Elon Musk Launches Public Beta of Starlink Satellite Internet Service: $99 per Month (plus $499 in Hardware)

The FPS Review may receive a commission if you purchase something after clicking a link in this article.

Image: Starlink

Sign-ups for Starlink’s so-called “Better Than Nothing” beta only went live yesterday, but users on r/Starlink have already begun sharing their acceptance emails for Elon Musk and SpaceX’s innovative new internet service, which aims to bring web access to any location on the globe with an extensive network of satellites.

According to a copy of the invite, Starlink’s beta testers can expect data speeds from 50 Mbps to 150 Mbps and latency from 20 ms to 40 ms. These estimates are actually better than some of the figures we previously shared, but SpaceX has promised that the performance will get even better after enhancements are made to the Starlink system.

“As we launch more satellites, install more ground stations, and improve our networking software, data speed, latency, and uptime will improve dramatically,” the company wrote. “For latency, we expect to achieve 16ms to 19ms by summer 2021.”

The invite also revealed the pricing for Starlink. It isn’t clear whether SpaceX will increase these costs when the service enters general availability, however.

“The Starlink phased-array user terminal, which is more advanced than what’s in fighter jets, plus mounting tripod and Wi-Fi router, costs $499 and the monthly subscription costs $99.”

Two mounting options – a Ridgeline mount and Volcano mount – are available for securing the Starlink dish to a roof. You can check out their manuals by clicking on the links above.

Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

Recent News