Elon Musk's Starlink is taking speed. The satellite internet service speed has been measured from the latest Ookla's Speed test report.
From the first quarter of 2021 through the first quarter of 2022, the median download speed of Starlink in the US has made a significant improvement with a jump of 38 percent from 65Mbps to 90Mbps, according to Fierce Wireless.
The latest data from Ookla shows a media download speed of 152Mbps for US' fixed broadband. This only goes to show that the satellite internet is getting really fast.
Starlink first launched in public beta in November 2020 and has been gaining momentum since. In late May, the company said that its service has over 400,000 subscribers global. It is also active in 48 US states.
Starlink in Mexico has the fastest satellite internet in North America during the first quarter of 2022 with a median download speed of 105.91 Mbps. It is followed by Canada at 97.40 Mbps, and then the US at 90.55 Mbps.
How Starlink Works
Starlink uses Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites that help boost broadband speeds compared to the earlier satellite internet types in which their signals don't travel nearly as far back and forth between the earth and satellites. The downside is that LEO angles can sometimes be blocked by terrain.
Nevertheless, the LEOs do provide an excellent service for today's consumers, especially those in rural areas that might not have access to high-speed internet. Fortunately, satellite internet is now available in many rural areas globally, which is now changing lives.
There are still a lot of companies that would like to compete with Musk's Starlink, such as Amazon's Project Kuiper, which just received FCC permission to test their own satellite service and is slated to launch later this year. Viasat is also set to merge with Inmarsat and launch new constellations by 2023.
The Future of Satellite Internet
The future is bright for remote areas who are still lacking access to high-speed internet. Satellite internet will play a major part in providing broadband access to these areas, especially those in developing regions that have traditionally been difficult to service. With constellations coming online, the internet will be accessible to a lot many people.
Starlink is taking the future of the internet to new heights. It is giving lower-income families and businesses a chance to have it. It is making rural areas that were not able to get decent broadband can now get satellite internet. It is changing the lives of many people, and it is also helping drive competition in the broadband industry. Imagine how much better the internet can be if Starlink becomes more successful in the future.
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Written by April Fowell
