Future Unity
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When you think of Elon Musk, you would likely think of Tesla, the electric vehicle
company responsible for the majority of his enormous wealth. The cars are everywhere
you look and are always in the news. However, the billionaire is into other lesser known
businesses, which are no less world changing! One of them is the internet satellite
service called Starlink, which his space exploration company, SpaceX, oversees! Within
a short time, thousands of Starlink satellites have been placed in orbit and are beaming
internet connection down to the earth already! However, to make the service even
better, Musk has revealed the Starlink 2.0! What extra capabilities does the upgraded
Starlink satellite have, and what should Starlink customers expect from it?
In this video, we join Elon Musk as he finally reveals the Starlink 2.0!
If you think Musk set up the Starlink business to make money, you are right. However, if
you think he wants to use the profit to enrich himself, that is where you are wrong! The
money from the Starlink satellite business is financing Musk’s plan to colonize Mars.
You might think that is a weird goal for a supposedly profit oriented company because
such a venture is not going to generate revenue or profit! However, it has always been
Musk’s dream to set up civilization on Mars. Being in a position to attract funds or use
his own, he is pursuing it. Musk also thinks humanity needs to start living on planets
apart from the Earth to stand a chance of surviving any cosmic disaster that might wipe
out the Earth.
Regardless of the reason for starting the business, Starlink is now a booming business,
even though it is still in a public beta phase. It has attracted more than 140,000 users
who are ready to pay $99 a month and almost $500 for a receiver. Starlink exploded in
2021, after years of development within the company and receiving about 900 million
dollars in grant funds from the Federal Communications Commission at the end of
2020. After three years of launches, SpaceX surpassed 1,000 satellites in orbit in
January and was serving more than 10,000 customers. However, by June, SpaceX has
placed about 1800 Starlink satellites in orbit, although some units are only prototypes
and are not part of the network.
Starlink is by operation not that different from other satellite internet services providers
like HughesNet and Viasat. However, being a company or business owned by Musk,
you can trust it to out-innovate and roll over its competitors, which is already happening.
Starlink wants to sell internet access, particularly to people in rural areas and other
parts of the world who don’t already have access to high-speed broadband. Its website
says it is ideally suited for areas of the globe where connectivity has typically been a
challenge. It is unbounded by traditional ground infrastructure, unlike fibre. This is why
Starlink can deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been
unreliable or completely unavailable. All it takes to key into Starlink is to set up a small
satellite dish at your house or a jungle or desert, and you will enjoy fast internet!
SpaceX also provides an iOS and Android app that uses augmented reality to help
customers pick the best location and position for their receivers.
Data speed can reach 150 megabits per second and latency between 20 to 40
milliseconds. Both will improve as more Starlink satellites get launched. In fact, Musk
tweeted the speed would double by the end of 2021!
Show this tweet:
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1363763858121256963?s=20
He also tweeted that the service would be available everywhere on earth by 2022!
Show this tweet:
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1363774017606348802?s=20
However, Starlink will be available elsewhere because it will be offered on Mars! All the
colonizers on the Red Planet will need internet, too, and Starlink will be waiting on their
arrival! You can see evidence of this in the contract agreement SpaceX makes the
testers sign! Interestingly, SpaceX does not plan to introduce data plans or throttle
speed as other companies do. It is a 99 dollar flat rate for everybody to access fast
internet. SpaceX is looking at the possibility of offering in-flight internet for airlines. It will
also sell Starlink to large moving vehicles like ships and trucks. Some Tesla
Supercharger stations are already being fitted with a receiver dish to provide EV owners
with free internet as they charge their cars.
SpaceX had been issuing a round receiver dish to customers but had to swallow some
of the production costs for the price to remain at 500 dollars. However, it has obtained
approval for a newer version of the dish, which is square and considerably less
expensive to produce.
The new dish also features a 3×3, MU-MIMO router, meaning it can simultaneously
transmit data via three bandwidth streams to three devices withou