SpaceX Starlink is now its own ASN and present at the Seattle Internet Exchange
They just launched the next batch of Starlink satellites minutes ago: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=y4xBFHjkUvw" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=y4xBFHjkUvw</a>. The 60-satellite train should be visible in the sky over the SF bay area around 9:35 tomorrow night: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;james.darpinian.com&#x2F;satellites&#x2F;?special=starlink" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;james.darpinian.com&#x2F;satellites&#x2F;?special=starlink</a><p>Random FAQ about Starlink below:<p>The combination of low latency (20-40ms) and high bandwidth (100+Mbps) has never been available in satellite internet before.<p>A public beta may start later this year for some users in the northern US, around the 14th launch. Today is the 7th launch of v1 satellites. SpaceX is hoping to do more than two launches per month but haven&#x27;t reached that pace yet.<p>The ground stations look like this: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;SpaceXLounge&#x2F;comments&#x2F;gkkm9c&#x2F;starlink_base_station_photos_from_the_location_of&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;SpaceXLounge&#x2F;comments&#x2F;gkkm9c&#x2F;starli...</a> 
The user antennas can be seen in that picture; they are the smaller circular things on black sticks. They are flat phased array antennas, and don&#x27;t need to be precisely pointed like satellite dishes do. They are about the size of an extra-large pizza, so you won&#x27;t be able to get a Starlink phone.<p>The user antennas are likely to be quite expensive at first (several thousand dollars). Cost reduction of the user antennas is the biggest hurdle Starlink currently faces. Nobody knows yet how much SpaceX will charge for the antenna or service.<p>Starlink can&#x27;t support a high density of users, so it will not be an alternative to ISPs in cities. Rural and mobile use are the important applications. The US military is doing trials with it. Cell tower backhaul may also be a possibility.<p>Starlink V1 doesn&#x27;t have cross-satellite links, so the satellites can only provide service while over a ground station. There will be hundreds of ground stations in North America; no information about other regions yet. Starlink V2 is planned to have laser links between satellites, which will enable 100% global coverage 24&#x2F;7, though local regulations are likely to prevent SpaceX from providing service in many places.<p>Because the speed of light in a vacuum is 30% faster than in optical fiber, the latency of Starlink over long distances has the potential to be lower than any other option once laser links are available.<p>Each launch of 60 Starlink satellites has nearly as much solar panel area as the International Space Station. Once SpaceX&#x27;s Starship is operational they should be able to launch several hundred satellites at once instead of just 60.<p>Starlink&#x27;s only current competitor, OneWeb, just filed for bankruptcy after only launching a handful of satellites, and is fishing for acquisition offers. Amazon is also planning something called Project Kuiper but not much is known about it.<p>Starlink V2 will have 30,000 satellites, requiring hundreds of launches. Even once the initial fleet is launched, SpaceX will still need to maintain the constellation with many launches per year indefinitely.<p>SpaceX&#x27;s FCC application has many interesting details: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;licensing.fcc.gov&#x2F;myibfs&#x2F;download.do?attachment_key=2378669" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;licensing.fcc.gov&#x2F;myibfs&#x2F;download.do?attachment_key=...</a>