SpaceX has just filed a case with the Federal Communications Commission to connect its network of Starlink satellites to trucks, boats and aircraft. The application was filed on March 5.
Since October 2020, several thousand North American users have participated in public beta testing of SpaceX's Starlink program. The program is currently targeted at rural areas that have little or no internet connectivity. Before them, company employees had already been using terminals for several weeks to collect latency statistics and perform standard system speed tests.
With over 1,000 satellites currently active , SpaceX would like to go a step further. On March 5, the company approached the Federal Communications Commission to request a general license authorizing the operation of Starlink terminals on “earth stations in motion ". This generic term includes cars, trucks, ships and planes.
"Users will no longer be willing to give up connectivity while on the go, whether that's driving a truck across the country, moving cargo around 'Europe to a US port or on a domestic or international flight “, indicates the folder.
Small passenger vehicles, on the other hand, may have to wait. For example, Tesla cars will not be able to be connected to the system right away, because "the Starlink terminal is much too big “, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Monday.
The new filing from SpaceX does not mention many details about the new antenna designs. However, Elon Musk pointed out that these structures would be "electrically identical to those of other previously authorized user terminals, but with brackets allowing them to be installed on vehicles, ships and aircraft ". These new mobile antennas would then fit on "the masts of ships or the tops of trucks “, he detailed.
Finally, unlike current Starlink terminals which are installed directly by the customer, these new antennas will have to be installed by "qualified persons " .
Finally, let's remember that for the beta version, the speeds data range from 50MB/s to 150MB/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms. To log into the system, users must purchase a $499 terminal. (about 430 euros). They must then pay a monthly fee of 99 dollars (about 85 euros) to keep the service active.
So Starlink services are still expensive and average results. However, this is only a test version. The throughput should therefore increase as the number of satellites in orbit increases. SpaceX provides a 1Gb/s throughput for a reduced latency of between 16 ms and 19 ms . On the equipment side, Musk had hinted that the equipment would eventually cost between 100 and 300 dollars for a subscription price of around 80 dollars per month.
