Imagine being in the middle of nowhere, in the African savannah, in the polar Artic, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean or even the Australian outback. Now imagine taking a zoom work call from there with no latency. I bet the person at the other end of the video call would be shocked, quite curious and possibly a bit jealous of how this has been possible.

This event has been made possible because of SpaceX's capabilities to launch satellites in space and operate them! Elon Musk's Starlink claims to be about 70 times faster than other internet service providers that use Geostationary satellites. The way this is achieved is SpaceX satellites orbit at much lower altitudes than the Geostationary satellites and hence it takes lesser time for data transfer. With the frequent, low-cost launches, Starlink now has around 6000 satellites in space and has plans to increase this to 42000.

Starlink's speed ranges between 50 Mbps & 500 Mbps. While this may not be game changing for consumers using fiber or cable ISPs, the avenues this opens up for remote areas can be enormous. Imagine online gaming from a yacht in the middle of the sea or having reliable internet access for weather reports in the mountains or on oil rigs in the deep ocean. In places where there has been no options or limited options, Starlink is definitely a great option.

Earlier this year at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, I had the opportunity to try out Starlink. The hardware installation required to establish connectivity was minimal, and when I tested the network, I achieved download speeds of over 300 Mbps and upload speeds of 30 Mbps. Now, imagine having such high speeds and low latency on your international flight! Starlink is currently deployed on over 1000 aircraft with Qatar Airways , Hawaiin Airlines being among the first to announce availability.

The prices are not cheap though. Their plans range between $120-$250/month and a one-time equipment fee ranging between $299-$299. Even with the high pricing, Starlink's USP would lie in its unique proposition ? of offering quality internet where none is available. It offers real options to the adventurous intending to spend their lives on the road, sea or the mountains while being digitally connected. There are some physical constraints which are worth mentioning. Starlink would need an unobstructed view of the sky & may fail in extreme rain or wind or a storm. This means that while internet is a new normal for the Chilean deserts, the Amazon may have to wait just yet.

In 2021, Starlink started pre-bookings in India but the launch has been delayed as the company has not received all the approvals licenses to offer satellite-based internet services. The company has now received in-principle approval from the fovernment for the same, and this is expected to roll-out soon once the clearance is given. India has historically been cautious about satellite-based connectivity due to security concerns, with satellite phones still being banned in the country. Fortunately, the government now appears to be supportive of satellite broadband, aiming primarily to regulate it. Jio Platform's and Bharti Airtel backed OneWeb also have similar offerings to take on Starlink. The internet plans that would be available for India would be interesting to track. While the Jio wave was the cause of the internet exploding in India, Starlink could be responsible for amplifying the same.

There are some geopolitical tensions involving any new technology and as such Starlink isn't immune to that. Starlink has been used in the Russia-Ukraine war, in the Israel-Palestine conflict. There seems to be another race in Space to be the one to provide fastest satellite internet. In an effort not to be left out, China recently launched its rocket, Long March 6A which carried 18 satellites for its Starlink rival. China is calling this its ?Thousand Sails? satellite constellation. With the launch of so many satellites, space debris is becoming an issue to deal with for companies with Satellite internet ambitions. Starlink's satellites are designed with thrusters that can perform collision avoidance maneuvers with space debris without human interference.

Starlink is also about to launch its direct to cell service as per its website. This is essentially the equivalent of having a cell phone tower in space and by extension not being too far from tower and thereby staying connected on your mobile and other IoT devices. The service is proposed to start in 2025, and the best part is that it won't require additional hardware. In conclusion, it is an exciting new space for internet technology with increasing possibility of being & staying connected from land, sea and air would be taken for granted soon enough. Hope it gains the regulatory approval to start services in India soon.

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