Starlink separates itself from competitors by providing high-speed internet via satellite and offering unlimited data. As per recent reports, the satellite Internet provider will now introduce a soft data cap of 1TB for residential users.
Starlink Adds 1TB Data Limit
Since it first became available to the public, SpaceX's Starlink has provided unlimited bandwidth, and this new data limit will not change that. Instead, Starlink customers who exceed 1TB of monthly data usage will experience some sort of internet data throttling. Internet throttling will result in speeds slower than what your internet service provider should be serving you.
According to TechCrunch, Starlink sent out an email to customers in the United States and Canada on Friday, Nov. 4, detailing the new "Fair Use" policy, which explains how residential users will begin each month with "Priority Access."
After exceeding the 1TB data limit, users will continue to receive "Basic Access" coverage for the remainder of the monthly billing period.
The report explains that Basic Access signifies that users will not be prioritized in terms of use. This indicates that during periods of high network traffic, they will experience slower speeds than Priority Access users. Starlink adds that data used between off-peak hours, specifically between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., will not be included in the 1TB monthly Priority bucket.
Based on the Starlink email, such changes to its Fair Use Policy were made to ensure that customers would not be impacted by a small number of users consuming unusually large amounts of data. As stated in the announcement, such changes will be implemented in the United States and Canada in December 2022.
"Starlink is a finite resource that will continue to grow as we launch additional satellites," the policy stated. "To serve the greatest number of people with high-speed internet, we must manage the network to balance Starlink supply with user demand."
Starlink Expands Coverage to Polar Regions
The sudden change in service usage policy comes as Starlink's service coverage expands across the polar regions. On Nov. 4, the company tweeted that the satellite service provider will now be capable of reaching communities throughout Alaska, Canada, and the polar region. Starlink also stated that these areas will now have reliable, high-speed, low-latency internet access.
Starlink is now able to serve additional communities across Alaska, Canada, and the polar region that previously didn't have access to reliable, high-speed, low-latency internet → https://t.co/slZbTmZmAt
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 5, 2022
Starlink Speeds Decreasing
According to Ookla's Speedtest Intelligence, as more people signed up for the service, median download speeds for Starlink decreased across Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the UK, and the US, falling between 9% and 54% from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022.
In spite of this, Starlink nonetheless managed to achieve a median download speed of at least 60 Mbps in North America during Q2 2022, which is more than sufficient for at least one connected device to perform the majority of online tasks.
About Starlink and SpaceX
Forty countries can access the internet via satellite thanks to SpaceX's Starlink constellation of satellites. After 2023, it also aims to provide international mobile phone service. Starlink satellite launches by SpaceX began in 2019.
Nearly 12,000 satellites are planned to be deployed, with a possible increase to 42,000. As of June 2022, Starlink serves over 500,000 subscribers with internet access.
