SpaceX aims to become an Internet service provider whose particularity is to transmit the connection through space, via satellites. Its service is called Starlink.

What is Starlink?

Starlink is the name of a satellite service and network belonging to SpaceX, an American company founded by Elon Musk in the early 2000s and specializing in astronautics. Starlink intends to be an Internet service provider, but of a somewhat particular kind: it is a question of providing a connection which passes through space, via communication satellites – in this case, its own.

The stated goal of Starlink is to provide an Internet connection anywhere in the world, including in geographical areas that are not well served (or not at all) by terrestrial infrastructures. This can be remote, rural or hard-to-reach places. That said, the fact is that Starlink is focusing for its debut on rich and well-equipped countries, with North America and Western Europe.

The implementation of this project therefore requires sending satellites into space, via rocket fire – which is precisely SpaceX’s specialty since its inception. Downstream, customers must also equip themselves accordingly, with a dedicated kit. Due to the specificities of Starlink, wireless links are widely used to circulate the signal.

Mosaic of photos showing a takeoff of a Falcon 9 rocket for the benefit of the Starlink constellation. // Space X

What is the origin of the project?

You have to go back to the first half of the 2010s to find public traces of the Starlink program — which suggests that it was in the making for even longer . In early November 2014, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled Elon Musk's Next Mission: Internet Satellites. A week later, Elon Musk confirmed, citing an upcoming announcement.

At the time, there was talk of forming swarms of micro-satellites – the number of 700 devices was advanced – and of a partnership with the company WorldVu Satellites, founded by Greg Wyler, a former Google, already originally from O3b Networks. Greg Wyler also wanted to work on a similar project with Google for a while, but it could not be completed for various reasons.

The strategy aimed to develop satellites that are simple and quick to manufacture and above all that do not cost too much. However, it clearly appeared that the plan with WorldVu Satellites was not suitable, or no longer. Elon Musk therefore abandoned the idea of ​​launching 700 satellites, aiming for 4,000 instead, in order to reduce costs thanks to greater economies of scale.

There was also talk, for a time, of a merger with OneWeb, which could not be completed due to technical disagreements. It has been reported that Elon Musk realized in particular the financial chasm that can constitute the maintenance of a fleet of satellites in orbit. It was therefore necessary to arrive at satellites that were less expensive to build, launch and operate.

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, is one of the driving forces behind the Starlink project. // Daniel Oberhaus

Things accelerated after that. In 2016, we learned that SpaceX had filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission to send a fleet of satellites around the Earth. At the time, the set included 4,425 aircraft and the altitude considered was higher than that used today. It was planned to make them gravitate between 1,110 and 1,324 km in height.

However, it was not until 2018 that the first experimental satellites were sent and the first authorizations from the regulatory authorities were issued. The deployment of the first operational satellites began in 2019. The launch of the service in beta version occurred in 2020. Since then, dozens of shots have taken place to flesh out the whole thing.

How does Starlink work?

Because Starlink uses a constellation of satellites, the Internet connection travels through space. However, the company also needs ground infrastructure, ground stations. For example, the company has signed an agreement with Google to install terminals in the Internet giant's data centers. It does the same in France, not far from certain municipalities.

It may seem paradoxical to need ground stations for satellite Internet. However, it is common, recalls the National Frequency Agency: "the satellites communicate on the one hand with the gateway stations, which ensure the interconnection with the terrestrial networks and, on the other hand, with the terminals of the end users, smaller in size, for individuals or businesses”.

And to continue: “all the data exchanged between users and satellites must come down to Earth: the constellations […] need many gateway stations to ensure this flow”. In France, the telecoms regulator has given the green light for three land stations, in the North (Gravelines), in Gironde (Villenave-d'Ornon) and in La Manche (Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron).

That said, the Internet user's signal goes through the satellite dish on his roof - or elsewhere, as long as it's outside - to communicate with Starlink. When the signal is received, it then passes through the Wi-Fi router inside the building. All that remains is to hook up the signal and authenticate: in short, it looks like an Internet connection, all that is most normal.

A Starlink antenna oriented towards the stars (but especially towards the satellites). // Source: Starlink

How many Starlink satellites are in orbit?

The number of Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth has been steadily increasing since 2018, when the first shipments took place . More than 1,700 machines have thus been sent into space over the past four years, but those that are really functional are a little less numerous, around 1,650, taking into account a few failures or de-orbits.

Currently, Starlink satellites are launched in clusters of sixty with each Falcon 9 rocket launch — with rare exceptions. In the spring of 2021, SpaceX posted a very strong pace, with four Starlink missions in a single month. In the (very) long term, SpaceX wants to have a constellation with tens of thousands of machines – a maximalist version envisages up to 42,000 satellites.

Where are the Starlink satellites located?

The Starlink satellites are positioned quite close to the Earth, in a low orbit. This zone extends up to 2,000 kilometers in altitude. In fact, Starlink is much lower, around 550 kilometers high. Some machines are positioned a little above this orbit, others below. In the longer term, Starlink plans to place satellites even lower, between 330 and 350 km.

This close proximity to the Earth, compared to other machines that are placed much further away, is justified by the company for latency reasons. "Starlink satellites are 60 times closer to Earth than conventional satellites, allowing for lower latency and the ability to support services not typically possible on conventional satellite Internet," the company says on his website.

There are also online services that allow you to get an idea of ​​where the Starlink satellites are above the Earth. Thus, the Satmap site shows a map of the globe with several display options. Note that the world appears to be covered in Starlink satellites, even removing all other orbiting craft — an impression that is due to a scaling issue.

Satmap

How much does a Starlink subscription cost?

