SpaceX Starlink Questions Answered: “Wider Beta” Coming Soon, No Plan for Data Limits

SpaceX Starlink engineers answered questions in a Reddit (Ask Me Anything) AMA on Saturday, covering topics such as data caps (which they hope they will never implement), when the public beta s ‘will expand to more users and how broadband satellite service will develop and change in the future.

“Starlink is an extremely flexible system that will improve over time as we make the software smarter. Latency, bandwidth and reliability can all be improved significantly,” the engineers wrote under the name d Reddit user “DishyMcFlatface”, which is also SpaceX’s nickname for the Starlink satellite dish.

Here are some highlights from AMA.

No data limit “at the moment”

When asked if users would ever face data limits, the Starlink team gave a vague response: “At the moment, Starlink’s beta service has no data limits.”

While this answer covers the present but not the future, a later comment from DishyMcFlatface gave a more detailed answer that suggests SpaceX is trying to avoid data caps:

So we really don’t want to implement restrictive data caps like people have encountered in the past with satellite internet. There are a lot of things we’re still trying to figure out right now – maybe we need to do something in the future to prevent abuse and just make sure everyone else is getting good service.

Extended beta in January – no bribe required

Many people who couldn’t get Starlink beta are eagerly awaiting availability updates, and WADA has provided a response. SpaceX “steadily increases network access over time to attract as many people as possible,” the Starlink team wrote. “In particular, we plan to move from a limited beta to a larger beta at the end of January, which should give more users the opportunity to participate.”

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gave a similar update on Twitter a few weeks ago, when a user asked when the beta is coming to Florida. “Low latitude states need more satellites in position, so probably in January,” Musk wrote at the time.

As before, people wanting to get Starlink can enter their email and service address on the Starlink website and hope to get a response. Bribes apparently won’t help. When a Reddit user asked, “How are beta users chosen and how much is a good bribe?” The Starlink team responded, “No bribes are necessary, our goal is to serve everyone eventually.”

More engineers are needed

The Starlink team has repeatedly told Reddit users that SpaceX is looking for more engineers. In responding to when the beta expands, DishyMcFlatface wrote, “If you really want to contribute to this, the best thing you can do is send some excellent software engineers to Starlink to help you make it happen. .

Over a dozen jobs in production design, product design and Starlink software are available, and links to the job postings can be found in this DishyMcFlatface review. “We are very excited about the initial response and the future potential of Starlink, but we still have a lot to learn,” the Starlink team wrote. “If you know of any great people who can help us, ask them to email them their CVs to [email protected].”

Will Starlink work away from you?

A few weeks ago, we wrote about a Starlink beta user who took the satellite dish and portable power supply to a national forest in Idaho, where he was able to get fast internet service. But that doesn’t mean you can take the dish anywhere, as SpaceX currently only promises that it will work at every beta user’s service address.

A Reddit user who lives and works on a boat docked in South Florida asked if Starlink would provide service on the high seas. “A mobile system that gives me reliable connectivity will really set me free to roam the American coast, the Bahamas and possibly beyond, ”the user wrote.

Starlink replied:

At this time, we can only provide the service to the address you register with on starlink.com. You might be lucky if you try to use Starlink nearby, but the quality of service can be worse.

Mobility options – including moving your Starlink to different service addresses (or places that don’t even have an address!) – will happen once we are able to increase our coverage by launching more than satellites and deploying new software.

SpaceX recently applied to the Federal Communications Commission for permission to test Starlink user terminals “on marine platforms” and on private jets.

Storms and extreme temperatures

A Reddit user asked if the satellite dish will work in a strong wind, such as when it is mounted “on the tail of a flatbed trailer flying down the highway in a collapsing thunderstorm.” The SpaceX team said this was not a recommended use and that “the dish is not designed for tropical storms, tornadoes, etc.”

A Reddit user who lives in Canada asked if the dish operates at temperatures as low as 45 ° below zero Celsius (or 49 ° below in Fahrenheit). Starlink engineers responded that the antenna is certified to operate from 30 ° below zero to 40 ° above zero on the Celsius scale (i.e. 22 ° below zero up to 104 ° F ). SpaceX performed “tests down to these cold temperatures without a problem.”

Starlink satellite dishes “have self-heating capabilities to cope with a variety of weather conditions,” the team also said. In the weeks and months to come, they plan to roll out software updates that “will improve our snowmelt capability”.