After SpaceX unveiled a new Starlink dish earlier this month, the company has offered an update for those who have ordered Starlink hardware but are still waiting on deliveries.
According to an email obtained by Tesla North, SpaceX says that users should check delivery timelines in their account, as silicon shortages over the last six months have slowed down production.
In the email, SpaceX writes, “Silicon shortages over the last six months have slowed our expected production rate and impacted our ability to fulfill many Starlink orders this year.”
The note continues, “We apologize for the delay and are working hard across our engineering, supply chain, and production teams to improve and streamline our product and factory to increase our production rate.”
SpaceX details over 14 million people have inquired about Starlink and the service is available in over 20 countries.
When checking accounts, some users are now seeing the message, “Starlink expects to expand service in your area by mid-2022.” Previously, the message said mid to late 2021.
According to Mark M., this was for Kawartha Lakes in Ontario, Canada, after pre-ordering Starlink back in February 2021.
SpaceX says outside of the USA, Starlink is available in 20 additional countries now: Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Austria, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland, Portugal, Chile, Poland, Italy, Czech Republic, Mexico, Sweden, and Croatia.
“Pending regulatory approval, we are planning to launch in an additional 45+ new countries by the end of 2022.”
The company also detailed its 31st Starlink launch, sending its “latest generation of satellites that are equipped with inter-satellite laser links, which enable our satellites to transfer data between each other.”
When these are fully deployed, SpaceX says “inter-satellite laser links will make Starlink one of the fastest options available to transfer data around the world.”
Additionally, the note says Starlink is set to launch in more than 45 new countries by the end of 2022.
If you look at maps and what data is available you will see that a majority of current users are in city and suburb areas with very few rural areas actually having access to it. Those rural regions are supposed to be why Starlink was started up to begin with but most of us have been waiting since day one because they are more interested in providing it to areas that already have good or even better services. I would bet almost anything that I won’t even have the offer by the new date given to me just this evening.
Update: I was technically right, lol. It showed April 2022 but I did not get the offer to order until mid May.
I enrolled by cabin in June 2021 and was given a mid to late 2021 service date. After joking with my wife that it would be showing up in the next four weeks, thinking it wouldn’t happen, I got the chip shortage email. Checking the account though it updated from the vauge “sometime in 2021” date to “December 2021”. It seems where you service area is will still be a factor in when you receive service.
I got this dreaded email as well. Preordered back in March 2021 and had a mid to late 2021 service date until now. Why is Starlink expanding service to the southern hemisphere when they can’t even provide mediocre coverage in northern hemisphere yet? I live 2 miles from a big college in Texas and have been stuck with the same 2mbps DSL for the past 20 years. Guess I would have been better off living on coffee bean mountain in Chile.