Last week SpaceX sent out email invitations to people who had expressed interest in becoming one of the first beta testers for the fledgling satellite internet service.
To participate, users have to pay $499 for the Starlink Kit, which includes the “Dishy McFlatface” 19-inch phased-array antenna, mounting tripod, and futuristic looking router. Participants also have to pay $99 per month to join the “Better Than Nothing Beta” program.
What’s inside #starlink box, super high quality look and feel of materials and box! Great Job! pic.twitter.com/ByR2AseoVB
— Adventures With Kramer (@AdvtrWithKramer) October 31, 2020
Even with less than 900 of the planned 12,000 satellites already in orbit, initial speed tests from beta testers in Washington State are showing some impressive speeds.
According to u/FourthEchelon19 on Reddit, he is able to stream 1440p and 4K video on YouTube with zero buffering. The speed tests performed so far show latency averaging around 34ms, with downloads speeds reaching 134Mbps.
Those numbers fall right in line with what the company has promised during initial beta testing. In the welcome email sent to testers at the beginning of the program, SpaceX said data speeds would vary between 50-150 Mpbs, and latency would be between 20-40ms.
The testing hasn’t all been smooth though, as the beta tester he has experienced several interruptions in the service, each one lasting about 10-15 seconds.
