Starlink has recently reached 1 million active paid users, including private jets, cruises, boats, and more. Starlink is offering high-speed, low-latency internet to passengers during flights on the jet, with more JSX jets to join the service super soon. It is a massive milestone for internet service.
In October, SpaceX announced that its satellite internet service would be soon available on select airplanes with the official launch of Starlink Aviation next year. According to them,
“Starlink now has more than 1,000,000 active subscribers – thank you to all customers and members of the Starlink team who contributed to this milestone.” (from the official Twitter account of the organization).
Earlier this month, Starlink took off on its first JSX jet, a private airline company. In an announcement, Musk has also stated that Starlink will soon be available for recreational vehicles (RVs) in December.
The Introduction of Starshield
Besides this, SpaceX will also have a new government-focused satellite internet service known as Starshield. The service will focus more on national security. As per the stats, of more than 3,131 working satellites in orbit, approximately 2,700 are at their operational altitudes and capable of serving customers on earth.
Another 390 satellites are in the process of climbing to their operational orbits. Once they are done, SpaceX’s first Starlink constellation shall be more than two-thirds complete.
This constellation comprises five orbital shells or distinct groups of satellites sharing a similar orbital inclination and altitude. Two of those shells, known as Group 1 and Group 4, comprise 3,168 satellites or over two-thirds of the constellation. They are identical and focus on the mid-latitudes of the earth where almost every person on earth resides.
Praises from Worldwide
The internet service has also received praise from worldwide, including the military in Ukraine and Pentagon in the United States. According to Ukrainian soldiers, Starlink has helped maintain communications between military outposts and civilians with their families during the war with Russia. The service proved essentially useful when Russia targeted Ukraine’s communication infrastructure.
In the meantime, the Pentagon was captivated by Starlink’s ability to maintain connectivity in remote areas, especially in the Arctic. According to Brian Beal, “We have started testing high-rate connectivity to very remote Arctic bases.”
At present, Starlink is available in many countries, and the internet service is soon planning to spread itself to other areas worldwide.
Not the Best News for Existing Users
This update has not come as the best news for the existing users of the internet service, as the average download speed of Starlink has been slowing down since the second quarter of 2021 in every country. According to Ookla’s research, the fall is from 9 to 54 percent. The declining speed may be due to the internet service’s structure’s inability to cope with the growing user base.
In another update, SpaceX’s satellite internet division is likely to begin capping home internet speeds for customers who consume more than 1TB of data per month during peak hours initiating in December.
The company announced in August that it was collaborating with T-Mobile to allow customer mobile phones to link directly to the company’s satellites, with bet testing likely to initiate in late 2023. According to reports, it will potentially add even more people to the company’s user base.
Previously a private company Sestroretsk Arms Planet introduced the Borshchevik mobile complex designed to determine the location of Starlink terminals.