Public beta testing of the SpaceX Starlink satellite internet service appears to have started as the company has begun sending emails to potential testers, and the official iOS app has hit the Apple App Store.
SpaceX has already started testing their service, beginning first with employees of the company earlier this summer. Initial speed tests that appeared online, and which were later confirmed by SpaceX, showed impressive internet speeds even with fewer than 1/10th of the planned number of satellites.
It appears the public beta testing is about to begin, as a user on Reddit from just south of the Canadian border in Washington State shared tonight that he had received an email invitation to the Starlink beta program.
According to the details of the email, the official name is the “Better Than Nothing Beta” program, and it lays the groundwork for what to expect while testing, including the costs of the required equipment and monthly subscription.
To support the fact the beta program is starting up very soon, the official Starlink app is now available to download on the iOS App Store. The app helps setup and connect to the service, run speed tests, and troubleshoot connectivity issues.
Without actually having the Starlink receiver and antenna, there’s not much of anything you do with the app other than hope you get selected to be a beta tester. To download, search for “Starlink” from your iPhone, and then scroll quite far down to find it. Or click here.
Canadians hoping to be a beta tester were waiting with beta breath for SpaceX to be approved for a basic telecom licence by the CRTC. It was left to the last minute, but the CRTC finally approved the licence earlier this month.
Let us know in the comments below if you’ve received the email invitation from Starlink.
h/t: Toby Li
