Internet Speeds to Soar as Elon Musk's Dream reaches Rural USA
News broke this morning that residents of Northwest Florida, Southeast Alabama, and Southwest Georgia will FINALLY have a real option for high-speed internet.
StarLink, the low-earth orbiting satellite constellation pioneered by Tesla and Space-X founder Elon Musk, will expand throughout the United States in January. Every household in the region will be able to receive it regardless of location.
The service is currently available in Canada and the northern United States, providing speeds of up to 100 Mbps (megabytes per second). By comparison, CenturyLink currently limits some customers in Jackson County, Florida, for example, to less than 10 Mbps. They completely refuse to connect other customers. Similarly, internet via cellular service is not available in many areas.
StarLink provides low-latency service from arrays of satellites that it has been launching from Cape Canaveral. Unlike HughesNet and other current satellite providers, which provide limited service at speeds of around 25 Mbps, Starlink does not experience "delays" between the ground and the satellite that cause difficulty with internet connections, particularly in streaming video such as movies and television programs.
StarLink also does not currently place data caps on its service.
The service is designed primarily for customers in rural areas who either have no internet or who have long suffered from substandard service provided by companies that focus on more populated areas.
The present cost of the service is $99 per month and customers are responsible for purchasing their own antenna in order to receive the signal. More information is expected from the company soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment