Elon Musk’s satellites are now broadcast to some rural New Brunswick homes



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Billionaire Elon Musk’s satellite Internet service is now available in select New Brunswick homes.

Starlink has enlisted some households in rural Canada and the northern United States to test the service ahead of a full launch, possibly in mid-2021.

Greg Rekounas, from the Kingston Peninsula, is one of those who signed up to help test high-speed internet service.

The database administrator, who works from home for an IT company, said he needs to be logged in at all times for his job. After barely a week with the new service, he is bowled over by the improvement over his previous DSL link, which at times has forced him to stop using his webcam while participating in work-related video conferences.

“It changes everything,” Rekounas said. “For me, it was almost to the point where I was considering moving. And now that thought is out of my head.”

Providing services to people around the world

Musk has been using his rocket company SpaceX to detonate clusters of 60 low-earth orbiting satellites in space since May 2019. The bi-monthly launches have so far planted 955 low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, at around 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.

A group of 60 Starlink satellites are launched from a SpaceX rocket earlier this year. Currently, 955 units orbiting the Earth and 11,000 more are to be launched by 2024. (SpaceX, via Twitter)

Rekounas said he would definitely be welcome in homes in rural New Brunswick.

“They are capable of video conferencing, they can download, they can broadcast. They are able to stay connected almost a hundred percent of the time,” he says.

Service has a price

The upfront costs, however, could be a hindrance for some. Rekounas paid $ 820 for the required Starlink hardware, a satellite dish, modem, power supply, and 100 feet of cable. The subscription fee is $ 130 per month.

SpaceX did not respond to a CBC interview request on Thursday.

Musk is set to face stiff competition from Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, who owns his own rocket company, Blue Origin, and plans another satellite internet service with 3,200 low-earth orbiting spacecraft.

Another company, Telesat, which is from Canada, is also planning to enter the LEO Internet market with 298 satellites.

The thousands of new satellites, and others likely to follow, raise questions about the potential impact on the night sky and on the science of astronomy.

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