SpaceX rolled-out Starlink Beta internet service in northern United States and southern Canada. To date, SpaceX has deployed around 888 internet-beaming satellites out of over 4,000 that will operate in low Earth orbit. SpaceX is looking forward to connecting locations around the world where internet connection is unreliable and non-existent. Earlier this year, SpaceX engineers said Starlink is capable of beaming internet connection to remote areas on Earth; 60 Starlink satellites have the capability to beam low-latency, high-speed broadband internet to 40,000 users streaming high-definition videos simultaneously. Starlink customers receive service via a phased-array antenna dish and Wi-Fi router device (pictured below).
Source: Reddit User bigskyreleaf
In October, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) granted SpaceX a Basic International Telecommunications Services (BITS) License to provide Starlink service in Canada. Early November, SpaceX received a satellite spectrum license from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). On November 6, ISED announced the license to beam Starlink's signal has been granted. --"SpaceX is joining the effort to help get Canadians connected to high-speed Internet! Regulatory approval for the SpaceX Starlink low Earth orbit satellite constellation has been granted!" ISED representatives wrote via Twitter.
.@SpaceX is joining the effort to help get Canadians connected to high-speed Internet!
— ISED (@ISED_CA) November 6, 2020
Regulatory approval for the @SpaceXStarlink low Earth orbit satellite constellation has been granted!
The approval came soon after the founder and CEO at SpaceX, Elon Musk, shared SpaceX plans to send "Several thousand more Starlink beta participation invitations..." this month. Around a week after the Starlink network received final approval to operate in Canada, SpaceX sent out official invitation e-mails to potential Canadian customers offering them a deal to Beta test the Starlink network.
Several thousand more Starlink beta participation invitations going out this week
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2020
Around 30 Canadian Reddit users shared they received a SpaceX invitation to test the satellite broadband network. The company called the service the "Better Than Nothing Beta" test program. SpaceX told potential customers what they can expect from being part of the program to test out Starlink internet service --"As you can see from the title, we are trying to lower your initial expectations," SpaceX wrote, "Expect to see data speeds vary from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s [megabits per second] and latency from 20ms to 40ms [milliseconds] over the next several months as we enhance the Starlink system. There will also be brief periods of no connectivity at all," the company wrote in an e-mail.
Source: Reddit
SpaceX states that as more satellites are deployed to orbit the network's speed and connection reliability will increase --"As we launch more satellites, install more ground stations and improve our networking software, data speed, latency and uptime will improve dramatically," the company wrote. "For latency, we expect to achieve 16ms to 19ms by summer 2021." The individuals who received early invites in Canada are from at least seven different provinces. They shared the Starlink Kit includes a Starlink dish terminal and Wi-Fi router, costs $649 CAD, and the broadband monthly fee is $129 CAD per month.
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.