The Starlink offer requires a significant initial investment. The acquisition of the kit is billed at 499 euros (it includes the satellite antenna, the Wi-Fi router, the power supply, the mounting tripod and the cables). To this must be added the shipping and service costs, which reach 59 euros. Total amount: 558 euros. As for access to the service, it is billed once a month, at a price of 99 euros.

In comparison, the competition offers prices ranging from 30 to 60 euros per month. This is the case of Nordnet: we must also add the price of the kit, at 299 euros (149 euros in the event of state aid). A one-year commitment period is required. In case of rental of the kit, the commitment increases to two years and it is necessary to count +8 euros for the subscription. An installation service is offered, but payable.

Elements of the Starlink kit. // Source: Starlink

What is the speed announced by Starlink?

On its home page, the service mentions speeds ranging from 50 Mbit/s to 150 Mbit/s, “during the beta phase”. Clearly, customers with access to the service, once it is fully launched, will be able to benefit from a higher data transmission capacity. Of how many ? According to Elon Musk, performance should be doubled in 2021, implying peaks of 300 Mbit / s.

A promise is also made on the site: "the launch of more satellites, the installation of more ground stations and the improvement of our networking software will remarkably improve our data transmission speeds, latency and uptime. The operator warns, however, that at first there may be “brief periods without any connectivity”.

It is difficult to understand what 50 Mbit/s, 150 Mbit/s or even 300 Mbit/s represent if you are not familiar with the telecom industry. For elements of comparison, it is necessary to turn to the telecoms regulator in France. At the beginning of the year, he observed that the average download speed for a mobile connection was 45 Mbit/s, that is to say, roughly, what we have with 4G.

What about high-speed or even very high-speed fixed Internet? Depending on the technologies and their characteristics (VDSL2, fixed 4G, Very High Speed ​​Radio), the speeds observed generally range from 30 to 100 Mbit/s. As for fiber optics, which is the Holy Grail in this field, it is beyond 100 Mbit/s, with offers that can climb to 400 Mbit/s, 1 Gbit/s and more, depending on the circumstances (and the price you agree to pay).

As for latency, an indicator measuring the delay between sending a request and receiving data (the smaller the gap, the better). It is announced, for the beta phase, between 20 and 40 milliseconds (ms) "in most places over the next few months". It's quite good. For comparison, fiber optics can do just as well, or even better, down to 10 or even 5 ms.

A section of fiber optics.

What is the coverage?

If we rely on the Satmap map, we can imagine that the coverage is already global, or almost. In reality, the service has a more modest availability: According to Elon Musk, who spoke on the subject in February 2021, the majority of the globe will be covered by the end of the year. It will be necessary to wait until the following year to serve the whole Earth. Then, it will be a question of densification of the mesh.

Is Starlink available in France?

Starlink is available in France. In a message posted on Twitter on August 23, 2021, Elon Musk cited France among the eligible countries. The other nations are Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and several Western European countries: Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark and Portugal. But the availability of the service is actually a bit older.

In February 2021, we reported that the telecoms regulatory authority authorized Starlink to operate in France. Frequencies have been allocated to the American service to be able to establish links between French territory and space, where its satellites are located. In addition, in May, we noted the release of a French version of the website. Finally, it is possible to pre-order the kit.

How many customers does Starlink claim?

At the end of August, Elon Musk claimed more than 100,000 customers from Starlink, but did not specify the distribution among the fourteen eligible countries. In February 2021, SpaceX had announced the number of 10,000 customers. In the past, SpaceX claimed that 700,000 Americans would be interested in subscribing to its satellite Internet access service, according to a document submitted to the Federal Communications Commission.

Is Starlink worth it?

One might wonder why Starlink is launching in France, when the country already has generally satisfactory wired and wireless infrastructures. In general, one can doubt the competitiveness of the offer in the face of the generalization of optical fiber and similar technologies in the fixed Internet, and the progression of 4G networks and tomorrow 5G. But on a case-by-case basis, maybe Starlink is an opportunity.

The French market seems difficult to conquer. The prices displayed by Starlink are not necessarily given – as for the rest of the satellite offer – in comparison with what mobile operators and Internet service providers offer. Under this prism, the American formula is not competitive. But for those who are in a white zone, then the situation is not the same.

Mountainous, very rural or very isolated areas are scenarios that can be considered. Same thing on the side of overseas France. These regions are always out of step with the metropolis – this can be seen for example with 5G. But in the long term, with the France Very High Speed ​​plan to cover the whole country in optical fiber by 2025, the horizon seems complicated for Starlink in France.

With 4G, 5G, fiber optics… is Starlink relevant enough for France? // Source: Melvyn Dadure for Numerama

Is Starlink a good idea?

Over the past few months, there has been a growing protest movement against the Starlink project, which is taking root among astronomers in particular. The latter are reassembled against the visual pollution that the passage of the satellites causes on observations made from the ground. After denying it, Elon Musk admitted a problem and launched a splinter reduction plan. But that doesn't seem to be enough.

Some consider that all this traffic around the Earth seriously increases the risk of collision, which would cause a catastrophe, which could, in a dark scenario, cause a chain reaction with other satellites, or even the ISS. This would threaten the space activities of humanity – and the activities of humanity in general, as satellites have become indispensable.

Faced with this danger, agreements are in progress to manage such traffic all around the Earth, with NASA in particular.

In France, these concerns have given rise to exchanges at the political level. La France Insoumise had tabled amendments to try to oppose Starlink, but without success. A moratorium has also been requested. The government had also been questioned on this subject, but the written question drafted by a parliamentarian did not receive a response on this date.

This photo is the overlay of 17 images. The Starlink satellite train passed in front of Comet NEOWISE.

Source: Daniel Lopez

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