According to screenshots of emails obtained by CNBC, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service will cost $99 per month.
It’s part of an early beta test of the service by the South African born, Elon Musk-led company. Participants in the beta test will also have to cough up $499 for the “Starlink Kit,” which is a bundle that includes: the terminal, a mounting tripod, and a WiFi route. A Starlink app on both iOS and Android will tie the service together.
According to the emails, the beta test is called the “Better Than Nothing Beta,”. “As you can tell from the title, we are trying to lower your initial expectations,” the email reads.
Expected speeds should be respectable, ranging between 50 and 150 megabits per second, according to the “Starlink Team” that signed the emails. They also claim latency will be reasonably low, ranging from anywhere between 20 and 40 milliseconds.
Employees have been testing the service for a couple months now as part of an internal beta.
Rest of the world
Starlink depends on a fast growing network of microsatellites in low-Earth orbit. So far, SpaceX has sent almost 900 into orbit, which is still only a tiny portion of the constellation required to give the entire globe service.
Near global coverage of the populated world is expected “by 2021,” according to the Starlink app description.
