SpaceX amassed millions of customers waiting to access the internet service in their region. During Summer last year, SpaceX offered people on their long pre-order waitlist the option to subscribe to the satellite internet service through a data plan called ‘Best Effort’ which provides download speeds of 5 to 50 Mbps (Megabits per second) due to high demand of the service. And SpaceX promised these early Starlink customers that it would upgrade the ‘Best Effort’ tier service to ‘full speed’ by mid-2023.
Some customers who were on the pre-order waitlist since mid-2021 accepted the ‘Best Effort’ data plan in 2022. This past week, multiple early Starlink users shared that SpaceX fulfilled its promise by automatically upgrading their service to Starlink ‘Residential’ (Standard) in order to increase internet speed. Now, users can expect to receive download speeds ranging from 20 to 100 Mbps with low-latency of 25 to 50ms (milliseconds), according to SpaceX’s fixed service plans FAQ page at Starlink.com.
On March 23, a Starlink customer shared that they received an email from SpaceX stating –“Your Starlink service plan has been upgraded from Best Effort to Residential. With Residential you will receive prioritized service, resulting in improved speeds, particularly during times of network congestion,” wrote SpaceX, noting that the price of the monthly service will remain unchanged. “This upgrade is made possible through the introduction of Starlink’s higher performing satellites, SpaceX’s faster launch rate, and the continuous deployment of software features to optimize the Starlink network,” said SpaceX. The company recently launched an upgraded fleet of 21 Starlink V2 Mini satellites which are designed to enhance the network’s capabilities. Read more: SpaceX launches the first batch of 21 Starlink V2 'Mini' satellites to orbit
“Since October 2020, the Starlink team has enabled over 1 million customers across 60 markets. Thank you for being an early supporter of Starlink - enjoy your upgraded service,” wrote SpaceX in the email (pictured below). Multiple people living in the United States and Canada shared screenshots of the same email on social media. Starlink customers who have confirmed that their internet service has already been upgraded reside in: Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, along with Ontario in Canada.
Email source: u/Hour-Wishbone5855 via Reddit
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Featured Image Source: SpaceX Starlink.com
About the Author
Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
