SpaceX not bringing Starlink internet service to China, for now

Starlink Dish

According to a representative from Tesla China, SpaceX has no plans to bring Starlink to China, at least for the time being.

The reasoning for this is that SpaceX has to comply with the rules and regulations from mainland China. However, Starlink equipment does not meet these rules.

Most of the issues revolve around made-in-China products, specifics around IP and the lack of a SpaceX China or other subsidiary.

The spokesperson also confirmed with GizmoChina that Tesla owners in China will not get free WiFi access at Superchargers from Starlink.

This all but confirms that Tesla does indeed plan to roll out Starlink at Superchargers in other parts of the world. Several were recently spotted in the United States.

Starlink currently has 1,500 satellites orbiting the Earth. Recently, SpaceX partnered with Google to provide cloud services to SpaceX.

This means that SpaceX can set up ground stations inside Google data centres to provide internet access.

SpaceX expects to provide this enterprise cloud service in 2022.

In comparison, beta testing for Starlink ended a few weeks ago at the end of October. However, the current wait times for a Starlink dish and equipment is currently into early 2023 at the moment.

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About Scott Nordlund 1718 Articles
Originally from the West Coast, Scott is an avid writer & EV enthusiast now living in Ottawa. He holds a MA in Political Science and once played professional football in the German Football League. Email scott@driveteslacanada.ca