SpaceX, a private space development company, announced a new antenna that has improved the performance of a Wi-Fi router by making it smaller and lighter for the satellite Internet Starlink being built.
Beginning in late October 2020, SpaceX began distributing the Starlink public beta test to users living in the Northwest United States. For users, kits such as receiving antennas and Wi-Fi routers are sold for $499, providing Internet communication by satellite using the Starlink system. Although there is a problem that the connection is sometimes interrupted by users who participated in the test, the overall performance was evaluated as amazing.
Since then, Starlink has been reported to have expanded to 12 countries and acquired 70,000 active users. Then, in November 2021, SpaceX announced improvements to the receiving antenna and Wi-Fi for users. The new antenna has a smaller dimension and a weight of 3.1 kg lighter.
Wi-Fi routers have evolved from the previous 2×2MU-MIMO to 3×3MU-MIMO. The operating temperature has been changed from 0°C to 30°C and -30°C to 50°C, and a new IP54 waterproof standard has been acquired. However, the old Ethernet port is gone, and instead, an Ethernet adapter sold separately is provided. There is no price change.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in July 2021 that he intends to lower the price of a device for next-generation users to $250. Related information can be found here.