SpaceX: “Starlink” cannot start this year: Beta test postponed
[Washington, November 25, Reuters]
SpaceX:
On November 24, it announced that it would continue beta testing of “Starlink” next year.
“Starlink” is a service that provides high-speed Internet communication using artificial satellites.
“The possibility of starting commercial use within the year, which was originally planned,” has decreased.
Initially scheduled to start service at the end of the year
SpaceX is an internet service that covers the entire globe.
Since 2019, it has launched nearly 900 satellites.
Federal Communications Commission
According to a notification to the US Federal Communications Commission, the service was planned to start at the end of 2020.
In 2021, it was planned to cover almost the entire area with a large population.
Beta test postponed to next year:
Meanwhile, a SpaceX engineer said on November 24 that “Starlink’s beta test will continue until early January or February next year.”
Reuters
https://jp.reuters.com/article/space-exploration-spacex-idJPKBN286028
It’s unclear as to how many people SpaceX is inviting to take part in the beta.
Earlier in the year, the company said that it had seen almost 700,000 sign-ups on its site, for people interested in the satellite internet service.
For the moment, though, the incomplete constellation means that
SpaceX couldn’t deliver Starlink access to everyone even if it wanted to.
“Under Starlink’s Better Than Nothing Beta program, initial service is targeted for the U.S. and Canada in 2020,”
SpaceX said in its new apps, “rapidly expanding to near global coverage of the populated world by 2021.”
SpaceX opens Starlink satellite internet to public beta testers: report | Space
https://www.space.com/spacex-invites-starlink-internet-beta-testing