A week after successfully launching 60 Starlink 13 mission satellites into orbit, SpaceX has launched the public beta test for its proposed satellite internet service. As part of the plan, the company this week reportedly started sending emails to people who pre-registered for the ‘Starlink’ satellite internet service, notifying them that they can now sign-up for the ‘Better Than Nothing’ beta test.
According to CNBC, which claims to have seen some of the emails, the company is charging a one-time fee of $499 alongside a monthly fee of $99 for the service. While the $99 is the monthly subscription fee, the $499 is the price for the so-called ‘Starlink Kit’ that include a Wi-Fi router and a mounting tripod alongside a user terminal to connect to the satellites.
Interestingly, SpaceX is trying to keep expectations about its new internet service in check with its email that lays out the possible teething troubles in no uncertain terms. Being a new technology, it can offer wildly varying connectivity speeds and latency, the company warned in its mail.
“As you can tell from the title, we are trying to lower your initial expectations … Expect to see data speeds vary from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms over the next several months as we enhance the Starlink system. There will also be brief periods of no connectivity at all”, said SpaceX.
The Starlink satellite internet service was in closed beta testing for month, whereby the company’s employees were checking its usability, reliability and security. Now, with the public beta launch, regular users will get a chance to give it a spin and see if all the hype is at all worth it. So, are you excited about the prospect of satellite internet? Let us know in the comments down below.
