Starlink

Starlink Availability

*  The Starlink coverage map above was generated by tracking current users of Starlink’s service.

Starlink is a new satellite internet service developed by space exploration company, SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk. Starlink internet works by beaming data signals between thousands of low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites overhead and gateway stations on the ground below.

If you live anywhere in the U.S., you’re most likely covered by Starlink satellite service. In fact, Starlink provides service to over 100,000 customers across 20 countries. Each of the green dots in the Starlink coverage map above represents a location with a current Starlink subscriber. Currently, over 2,000 low-earth-orbit (LEO) Starlink satellites orbit the Earth, providing internet service to many areas.

Here are some quick stats regarding Starlink’s availability:

• 145,000 current subscribers
• 750,000 preorders
• Approximately 2,000 LEO satellites in orbit
• Worldwide presence (59 gateway stations across the U.S.)
• 20 countries served

Starlink Plans and Pricing

Starlink internet pricing is straightforward and hidden fee-free, offering just two plans. For the standard plan, expect to pay $99 per month for download speeds up to 200 Mbps after purchasing your equipment for $499. For premium service, you’ll pay $500 per month for download speeds up to 500 Mbps after purchasing your equipment for $2,500. There is no lease option. (If service is not yet available in your area, you can place a $99 deposit applicable toward your standard kit purchase or a $500 toward a premium kit purchase to get on the waitlist for future service.)

If you’ve visited the Starlink website recently, you may have seen a message like, “Starlink expects to expand service in your area by early to mid 2022. You will receive a notification once your Starlink is ready to ship.” SpaceX is working to fulfill 750,000 preorders. Delays in service activation are primarily due to two factors: capacity and silicon.

Even though nearly 2,000 Starlink satellites roam the sky in a scheduled pattern, certain sectors of the Earth are less visited than others, limiting the capacity Starlink has to take on new subscribers. Since their satellite launch operations began in 2019, Starlink has successfully completed 35 launches, and the company is planning to continue launching at an ambitious pace to increase capacity and fulfill future orders.

Silicon supply has become a hot issue for Starlink and every other tech company attempting to supply customers with high-tech gadgetry. A perfect storm of circumstances gathered in 2020, causing a ripple effect of silicon chip shortages worldwide and serious delays in production for SpaceX’s Starlink customer kits.

Starlink Internet Speeds

Current speeds offered by a Starlink satellite connection top out at 500 Mbps download and 40 Mbps upload speed. Elon Musk’s SpaceX intends to increase the maximum speed to 10 Gbps in the future. These speeds will require specialized laser technology that SpaceX is still in the process of developing and expanding.

This technology would outfit future LEO satellites with the capability to communicate directly with each other while in orbit via laser. Since transmissions of these sorts travel exponentially faster in the vacuum of space than on ground, 10 Gbps download speeds may become a distinct reality. Until then, Starlink LEO satellites do all of their communicating with gateway base stations located on Earth to send data transmissions where they need to go.