Featured Image Source: Martin @MemesOfMars for Tesmanian.com
SpaceX Starlink Beta users from the United States and abroad have been sharing their internet service experience via social media. Most beta users are satisfied with the service the company has provided thus far. Beta users pre-order the $99 per month broadband service via Starlink.com knowing that the network is still a work in progress. “During beta, users can expect to see data speeds vary from 50Mbps to 150Mbps [megabits per second] and latency from 20ms to 40ms in most locations over the next several months as we enhance the Starlink system. There will also be brief periods of no connectivity at all,” the company’s website states, “As we launch more satellites, install more ground stations and improve our networking software, data speed, latency and uptime will improve dramatically.”
SpaceX is currently fulfilling service pre-orders on a ‘first-come, first-serve’ basis and is launching internet-beaming Starlink satellites to orbit on a monthly basis in order to provide global broadband coverage before this year ends. Phase 1 of the broadband constellation will feature around 4,400 satellites to provide reliable internet globally. Overall, SpaceX expects to launch up to 12,000 satellites over the course of five years. To date, the company operates approximately 1,740 satellites in low Earth orbit at an altitude of around 550-kilometers where they can beam service at a much faster rate than broadband competitors with satellites operating at higher altitudes above the planet.
It’s absolutely mind blowing to think about how Starlink is helping so many people already, and it is only just the beginning. The @SpaceX Starlink teams are doing phenomenal.
— jordan🚀 (@AstroJordy) June 2, 2021
I am so looking forward to the future of Starlink. @elonmusk 📡💫🛰 pic.twitter.com/OUArxDlrue
A United States Starlink Beta user, Jordy (@AstroJordy via Twitter), shared their internet service experience with Tesmanian.com. Jordy said that their family is enjoying SpaceX’s Starlink Internet service since early June. “My mom works from home so having speedy internet is something she enjoys. When we were living in Arizona, we had CenturyLink and it was honestly so slow! We would usually have to reboot the router once or twice a week,” Jordy shared, “With Starlink, we have noticed how fast it truly is. Of course it has moments where it slows down and cuts out but it is never offline for more than 2 minutes. We have had some crazy weather lately in Fremont, Nebraska, and have noticed that on super cloudy days, the internet is a bit slower but it isn’t ever frustrating. My mom and I are very happy with Starlink, and will continue to support the goal and educate others about Starlink!” she said. Long-term SpaceX's goal is to use Starlink revenue to further fund the company's mission to make life multiplanetary. As a space enthusiast, Jordy is excited to use Starlink and shared that Starlink is providing reliable high-speed internet service. They performed a speed test on Friday and the network provided a download speed of 281.21 Mbps, which is significantly faster than the average internet speed Americans experience with some U.S. companies of less than 45 Mbps. SpaceX founder Elon Musk previously said that Starlink will provide internet speed of 300 Mbps and latency under 30 ms (milliseconds) by the end of 2021 as more satellites are deployed to orbit.
@AstroJordy Starlink Speed Test
Rhine Gorge, Germany / @MemesOfMars
A Starlink Beta user from Germany, Martin (@MemesOfMars via Twitter), shared that they live surrounded by nature in the Rhine Gorge, a beautiful rural region of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley between Koblenz and Bingen in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse in Germany (pictured above). He has been using Starlink since April and is happy with the service. “In the beginning we used Vodafone then Deutsche Telekom, it took 2 months for the first internet service to function properly and 1 month after we changed to a new service. I didn't even expect Starlink to come so soon. When it arrived it took only minutes to set it up and get it working,” Martin told Tesmanian.com. “I tried a couple places where to set up the Dish [antenna] and it took a couple minutes to optimize once the location was good. I had outages of couple minutes in the beginning but after a month or so, I literally have not experienced any noticeable lack or outages,” he said. “I am using it full time now and it gives me a perfect experience regarding videos like YouTube/Netflix or some gaming.”
#Starlink in 🇩🇪 on steroids tonight!
— Plaid Memes 👑 of Mars 🌕 (@MemesOfMars) June 16, 2021
340 Mbit OMG 😱!!! pic.twitter.com/cUU3jyb1Mq
Martin shared that the highest download speed Starlink has provided him with is nearly 340 Mbps. However, speed fluctuates from time-to-time, on Friday the network's download speed was 50 Mbps. Though, he says that for the rural location he lives in 50 Mbps is good enough because he previously experienced an extremely slow internet speed of around 7.8 Mbps with his previous internet provider Deutsche Telekom, as seen in the speed test images below. “Starlink is consistently at a minimum twice the maximum speed I can get here with broadband cable connection and sometimes it is even an order of magnitude faster (10x),” Martin stated.
Starlink Speed Test In Rhine Gorge Germany
Deutsche Telekom Speed Test In Rhine Gorge Germany
Speed tests provided by @MemesOfMars
Image Source: Martin @MemesOfMars for Tesmanian.com
About the Author
Evelyn Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
