Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet, reached speeds of 400 Mbps. Why is it a new record in history and how much does the service cost?

Starlink, millionaire Elon Musk’s satellite internet , reached record speeds, and users of the service were impressed by the speed of downloading files from the network.

Most users have been experiencing download speeds ranging from 100 Mbps to 200 Mbps (megabits per second) but this week speeds of 300 Mbps and in some cases up to 400 Mbps were reported.
In Argentina, according to data from the Argentine Internet Chamber, 51% of Argentines surf at speeds of 20 Mbps and the average speed on a national scale is around 40 Mbps.

In other words, the Starlink satellite internet is 650% faster than that of Argentina. This difference is evident when a user wants to download a video game on his computer, for example. With the speed of Argentina, it would take around 24 hours while with Musk’s satellites only 25 minutes.

SpaceX will launch Argentine satellites from Mar del Plata: how they work

At the end of this year, the first Argentine picosatellite will be launched, an artifact measuring 10 x 5 x 5 centimeters and weighing less than half a kilo, which will be propelled into space on December 20 from Cape Canaveral .

More than a year and a half ago, the company began developing prototypes of picosatellites with students from the Technical School No. 5 in Mar del Plata. A short time later, the team won the first prize for Innovation from the Ministry of Education and also proved  to the arrange money of an ANR (Non-Refundable Contribution) from the Ministry of Productive Development for $ 14,500,000 approximately and this allowed them to the development of the picosatellite .

The picosatellite will make its first launch in December with Elon Musk’s company SpaceX on a Falcon 9 rocket. It will allow it to reach up to 500 kilometers, and it will rotate from pole to pole, passing through Argentina once a day.
The launch will be in charge of the Neutrón group and Innova Space . Both entities met yesterday with the Chief of Cabinet Santiago Cafiero who stressed that “it is a very important project because it impacts on the deployment of the knowledge economy, a sector that has been growing with our government and that will allow connectivity to the rural areas of the country, since it is designed to provide communication coverage where there is none, mainly agricultural and mining areas ” .
The development of these picosatellites allows the launch costs to be lower, since it is a production of technology of low cost, weight and size produced in Mar Del Plata , in the laboratory installed in the Neutron offices.

Musk, the businessman behind satellite internet , had timely said that his goal was to provide high-speed internet service before the end of the year. So it was.

Meanwhile, his next goal is even more ambitious: the millionaire challenge to the Federal Communications Commission of the United States and told him that he will work hard to reach speeds of 1000 Mbps , that is, one gigabits per second.

Also Read: Overview of Personal Area Network

WHAT IS STARLINK?

In 2017, SpaceX , the private aerospace manufacturing company, patented Starlink , a project for low-orbit satellites that will provide internet service.Initially, the company wanted to offer faster internet speeds to users living in rural areas who currently have limited connectivity options via satellites.

For this, they launched low-orbit satellites that are, in simple terms, small devices that communicate with terrestrial transceivers to provide the internet.As they are low-orbit, that is, they are 600 kilometers away from Earth, internet latency is better and they can offer higher speeds.

Later, the idea became global and today, 1,740 satellites have already been launched and the company plans to have a total of 30,000 in the medium term.

HOW MUCH DOES STARLINK COST?

Starlink’s ultra-fast satellite internet service costs US $ 499 per month, plus US $ 99 per month to access the service. In total, it would be about $ 600 a month.In Chile, the first country in Latin America to have such connectivity, it costs $ 92,600 Chilean pesos per month, plus $ 562,300 for the kit and its shipping.In local currency, it would be about $ 80,720 per month.

Elon Musk’s internet has already exceeded 1,000 satellites

The now richest man in the world, Elon Musk , is betting heavily on the business of satellite internet connections . In 2017, SpaceX patented Starlink , a project for low-orbit satellites that will provide internet service.

In principle, the service seeks to offer a faster internet speed to users living in rural areas with currently limited connectivity options. As of today, Starlink has about 1,320 satellites orbiting in outer space.
In the medium term, the company is expected to launch another 30 into the space to have continuous coverage around the world . At this rate, the service could already be operational in June 2021, however SpaceX still did not give a precise date.

Today, it is already known that the project is progressing and there is confirmation of prices and availability for Argentina . Through resolution 1291/2020 published in the Official Gazette in December last year, the company obtained the license to provide broadband internet service in Argentina through Starlink satellites . In Latin America, it has also been approved in Mexico, Colombia and Chile.

when satellites arrive in the country and how much does it cost

To carry out the deployment in Argentina, Starlink has to comply with a series of requirements that appear in the aforementioned resolution : it must correctly use the frequency bands allocated both nationally or internationally, coordinate with local and foreign operators, as well. such as obtaining authorization for the use of the spectrum and providing reliable information on their satellites , among other requirements.

In conclusion, SpaceX already has licenses in countries such as Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa and Spain to start offering your service just has global reach. How much will it cost and how does the 1,300 satellites that could give the internet to millions of people from the sky work.

WHEN DOES STARLINK ARRIVE IN ARGENTINA

Within the Starlink site, there are addresses belonging to Capital Federal and other parts of the country such as Bahía Blanca . According to the website, and for the moment, “service availability is limited” and “orders will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis.”

The information was confirmed through an email received by Argentines who had previously signed up to receive news about the “Starlink” project. The email details that the fee to enjoy the connection offered by Musk will be $ 99 per month.

“You can make a deposit that will keep your place in line for future services,” said the message. By paying for the packet, it can be accessed at a speed of between 50 and 150 Mb, with a latency of between 20 and 40 milliseconds.

In Europe, the installation kit costs about US $ 500 and about US $ 100 per month, which would be about $ 15,000 paid by card.

WHAT IS THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE STARLINK SATELLITES AND WHERE ARE THEY LOCATED?

The Starlink constellation is made up of numerous small mass-produced satellites that exist in low Earth orbit . They work in combination with terrestrial transceivers. These satellites are located closer to Earth, which helps with latency, and they rely on the laser to offer higher speeds.

Low-orbit satellites (such as Starlink’s), known by its acronym in English LEO (Low Earth Orbit), are less than 1,600 kilometers above the Earth. They are generally between 800 and 500 kilometers from Earth. SpaceX’s Starlink satellites, for example, orbit nearly 600 km high.

The ” Find Starlink ” page shows where the satellites can be seen from your location. In the case of Buenos Aires, for example, it is possible to see a Starlink satellite on April 17 at 6:20 in the morning at 210 degrees from the southwest and 64 degrees from the northeast. In addition, the site shows where the Starlink satellites are located in real time and how they are moving in orbit.

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