SpaceX Starlink looks to provide global coverage by September, with 1,800 deployed satellites | Tech News

SpaceX Starlink looks to provide global coverage by September, with 1,800 deployed satellites

Starlink, which has said it plans to deploy 12,000 satellites in total at a cost of roughly $10 billion, currently offers beta services in 11 countries.

By:REUTERS
| Updated on: Aug 21 2022, 18:18 IST
FILE PHOTO: SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites are pictured in the sky seen from Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark April 21, 2020. Picture taken with long exposure.
FILE PHOTO: SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites are pictured in the sky seen from Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark April 21, 2020. Picture taken with long exposure. (via REUTERS)
FILE PHOTO: SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites are pictured in the sky seen from Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark April 21, 2020. Picture taken with long exposure.
FILE PHOTO: SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites are pictured in the sky seen from Svendborg on South Funen, Denmark April 21, 2020. Picture taken with long exposure. (via REUTERS)

Starlink, the satellite internet unit of Elon Musk's SpaceX, expects to be able to provide continuous global coverage by around September but will then need to seek regulatory approvals, its president Gwynne Shotwel said on Tuesday.

"We've successfully deployed 1,800 or so satellites and once all those satellites reach their operational orbit, we will have continuous global coverage, so that should be like September timeframe," she told a Macquarie Group technology conference via webcast.

Read more: SpaceX's Starlink might soon bring the much-awaited in-flight WiFi connectivity

"But then we have regulatory work to go into every country and get approved to provide telecoms services."

Starlink, which has said it plans to deploy 12,000 satellites in total at a cost of roughly $10 billion, currently offers beta services in 11 countries, Shotwel said.

In May, Musk said the low-Earth orbiting satellite network had received more than 500,000 preorders for its internet service and anticipates no technical problems meeting demand.

Don't miss: Starlink satellite internet service gets 500,000 preorders, Musk says

The US Federal Communications Commission this year approved SpaceX's plan to deploy some Starlink satellites at a lower earth orbit than planned to provide high-speed broadband internet services to people who currently lack access.

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Starlink is one of a growing number of makers of small satellites that also includes Amazon.com's Kuiper, Britain's OneWeb, venture capital-backed Planet, and Raytheon Technologies Corp's Blue Canyon Technologies.

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First Published Date: 22 Jun, 12:12 IST
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