural regions that Starlink satellites in orbit currently cover, such as Washington state.

“Under Starlink’s Better Than Nothing Beta program, initial service is targeted for the U.S. and Canada in 2020, rapidly expanding to near global coverage of the populated world by 2021,” SpaceX said in the description of its Starlink mobile app.

SpaceX earlier this month announced a partnership with Microsoft to connect the tech giant’s Azure cloud computing network to the Starlink network. SpaceX and Microsoft in recent months have been testing the software needed to connect Starlink and Azure. The partnership is especially key to Microsoft’s new mobile data centers, which the company said are designed “for customers who need cloud computing capabilities in hybrid or challenging environments, including remote areas.


 

SongExotic2

ATM 3 CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. #FREECAIN
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
39,772
53,672
Elon musk is a dumbass. Expect those satellites to start crashing soon
 

SongExotic2

ATM 3 CHAMPION OF THE WORLD. #FREECAIN
First 100
Jan 16, 2015
39,772
53,672
I read those massive amounts of low-flying satellites will disturb view of the sky at night, and be especially a hindrance for astronomy.
Good. Fuck astronomers too. Made up bullshit job.
 

Jesus X

4 drink minimum.
Sep 7, 2015
28,766
31,291
those speeds are not impressive at all it is almost the same as my spectrum internet and I didn't even have to sign a contract for spectrum and I put down O dollars when I got all the equipment.
 

Splinty

Shake 'em off
Admin
Dec 31, 2014
44,116
91,095
those speeds are not impressive at all it is almost the same as my spectrum internet and I didn't even have to sign a contract for spectrum and I put down O dollars when I got all the equipment.
I moved into a rich person compound just before the USA lockdown to avoid the normie restrictions and threats.

I have 25 megabit because we are off the grid.
That's a bonded pair lol.

I welcome the option. space speeds are significantly better than we get here.
 

ThatOneDude

Commander in @Chief, Dick Army
First 100
Jan 14, 2015
35,390
34,272
I moved into a rich person compound just before the USA lockdown to avoid the normie restrictions and threats.

I have 25 megabit because we are off the grid.
That's a bonded pair lol.

I welcome the option. space speeds are significantly better than we get here.
Most city dwellers have no idea what type of infrastructure it takes to get high speeds when not in the city.

Cities suck.

This is a good thing.
 

Enock-O-Lypse Now!

Underneath Denver International Airport
Jun 19, 2016
11,737
19,619
I read those massive amounts of low-flying satellites will disturb view of the sky at night, and be especially a hindrance for astronomy.
Hour before sunrise find a dark area in your town and look to the North - you should be able to see it.

This is what it looks like:


View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l58nWIvyYs0






Apparently the first satellites sent up are visible then after some complaints and concerns the rest of the satellites sent up can not be seen with the naked eye.
 

Papi Chingon

Domesticated Hombre
Oct 19, 2015
25,475
32,244
Hour before sunrise find a dark area in your town and look to the North - you should be able to see it.

This is what it looks like:


View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l58nWIvyYs0






Apparently the first satellites sent up are visible then after some complaints and concerns the rest of the satellites sent up can not be seen with the naked eye.
I support those satellites. Should make evening shroom trips that much better.
 

Enock-O-Lypse Now!

Underneath Denver International Airport
Jun 19, 2016
11,737
19,619
I support those satellites. Should make evening shroom trips that much better.

I tripped out the first time I saw it, not realizing what it was till I got home and looked it up.

I counted about 20 or so visible satellites which wasn't to bad but if all their satellites were visible it would definitely fuck up the night sky for star gazers