SPACE X

Aerospace company Elon Musk asks for authorization to install five million terminals for direct internet access from space

American aerospace company SpaceX asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last Friday to approve an increase in the number of authorized user terminals to 5 million from the 1 million previously approved. We are talking about devices that consumers will use to connect to the company's satellite Internet network.
SpaceX explains its new application by "extraordinary interest" from potential customers in the next Starlink satellite Internet service. A month and a half ago, SpaceX redesigned the Starlink website so that potential customers could “receive news about Starlink and the availability of services in the region”. To confirm their interest in the Starlink service, the user simply needs to send an email address and postal address, without paying for updates. According to the company, nearly 700,000 potential customers in the United States have expressed interest in the next Internet service.
SpaceX will begin the closed beta test of the Starlink service this summer, followed by the "public beta test". The company told the FCC that the Starlink Internet service will begin commercial customer service in the northern United States and southern Canada "before the end of this year" and will expand its coverage to almost global coverage in 2021.
To date, SpaceX has launched more than 500 Starlink satellites in orbit. In addition to placing the satellites in orbit, the company will need to create an extensive system of accessible ground stations and user terminals to connect consumers directly to its network.
The company's head, Elon Musk, says that Starlink will compete with existing terrestrial services in terms of Internet access speed. He said in March that "the network will have a latency of less than 20 milliseconds, so that any user can play a fast-response video game at a competitive level." However, the FCC expressed doubts that the Starlink Internet service, like other companies that deploy satellite networks in low earth orbit (LEO), can provide signal latency of less than 100 ms.

AVnews