Starlink sending out preorder notifications
If you’ve been interested in moving away from terrestrial wired connections for your internet needs, or just are so far away from the grid you can’t get decent speeds, SpaceX’s Starlink internet service is going into preorder now.
Speeds are expected between 50 & 150mbit per second during the beta test phase, and new satellites are coming on on a fairly regular basis as they work to cover the globe and screw up long-exposure star photography for everyone.
You’ll have to pay $100 or so to get in on the ground floor with the preorder. The Starlink internet service is expected to open up sometime this year but an exact date isn’t around. The Starlink service is $100 a month, as well as a one time fee of $500 for the equipment.
Chances are you’re mostly in the market for this if you live in the middle of nowhere, or have an AirBnB by the lake that you’re trying to provide WiFi to. That or your livelihood depends on internet and you happen to own a generator as well.
Satellite has certainly been on my mind since the Christmas day AT&T bombing in Nashville that knocked out my ISP for a few days. However I’m not particularly enthused, while living in a well covered area, at a price tag that’s a multiple of what I’m paying for significantly faster, if bombable, terrestrial service.
I don’t see data limits listed, so this looks to be a different plan setup than what I’m familiar with with other satellite providers which tend to be pay by the gig.
Overall, my very strong opinion on this is: it’s a thing. It’s coming. That’s the price.
