SpaceX started to provide Starlink satellite internet service in the United States and abroad this year. The service is primarily for rural communities where internet communication is unreliable. Customers order the service via Starlink.com and SpaceX is deploying the service equipment to customers based on whether the satellites in orbit are able to beam its signal to the region. Currently, SpaceX operates around 1,385 internet-beaming satellites, as more are deployed, the company will increase the network’s capability to serve more customers globally. SpaceX targets to provide near-global broadband coverage before 2021 ends.

Dozens of Starlink beta users have reported high-speed internet for the past couple of weeks. Garett, a Starlink user from South Cambridge in the United Kingdom, shared his seven-day user experience via his YouTube channel called ‘IrishPixel’. He shared that the company rolled out a Starlink firmware upgrade this week that increased the internet speed significantly, from around 100Mbps to 400Mbps (megabits per second). “There was a substantial firmware upgrade that changed how Starlink preforms, here in the U.K.,” he said, “Now, it went from a speed of 150 max to over 400 megabits a second…that’s pretty mindblowing for me because I have never been able to achieve anything close to that” with other internet providers.

Image Source: IrishPixel via YouTube 

Garett said he is very impressed by Starlink’s high-speed internet and conducted multiple speed tests in his video, shown below. “I’m checking the speed all the time, I feel like I’m addicted to speed tests. I can’t even do housework without doing speed tests” he jokes. “I feel that Starlink is, possibly, under promising and over delivering and that is the best way to do business,” Garett added. SpaceX said its network would provide speeds between 50Mbps to 150Mbps and latency from 20ms to 40ms in most locations over several months with periods of ‘no connection’ during its Starlink beta phase, as it works on deploying the rest of the constellation. Overall, the company plans to operate over 12,000 satellites in space. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said earlier this year that they aim to provide download speeds of 400Mbps before the year ends and it appears engineers are already pushing for that upgrade. You can watch Garett’s six-minute video linked below and check out his ‘IrishPixel’ YouTube channel where he provides Starlink service updates.