Starlink & Global Internet

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Starlink Snags $90M Deal to Provide Free Internet In Mexico
The contract, which extends through 2026, is expected to offer connectivity to 10,000 residents in remote regions.
By Adrianna Nine November 16, 2023

Elon Musk’s Starlink has signed a 1.56 billion peso ($89.80 million) contract with Mexico to offer internet and phone services in remote regions. The deal is expected to improve connectivity for 10,000 individual users and boost the country’s overall cybersecurity capabilities.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (also known as AMLO) and the country’s digital strategy coordinator, Carlos Emiliano Calderon, announced the partnership during a morning press conference Wednesday. AMLO said the contract will enable Mexico to achieve near-total internet coverage nationwide by guaranteeing connectivity to 94% of residents. Users across the country will be able to take advantage of Starlink’s satellite internet services and a new direct-to-cell service that enables calls and text messages. The latter is expected to arrive as early as next year.

https://www.extremetech.com/internet/st ... -in-mexico

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SpaceX Launches Starlink Direct to Phone Satellites
January 2, 2024 by Brian Wang

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/01/s ... lites.html

Starlink Direct to Cellphone supports about 7 Megabytes per beam and the beams are very big.

Starlink v2-Mini satellites have three downlink antennas and one uplink antenna, each capable of eight beams and two polarizations. This means that each satellite has a total of 48 beams down and 16 up. It is unclear how many of the beams are for Direct to phone service and how many are for high bandwidth internet.

Of 21 Starlink satellites launched tonight six feature direct-to-cell capabilities. SpaceX plans to launch approximately 840 direct-to-cell sats over the next 6 months and more later in time.

90% of the Earth is unreachable for service by any cellphone company.

Starlink provides service to any area where you can see the sky.

They will start with text messaging and then move on to voice and data.

Voice over IP usually have at least 85 kbps for voice calls. This would mean about 80 simultaneous voice calls using 7 Megabytes per beam.

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FCC Lets SpaceX Starlink Use E-Band for Four Times the Bandwidth
March 13, 2024 by Brian Wang

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/03/f ... width.html
The FCC has authorized SpaceX to conduct communications in the 71.0-76.0 GHz (spaceto-Earth) and 81.0-86.0 GHz (Earth-to-space) frequency bands (collectively, E-band), with the 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites.

Last year, SpaceX said using E-band radio waves for backhaul would enable Starlink Gen 2 to provide about four times more capacity per satellite than earlier iterations.

There are currently around 1900 Starlink satellites launched under the Gen 2 license in orbit, according to spacecraft tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell — about two-thirds of these satellites are significantly larger and more powerful than Gen 1 but smaller than full-scale versions slated to launch on SpaceX’s Starship vehicle.

The current V2 Starlink satellite version weighs approximately 1,760 lbs (800 kilograms) at launch, almost three times heavier than the older generation satellites (weighing in at 573 lbs or 260 kg). The version 2 mini have 30-40 meter wingspan when unfolded.

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Elon Musk officially launched Starlink in Indonesia today.

https://x.com/cb_doge/status/1792136834195259746

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https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1792536841725661392

Starlink is now live across the 300+ islands in the Republic of Fiji, marking the 99th country, territory or market around the world where Starlink’s high-speed internet service is available → http://

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SpaceX Starlink Has Over 3 Million Customers
May 22, 2024 by Brian Wang

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/05/s ... omers.html

Starlink is connecting more than 3M people with high-speed internet across nearly 100 countries, territories and many other markets.

In February, 2024, Starlink was serving more than 2.3 million customers across the globe. In three months, SpaceX has added about 700,000 customers. SpaceX Starlink is tracking to about 3.5 to 5 million customers at the end of 2024.

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Musk Confirms Starlink Mini Dish Is Coming, Says It Will Fit in a Backpack
The Mini dish might be a little slower, but it'll be easy to haul around.
By Ryan Whitwam June 20, 2024
https://www.extremetech.com/internet/mu ... a-backpack

SpaceX has released several different dishes for connecting to its Starlink service, and CEO Elon Musk has just confirmed a new model is coming. The Starlink Mini dish will cost half as much as the regular model, and while it won't have the same maximum throughout, it has a built-in router and can be carried in a backpack. Musk even provided speed test results he says were obtained with the new dish.

Musk companies don't usually announce things in the traditional way. In this case, someone on X (formerly Twitter) posted leaked images of the dish. Musk replied matter-of-factly that he'd just set one up, confirming its existence. Musk also offered some details on the Starlink Mini dish, which he claims will "change the world."

It's hard to understand the size of the Starlink Mini dish from the leaked images without anything for reference. However, Musk clarified that the entire device can be "easily carried in a backpack." The latest standard Starlink dish is 23 x 15 inches, and the original leak claimed the Mini version is 11 x 9 inches—just a bit larger than a sheet of US Letter paper. Musk did not object to this description, so we can safely assume it really is much more compact than the standard array.

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SpaceX Launched 1000 Starlink Satellites in First Half of 2024 and Direct to Cell Starting in the Fall
June 27, 2024 by Brian Wang

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2024/06/s ... -fall.html

SpaceX has launched over 1,000th Starlink satellites in 2024 alone. SpaceX now has over 6,600, providing high-speed internet to 79 countries worldwide.

Most of the satellites are Version 2 Mini Starlinks with increased bandwidth.

SpaceX has been deploying Direct-to-Cellphone Starlinks since January 2024. This will enable enabling global texting, calling, and browsing with existing unmodified cellphones. SpaceX is still testing these capabilities.

SpaceX should start offering T-mobile customers direct to cellphone service in the next few months.

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Starlink Mini Now Available in US for $599 With 50Mbps Downloads
It's quite a bit more expensive than Musk claimed it would be.
By Ryan Whitwam July 11, 2024

After breaking cover on X (formerly Twitter) last month, the Starlink Mini is now available for purchase. The new Starlink kit will connect you to the same satellite constellation as the more robust dishes, but it's small enough to be carried in a backpack. It's more expensive than the standard version, and the speeds won't be as good, but it has everything you need to take your internet connection on the go.

Starlink Mini has a built-in kickstand, and more mounting accessories will arrive shortly. The dish includes a DC power cable, and the integrated Wi-Fi router can connect up to 128 devices. Starlink will offer a 30-day trial of the service, but the Mini dish costs $599 upfront. That's $100 more than the standard antenna and a vastly higher price than SpaceX CEO Elon Musk claimed. He previously said the portable dish would be half as much as the standard version, so he was off by a considerable margin.

https://www.extremetech.com/internet/st ... -downloads

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[firestar464]

I was able to independently verify the claims made.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230331212 ... out-grant/
https://www.fierce-network.com/broadban ... 00-passing

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