SpaceX’s Starlink has proven by the example of Ukraine that it provides reliable and fast Internet connection via a satellite network. But the company is actively developing and expanding the capabilities of its service. It announced a new program called Community Gateways, which offers space-based internet at the fiber-optic level of speed. It sounds amazing. But what is most impressive is the price. To connect to Starlink Community Gateways, the subscriber should make a one-time payment of USD 1.25 million and pay 75 thousand per month for each gigabit of speed.
Starlink assures that Community Gateways are capable of providing download and upload speeds of up to 10 Gbit/s and a delay of less than 99 ms. The company is targeting the new program at Internet service providers who want to provide services to customers in remote areas where ultrafast satellite Internet may be a cheaper alternative than laying fiber optic cables. According to the plan, regional providers will connect to Community Gateways, which will then distribute the Internet between homes, businesses and authorities, providing local fixed wireless and mobile communications.
Starlink already has its first Community Gateways in Alaska, on remote Unalaska Island. The connection is capable of providing 10 Gbit/s of upstream and downstream bandwidth, which is enough to serve thousands of customers. The company assures that such a connection works with an uptime factor of more than 99%.
While Starlink is starting to roll out its Community Gateway program, it is planned to launch satellite cellular communications in parallel. Initially, the service will only support text messages, but the company promises to add support for voice and data, as well as IOT (Internet of Things) in 2025. The Direct to Cell service will be available to T-Mobile subscribers in the USA, Optus in Australia, Rogers in Canada, One NZ in New Zealand, KDDI in Japan and SALT in Switzerland.
However, competitors are also starting their fight for customers. Amazon plans to roll out its Project Kuiper satellite Internet this year. The first of the company’s satellite Internet lines will be a standard terminal that will be able to reach speeds of 100–400 Mbit/s and will cost less than USD 400, and there will be a separate tariff with a speed of 1 Gbit/s for enterprises.
Earlier we reported that Ukrainians paid more for Starlink than the rest of Europe.
According to starlinkinternet.info
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