SpaceX’s Starlink internet has a lot to offer to rural consumers. The low-Earth orbit internet service provider (ISP) has already starting offering beta testing to a number of North America customers, and now it will do the same for an entirely new market.
On Monday, Business Insider reported that the UK government has approved SpaceX’s Starlink internet, and users are already starting to receive their public beta kits.
The kits include a user interface (the satellite dish) as well as an internet router, and they allow consumers to connect to the Starlink satellite network – and likely at much faster speeds than are available with other satellite ISPs.
Btw, critical feedback is always super appreciated, as well as ways to donate money that really make a difference (way harder than it seems)
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 8, 2021
Philip Hall, a resident of rural Devon in southwest England, shared that he received his router and interface on New Year’s Eve and has already seen major improvements.
Reporting on the jump from 0.5 megabits per second to 85 megabits per second once switching to Starlink, Hall wrote, “Within the hour we ran a Zoom quiz with grandchildren — it was wonderful.”
Current Starlink subscriptions in the UK cost about £84 ($113.60 USD) per month, along with about £439 ($593.71 USD) up front for the user interface and router. And, according to those with the beta, it’s a low price to pay for remote access to usable internet speeds.
