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Billionaire Elon Musk’s satellite internet service is now streaming to select New Brunswick homes.
Starlink has enlisted families in rural areas of Canada and the northern United States to test the service ahead of full rollout, possibly in mid-2021.
Kingston Peninsula’s Greg Rekounas is one of those who have signed up to test the high-speed Internet service.
The database administrator, who works from home for an IT company, said he must always be connected for his work. After just a week with the new service, he is stunned at the improvement over his previous DSL connection, which at times forced him to stop using his webcam while attending business video conferences.
“Everything changes,” Rekounas said. “For me, it was almost at the point where I was thinking of moving. And now that thought is out of my head.”
Providing services to people around the world
Musk has used SpaceX, his rocket company, to launch clusters of 60 low Earth orbit satellites into space since May 2019. The bi-monthly launches have so far planted 955 low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, some 550 kilometers above the planet. .
The goal is to have 12,000 in orbit by 2024.
Satellites can provide service enhancements to people around the world who do not have high-speed Internet access.
Rekounas said he will certainly be welcome in homes in rural New Brunswick.
“I’m able to video conferencing, I’m able to download, I’m able to stream. I’m able to stay connected almost one hundred percent of the time,” he said.
The service comes at a price
The upfront costs, however, may be a stumbling block for some. Rekounas paid $ 820 for the required Starlink hardware, a satellite dish, modem, power supply, and 30 feet of cable. The registration fee is $ 130 per month.
SpaceX did not respond to a CBC interview request Thursday.
Musk faces stiff competition from Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, who has his own missile company, Blue Origin, and is planning an alternative satellite internet service with 3,200 spacecraft in low Earth orbit.
Another company, Telesat, originally from Canada, plans to enter the LEO Internet market with 298 satellites.
The thousands of new satellites, and more likely to follow, raise questions about the potential impact on night skies and the science of astronomy.
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