Starlink Internet – Paving Modern Internet Connectivity

In 2021, Accessing the internet is no longer a luxury but is now considered a daily essential due to massive data usage and the growing popularity of Internet of Things devices in daily activities have certainly increased the demand for internet connectivity in all-region. Today cellular and broadband internet is the norm to access the high-speed internet for commercial and personal use. As consumption of the internet is on a rise, high-speed internet demand has pushed the internet provider to deliver in innovative ways. Fiber-optic broadband is the new trend due to the durability of the fiber optic cables providing high-speed internet without disruption owing to the superfast transmission of data through fiber optics which is 20 times faster than normal cables is certainly a game-changer in terms of wired internet connectivity. Next-generation internet connectivity is about to beam down from the sky in any part of the world. As it seems future tech, Starlink is ready to launch the high-speed low latency internet broadband across the globe using advanced satellites hovering in lower orbit which will provide high-speed internet between 100 mb/s to 200 mb/s with low latency as 20ms in most parts of the world. Starlink is the division of SpaceX which mainly focuses on space exploration, rocket technology, and reusable rocket designs. Satellite internet service is a niche market with not many competitors, Starlink certainly provides remarkable prospects on the table. Why Starlink is the better option? Currently, the average internet speed is approximately 57.2 mb/s which costs about $65 per month is considered to be an average price in most parts of the world and a large audience is associated with such specifications in terms of accessing the internet. Starlink expressed to provide 103.1 mb/s with a cost of $99 per month which is $0.96 per mb/s on average considered to be a fairly better deal in terms of return on investment. Starlink satellite is designed to be floating in lower orbit making it effortless to make a round trip of data which is generally called latency is far lower than geostationary orbit satellite. This allows Starlink to provide ultra-low latency internet for online gaming and esports events which are generally not possible via other satellite broadband systems. The main objective of the satellite internet service is to provide internet connectivity in all parts of the world including far more remote locations where a wired connection is not possible. To tackle this problem, Starlink has over 1600 operational satellites in lower orbit hovering globally with advanced space engineering from SpaceX providing a smart propulsion system for orbit raising and deorbiting. To avoid collision with other satellite and space debris, Starlink satellite equipped with Autonomous Collision Avoidance System designed in SpaceX provide extreme safety and reliability pushing industry standard. Vision from Elon Musk Starlink internet is a visionary project from Elon Musk which has massive benefits in terms of global internet connectivity using technologically advanced satellites providing high-speed internet from lower orbit. Although it seems like a futuristic project, Elon Musk has an ulterior motive for setting up the Starlink internet. According to Elon Musk, Starlink internet satellites are the key for the funding to Mars vision and Starship development which ultimately will be utilized for long-distance space travels. For the growth of Starlink internet, Elon Musk has created a long-term vision that will ultimately be beneficial in two different sectors. Recent Developments From Starlink Google has confirmed to provide computing and networking resources to SpaceX for internet connectivity service for its Starlink internet division. Google has a large private optic fiber network on which Starlink will rely for rapid connection to cloud service to secure maximum reach. SpaceX will be utilizing massive data centers of google as ground stations to link the Starlink satellite for wide reach and faster internet connectivity and this deal is for a 7-year contract confirmed by Google cloud unit. On 13TH November 2021, Starlink has launched 53 Starlink satellites with the Flacon 9 rocket to boost the satellite infrastructure in lower orbit to speed up the launch of Starlink internet in various countries including India, Japan, Philippines, and Croatia with 5 more Starlink missions on schedule. Competition For Starlink Currently, there are not many companies that provide high-speed satellite-based internet service with larger customer reach making a very niche market. Satellite-based internet needs massive infrastructure and heavy investment to meet the standard of seamless satellite-based internet service. ViaSat Inc and HughesNet are two main competitors in the United States which provide Satellite-based internet service with geostationary satellites. HughesNet has recently expanded its services to Brazil, Columbia, Peru, and Ecuador covering the South America region. Konnect, FeedomSat, and OneWeb are the main satellite internet providers in the United Kingdom. SES broadband provides two-way satellite-based internet across the European region. With such region-based competitors, Starlink has high prospects with a massive number of high-tech satellites covering a large part of the world. Challenges Global connectivity can be the main problem for Starlink to lure in a large customer base without the massive infrastructure and global presence in various countries to provide a better customer experience. Many telecommunications companies are optimistic about partnering up with Starlink to provide infrastructure and service can be a key to this problem. The ongoing chip shortage crisis made an impact on the production of Starlink internet kits which is essential for deployment. The microchip is one of the key components for manufacturing the Starlink internet kit which is provided to customers to access the internet in various ways. It is a major challenge that needs to be addressed by Starlink as more than 51% of potential American customers have signed up for the Starlink beta program and also many countries are waiting for Starlink to launch respectively. Demand and supply of the service is the key challenge for Starlink and it is also acknowledged by Elon Musk in the recent tweets. Lack of on-ground data centers and large cloud infrastructure which is essential for wide reach in various regions is one of the challenges which needs a creative solution for Starlink to need to address. For global reach, Starlink needs to create on-ground data centers to connect and manage the moving satellites and data transmission for optimum functional ability.  Conclusion Satellite-based internet is a growing market with high potential as new companies enter into the market creating a competitive environment that certainly pushes the existing companies to invest in research and development and to capture large potential audiences all over the world. Starlink internet certainly pushes the boundaries of possibilities with super high-tech satellite technology and in-house deployment infrastructure of SpaceX makes it a highly sophisticated satellite-based internet company. With the visionary goals from Elon Musk, Starlink internet certainly has massive scope to become the industry leader in the satellite-based internet market.