Elon Musk's Global Internet Service

 SpaceX Starlink

Source:  SpaceX Starlink

600 Internet Satellites and Counting

SpaceX and founder/CEO Elon Musk are setting new records in building Starlink, the space-based global internet service.  SpaceX is manufacturing an unprecedented 120 internet satellites per month.  No satellite competitor has even come close.  600 Starlink satellites are now in low Earth orbit.  Musk recently told the FCC that he plans to build an interconnected network of 12,000 small satellites capable of beaming high speed internet to anyplace in the world.

Big Investment

Musk told the FCC that he has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Starlink thus far.  He is currently producing thousands of consumer user terminals per month and is building ground stations to directly connect consumers to the Starlink network.  Musk says his internet service will be "inexpensive" for consumers to purchase.

Big Demand

Last week, SpaceX informed the FCC that it is experiencing "extraordinary demand" for its inexpensive internet service.  In the US alone, 700,000 individuals are interesting in buying the service.  As a result, SpaceX has asked the FCC to increase the number of authorized Starlink user terminals from 1 million to 5 million.

Beta Testing Already Underway

The FCC licensed Starlink in 2018.  Musk has developed the internet service to the point that he is now doing beta service testing of the system with hundreds of users in multiple states in the US, including to tribal communities.  Starlink is the largest space-based satellite system in the world.