By now you should know that the SpaceX, a space company owned by Elon Musk, the same owner of Tesla, The Boring Company, Neuralink and one of the richest men in the world, is developing a global satellite internet system, Starlink. The promise is to deliver high speeds with low latency, allowing streaming of video and online games, even in the most remote areas, something that was not feasible until then.
The novelty should arrive in Brazil by the end of the year and the registration for those interested in guaranteeing a place in the queue has already started, at the price of U $ 99.00 – approximately R $ 543.00. And what did the Connected World do? We guarantee our antenna !! and we made a video showing the purchase process, bringing a complete explanation of the advantages, differentials and why the SpaceX Starlink promises to revolutionize broadband internet around the planet.
How does Starlink work?
No, they are not UFOs that have crossed our skies recently. The Starlink satellite constellation is a separate spectacle and is easily seen as it is much closer to Earth’s orbit than the other satellites. This is one of the great advantages of Starlink in the promise of a high speed and low latency internet.
Satellite internet is nothing new, many people already use it in service in remote areas, in rural areas, where broadband internet is nowhere near a reality. Brazil, being a continental country, suffers from a lack of infrastructure and a large part of the national territory does not even have 4G quality, let alone ADSL or fiber optics. The problem with current internet technology via satellites is that they are positioned in the geostationary orbit, 36,000 km away from the Earth’s surface and, no matter how much data travels through radio waves and propagates in a vacuum at the speed of light, long distance limits download speeds and, above all, delivers a very high response time between sending / receiving packets, creating a very bad browsing experience and limiting access to services such as streaming videos and online games, for example.
The solution created by SpaceX is in the positioning of a satellite network, Starlink, in a low orbit, much closer to the Earth, involving the whole planet, creating shells around the planet at altitudes of 340km, 550km and 1,150km away from the surface, each distance covering a different type of need, with the satellites communicating and traveling data among themselves. Thus shortening the distance and guaranteeing higher speeds, with less latency. In the current beta phase, speed tests have varied around 150Mps download and 30Mps upload, with ping ranging from 20ms to 40ms, however Elonj Musk constantly says that speeds should reach 300Mbps in 2021 and should reach 1Gbps in the coming years – as the satellite network increases. The logic here is, the shorter the distance from the Earth, the lower the latency (ping) and the higher the data transmission speed.
Source: LinusTechTips
To make this possible, SpaceX negotiated with the FCC, American Anatel, a radio frequency band to provide the service and made a commitment to achieve some goals: the company has already obtained authorization, or exploration right, for the launch of 12,000 satellites, and so far more than 1,000 of them are already in orbit. The launch of satellites is frequent, the last one, on March 14th, placed 60 more of them in space using Falcon 9, the first rocket in the world with the ability to take off and land, reducing the cost of the operation and making the dream of company to colonize Mars. But don’t stop there, SpaceX has already been negotiating with the FCC launch of another 30,000 satellites.
More than 1,000 Starlink satellites are already in orbit. Credit: LeoLabs
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The counterpart? Deadline! The FCC is pressing SpaceX to have at least 50% of its satellites in orbit within 06 years and 100% of its Starlink satellite constellations in 09 years.
In the process of developing its space strategy, the company sat down with astronomers, to ensure that the satellite routes would not interfere with the study of space, nor to generate space waste close to Earth’s orbit. for this, the company has implemented a system that allows the satellites to operate for 45 years, with enough fuel left to propel the satellites to a safe distance and well away from our planet. At least in theory.
What does the consumer need?
Short answer: money and patience. If you have both and want to subscribe to broadband internet using Starlink’s satellites, a consultation of interest is now available throughout South America. In Brazil, Starlink Brazil Holding Ltda was registered with the Federal Revenue Service, with its main economic activity being “Telecommunications by satellite”, but the company still has no registration with Anatel or authorization for commercialization in the country, which should occur in the course of 2021. In other words, you can do like us and buy the internet that does not exist yet . Cool huh!? 🙂
Source: Starlink / disclosure
Anyway, the consumer can already register on the Starlink website paying a fee of US $ 99.00 and registering your interest in the service as soon as it becomes available. The promise is that the service will be available in different regions of the country by the end of the year, with priority for those who enroll in this phase. If the consumer gives up at any time, the US $ 99.00 invested is returned. This phase looks more like market research, with the company trying to understand where the regions with the greatest number of interested parties.
When the service is available, pre-registered users will be notified and will be able to purchase the installation kit. In the United States, the kit costs U $ 499.00 (R $ 2,740.00) and consists of antenna (dish), support tripod, 30 meter cable and router for creating the local WiFi network. The value is not cheap , but it may be the solution for those looking for good quality connectivity in remote areas. The company’s promise is that the price will drop as the initial investment cost in the infrastructure is diluted with new subscriptions.
The installation of the antenna must be done in an open area, with a free path to the space, thus improving the signal. In principle, climatic conditions should not affect the service, as the radio frequency used for data traffic is not directly affected by existing climatic conditions in Brazil. Unfortunately, at that moment, the geolocation of the antenna is fixed, that is, in theory you cannot move it from your home to the site, for example. But there were already those who made it and it worked, with some videos on YouTube.
As mentioned, the Connected World is already on the list, receiving the Kit, we will bring you a new article and video.
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