SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, is working on a Starlink project that launches 12,000 satellites to enable fast Internet access to all over the world. In May 2019, when the plan began, it launched 60 satellites, and on January 29, 2020, 60 new satellites were launched.
Starlink plans to launch a total of 12,000 satellites into Earth’s orbit, including 7,500 at an altitude of 340 km, 1,600 at an altitude of 550 km, and 2,800 at an altitude of 1,150 km, to provide inexpensive, high-performance satellite Internet access to almost anywhere on Earth. According to the announcement, it is expected to complete all satellite launches within 5 to 10 years, spending 10 billion dollars. SpaceX began launching satellites on May 24, 2019, and finished its fourth announcement on January 29, 2020, and succeeded in putting all 242 satellites into orbit.
SpaceX said that in a test using less than 100 satellites, it has confirmed a 600Mbps communication speed that is overwhelmingly faster than wired communication such as ADSL in the aircraft in flight. This speed can change the world. However, since it has a problem that it cannot be used in half of the existing Internet world, a service that can provide an Internet environment anywhere in the world using satellites is a means to truly change the world.
Through the high-quality, censored-free Internet provided by SpaceX, intellectual populations around the world, who have been blocked by censorship and infrastructure, can participate in the Internet’s knowledge economy. This makes it possible to deliver political messages even to those under information control. Therefore, Starlink can be seen to have a great impact on the world in this regard.
It is also conceivable that business around the world will become active. For example, even in a city with both food, clothing and shelter, it was impossible to live while working globally without a stable internet environment. However, according to Starlink, if high-quality Internet exists anywhere in the world, not only such cities, but also living and working in deserts and cruise ships becomes possible.
Starlink’s first customer could be a fund that trades high frequency in milliseconds. Funds that trade with high frequency use margins by finding price differences between stock markets around the world, and the difference in communication speed is directly connected to profits. Therefore, Starlink, which realizes faster Internet communication than wired, can be a reason to invest a large amount of funds, especially important funds. If a wealthy fund invests in Starlink, it can be predicted that Starlink will become available and available to the poor, which can be a wonderful irony that the world’s richest people support the most needy neighbors.
It is also predicted that Starlink could be banned or used for military purposes. As Starlink spreads, the interests of local telephone companies are violated, so banning Starlink itself is an effective alternative to protect the domestic industry. In addition, some countries dominated by military regimes may require SpaceX to censor after introducing Starlink. SpaceX, as well as other carriers, may be more likely to succumb to this demand.
In addition, since the antenna for connecting with Starlink is the size of a pizza box or briefcase, it is difficult to carry it by hand, but it is suitable to be installed in cars, airplanes, and ships. Therefore, it is possible to provide a high-speed Internet environment inside buses, trucks, aircraft, and passenger ships. In the case of price, if 10x speed is realized, there may be a possibility to charge 10x. There is a possibility that an ISP using Starlink will appear, and the network can be used in places that have not been possible until now. In addition, it is an opinion that Starlink may be suitable as an emergency backup assuming that the existing WAN and VPN connection are disconnected. Related information can be found here .