Starlink Terminal Digital Illustration Created By: Erc X @ErcXspace via Twitter.
SpaceX is in the process of deploying a constellation of 12,000 internet-beaming Starlink satellites that will connect rural areas around the world. The company already possesses the largest satellite constellation with 648 Starlink satellites already in low Earth orbit. The next deployment of 60 Starlink satellites is scheduled for this week. SpaceX officials say Starlink service will be offered in northern portions of the United States and Canada once 800 satellites are in orbit.
During an interview at the Satellite 2020 conference in Washington D.C, the founder of SpaceX Elon Musk shared Starlink aims to offer low latency internet, below 20 milliseconds (ms) – “It will be a pretty good experience because it'll be very low latency. We're targeting latency below 20 milliseconds, so somebody could play a fast-response video game at a competitive level, like that's the threshold for the latency,” he said. Musk previously shared that 60 Starlink satellites could deliver 1 terabit of bandwidth that could potentially support 40,000 users streaming ultra-high-definition content at once. Customers will receive Starlink's signal from space via a user terminal dish, pictured above.
SpaceX plans to bid for funding under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). According to the FCC, this fund is the “commission’s next step in bridging the digital divide to efficiently fund the deployment of broadband networks in rural America. Through a two-phase reverse auction mechanism, the FCC will direct up to $20.4 billion over 10 years to finance up to gigabit speed broadband networks in unserved rural areas, connecting millions of American homes and businesses to digital opportunity.”
ArsTechnica first reported, the FCC released a list yesterday, showing SpaceX as an applicant seeking to participate in the first phase of RDOF. To qualify to bid for the RDOF federal funding auction, the FCC requires that any company participating in the first phase of $16 billion in funding for rural broadband access must demonstrate its internet meets a latency under 100 milliseconds (ms), and FCC's internet speed standard of 25Mbps downloads and 3Mbps uploads.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellites operate in low Earth orbit. The FCC stated in June that is has “serious doubts that any low-Earth orbit networks will be able to meet the short-form application requirements for bidding in the low-latency tier.” Due to factors such as, “processing, routing and transporting traffic to its destination,” according to an FCC statement. SpaceX argued that the FCC’s doubts are unfounded and that Starlink will “easily clear the commission’s 100-millisecond threshold for low-latency services and processing time.”
SpaceX already initiated a private beta testing phase of the Starlink network with company employees and friends. Last month, anonymous Starlink beta testers shared their internet speeds; compiled in a graphic via Reddit, pictured below. The beta testers used an online tool [speedtest.net] to test Starlink’s speed. The latency (Ping) rates between eight beta testers in Los Angeles, California ranged from 30ms to 94ms. And the download speeds varying from 11Mbps to 60Mbps, with upload speeds ranging from 5Mbps to 18Mbps. Other users from Seattle, WA, later shared a speed test showcasing Starlink can reach the 20ms latency that company officials target.
The Starlink network is in its early development phase, the latency and speed of the service will improve and show consistency across users as more satellites are deployed. However, these early results anonymous users revealed do show Starlink satellites can meet the FCC’s latency threshold of under 100 ms, which means SpaceX can potentially finish the application process, and prove to the Commission it has what it takes to participate along with over 500 internet providers in bidding for funding from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program.
SpaceX is focused on connecting rural communities to Starlink – next satellite deployment is this weekendhttps://t.co/16TwJ2EfDj
— Tesmanian.com (@Tesmanian_com) August 26, 2020
About the Author
Evelyn 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.
