Elon Musk’s Starlink network offers an intriguing alternative to broadband connections in rural areas, all while creating significant risks for competitors. Musk has made a name for himself in recent years with the successes of SpaceX and Tesla on the market, making him the third-richest man in the world. But Musk’s goals are not to stay on Earth. Musk has been striving to build a network of private satellites worldwide to provide internet access to anyone willing to pay the fee.
This network, known as Starlink, is based on the web of orbital satellites that SpaceX has released since 2018. The network was built as a constellation of connections but has been optimized for internet connections. The network averages around 1,300 satellites, with the intent to expand the network to around 42,000 in the future. SpaceX submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission that would allow Starlink’s components to link up with moving vehicles, notably planes, RVs, trucks, and ships. This application will not include Tesla vehicles, as Musk noted on Twitter.
Starlink’s beta started in December 2020 and has been slowly expanding to match the minimal needs of the network. As of February 2021, Starlink has more than 10,000 users in the United States. Customers can preorder access to Starlink, although it is unclear when the beta period will end. Musk claims that the beta could end as early as summer 2021, but it will depend on several contributing factors.
As the Biden administration continues to expand rural internet infrastructure, SpaceX may offer a profitable alternative for some communities. Starlink received $886 million through the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction in December, putting the company ahead of most companies bidding at the time. The FCC will provide the funds over 10 years. They would allow Starlink to offer a substantial alternative to the 44 million people in the U.S. who do not have a traditional broadband connection.
However, Starlink’s overhead cost could limit market availability for low-income communities. The satellite connection requires users to pay a $499 hardware fee, followed by a $99 monthly subscription, a cost that is substantially higher than the average $60 fee for broadband.
Some experts fear that Starlink could be a risk to space safety and the environment. Chris McLaughlin of fellow satellite provider OneWeb told the Wall Street Journal that “SpaceX has a gung-ho approach to space” and its approach to sending a large number of satellites into space puts many of its competitors at risk. This concern was affirmed in April 2021, when a OneWeb and SpaceX satellite flew abnormally close to one another in early April. SpaceX denies these claims, stating that “the probability of collision never exceeded the threshold for a [collision-avoidance] maneuver, and the satellites would not have collided even if no maneuver had been conducted.”
Satellite-based internet connections are not a new development in the technology world. In 2005, Viasat and WildBlue partnered up to provide satellite access to residential areas. With the commercialization of space travel, satellite-based internet networks have become much easier to set up. Other Big Tech companies have made plans to create internet providers. Facebook announced plans to make a balloon-based satellite network in 2018 but has failed to make any substantial motions toward launching the web in the immediate future.
