SpaceX internet service clearer before its Beta Scheduled for August

Spacex internet speed

The launch of Spacex’s satellite Internet 

The launch of Spacex’s satellite Internet access service is approaching. Elon Musk’s space company has just launched another 60 Starlink mini-satellites, bringing the constellation total to 480 satellites and bringing Spacex closer to its minimum threshold of 800 satellites to cover North America. This eighth launch comes at a special time for the company, which has just sent for the first time two American astronauts to the International Space Station.

Regarding its satellite Internet service, its CEO Elon Musk said in April that it should be available in public beta from August in North America. In March, Spacex obtained the approval of the American Telecommunication Constable to deploy a million user terminals needed to obtain the signal. The US authorities also approved Spacex’s launch of more than 12,000 Starlink satellites to provide high-speed, low-latency Internet access.

Spacex also asked the US regulator last week to launch 30,000 Gen2 System satellites, more than 85% of which operate at less than 400 km, "using eight total orbital altitudes ranging from 328 km to 614 km".

Latency less than 50 milliseconds

The space company said its next-generation constellation will allow it to offer internet services to rural areas at prices previously reserved for urban customers. While Elon Musk promised that the satellites would have a latency of 20 milliseconds, the Spacex app evokes a latency of less than 50 milliseconds, "almost imperceptible to consumers".

The entrance earth stations will use satellite dishes, which it plans to install at "several hundred" locations in the United States. They will be "co-located with or near the main Internet traffic exchange points in order to provide the necessary Internet connectivity for the satellite constellation".

As reported by Ars Technica, Spacex’s competitor, Oneweb, has also asked the US authorities for permission to launch just under 48,000 satellites. This is all the more surprising given that the company filed for bankruptcy last March and reduced most of its staff after failing to obtain financing from its main donor, Softbank.