SpaceX's Starlink to exit beta next month
Changes may be in store for SpaceX’s Starlink network. The satellite internet system will exit beta next month, according to CEO Elon Musk.
Musk made the statement in a tweet on Friday. But for now, he hasn’t said what the ending of the beta phase may mean for Starlink.
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Still, exiting beta usually signals that a service is stable and ready for a wider rollout. Starlink is currently serving 100,000 users across a dozen countries, including the U.S. However, the system has a backlog of over 500,000 users still waiting to try out the satellite broadband service.
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One problem facing the service is that the ground-based satellite dishes necessary to connect to the Starlink network have been expensive to manufacture. The company currently produces about 5,000 Starlink dishes each week, meaning it would take two years to fulfill the current backlog of users.
Fortunately, SpaceX is preparing to boost production. The company developed a next-generation Starlink dish, which it can churn out in “multiples” of 5,000 each week.
The ending of the beta may also signal speed increases for the service. The official Starlink website currently says beta users can expect data speeds “from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms in most locations.” However, Musk himself has been promising Starlink’s speeds will get even faster and reach 300 Mb/s later this year.
In addition, the latency for Starlink is going to drop under 20 milliseconds, making it capable of competitive gaming, Musk has previously said.
