By Timothy Nguyen ’23
Do you know how the internet, your very “lifeline” in the modern age, is provided to you? Personally, I believe it is a process that is heavily underappreciated, and with Starlink, a possibly revolutionary project, it may become even more complex.
SpaceX, a renowned spaceflight company founded by Elon Musk, is the organization behind the project. The plan is to deliver a huge system of satellites into Earth’s orbit that will allow for high-speed, low-latency broadband internet connection no matter the area in the world. Whether it is rural or urban, the program will ideally provide reliable, yet relatively “cheap” internet. Recently, the service has introduced a beta program to customers in specific countries including the United States, United Kingdom, and even Australia.
According to SpaceX, the expected speed provided should average around 325 megabits per second or a little over 40 megabytes per second. Although it is similar in speed compared to those of popular internet brands, it still contains many flaws. For instance, the overall prices are still very high. Also, its speed is still slower than some internet provided via cable and fiber. Nevertheless, with time, the more satellites deployed will theoretically lower Starlink’s prices, while increasing the internet speeds gradually.
All in all, Starlink has great potential in becoming a very competitive internet provider in the future. On March 19, it was even announced, through both SpaceX and Elon Musk’s twitter accounts, that another 53 satellites dedicated to the Starlink project have been deployed into space. Thus, through Starlink, we can expect many amazing advancements in the internet business. If you would like to stay updated on the news relating to Starlink, please check out their website at https://www.starlink.com and the technology columns on mainstream news’ websites.
The Salesian Spectator 