Starlink user destination established.
SpaceX
SpaceX wants to start connecting mobile vehicles – from cars and trucks to jets and ships – to their Starlink satellite internet network, according to a request submitted by the company to the Federal Communications Commission.
“This application would serve the public interest by approving a new class of ground-based components for the SpaceX satellite system that will expand the range of broadband capabilities available to moving vehicles. across the United States and to mobile ships and planes around the world, “said SpaceX ‘s director of satellite policy David Goldman wrote in a letter to the FCC recorded Friday.
Starlink is the company’s capital-intensive project to build an interconnected Internet network with thousands of satellites, known as the space industry as a real-time star, designed to deliver high-speed internet to users anywhere on the planet.
To date SpaceX has launched over 1,100 satellites for Starlink. In October, SpaceX began rolling out an early public beta service to customers in the U.S., Canada and the UK, with service at a price of $ 99 per month. Additionally, in a late January update, SpaceX told the FCC that its Starlink beta now has more than 10,000 users.
The Starlink service also includes a $ 499 face charge for the hardware needed to connect to the network. Called the Starlink Kit, it includes a user device (the small dish-like antenna) and a Wi-Fi router.
SpaceX did not specify in its Friday file whether Starlink depots will have a different design for moving vehicles than the vessels currently being shipped to early customers. But SpaceX said each “ESIM,” or Earth Station In Motion, “is electronically identical to the previously licensed consumer depots,” with “additional decorations that allow them to be installation on vehicles, vessels and aircraft. “
The company also noted that it will “ensure installation” of the rolling stock through “certified installers.” Although SpaceX did not say whether these installers would be company employees, it remains expands Starlink ‘s manufacturing and operations – including plans for a new equipment factory in Austin, Texas.
The Tesla Model X that will bring astronauts to the starting point for SpaceX.
NASA
Space company Elon Musk last year asked the FCC to allow them to conduct experimental tests on private jets and with its fleet of ships. But Friday’s demand for a “blanket permit” is much broader for work. SpaceX noted that the FCC’s rules do not “require applicants to enter the maximum number of user limits,” so the company did not specify how many railroads it plans to build. .
SpaceX also noted that for U.S. planes flying into other nations’ airfields, the company will ensure that their Starlink service operators are subject to FCC or other country regulations, ” whatever is most limiting. “
The company highlighted the need for “connectivity while on the move” as a guide to the expansion to mobile internet services, the Goldman director citing examples of U.S. truck drivers, European fighters and international flights as demonstrating the need for a global connection.
The growing demand for data from the automotive sector is one area that Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas has identified as a target market for Starlink. During a Tesla investor conference call last year, Jonas asked Musk if the CEO was considering adding Starlink terminals to Tesla vehicles. Although Musk said there were “no plans for it” in 2020, he acknowledged that it is “definitely something that could happen in the years to come”. “
SpaceX now wants that to happen.
“This application will take the next step in seeking authorization for ESIM to enable that network to expand from homes and offices to vehicles, vessels, and aircraft,” Goldman said. “These services will improve the security of mobile platforms. and provide operators and travelers with access to services that enable greater productivity. “
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