Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite Internet provider, will double its speed “by the end of this year,” according to a tweet from Elon Musk, posted in response to someone who had just received their Starlink beta kit (via CNET). The company currently promises speeds between 50 and 150 Mbps, and Musk specifically mentions a 300 Mbps target in his tweet.
While 300Mbps isn’t unheard of speed, it’s faster than many people currently have access to, especially in the low-to-medium population density areas that Musk talks about targeting in a second tweet.
Speed will double to ~ 300 Mb / s and latency will drop to ~ 20 ms later this year
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2021
Most of the Earth by the end of the year, everything for the next year, so it’s about densifying the coverage.
It is important to note that cell phones will always have the advantage in dense urban areas.
Satellites are best for areas of low to medium population density.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2021
In response, Elon also tells the person that their latency should improve to around 20ms as well. In the speed test screenshots, its latency was 34 and 44 ms respectively, while the Starlink website claims to wait between 20 and 40 ms during beta.
The speed bumps and latency improvements should come as a pleasant surprise to anyone pre-ordering $ 100 from Starlink. However, it is well known that Elon’s promises about the future should be taken with caution, especially when it comes to of timelines. Still, this shows that SpaceX is looking to speed up Starlink, and it could keep up with what’s available from a copper wire coming to your home.