SpaceX Wins Ok To Bring Starlink Internet To Planes, RVs

Starlink, SpaceX's satellite-based internet service, now has United States government authority to expand its service to planes, ships, automobiles, recreational vehicles, and other mobile vehicles, according to Jackie Wattles of CNN Business..

Photo Insert: California-based JSX was the first air carrier to sign a deal to operate aircraft using SpaceX’s Starlink satellites for in-flight connectivity (IFC) service.

The move positions the company to grow its customer base, which has hitherto been focused mainly on offering approximately $100-per-month internet services to households, mostly in places not served by regular ground-based internet access.

It has hundreds of thousands of subscribers worldwide.

Now, the company is expected to begin rolling out service to commercial airlines, possibly beginning with Hawaiian Airlines, which announced in April that it will add Starlink services to some of its planes.

The regulatory license, issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday, also allows SpaceX to expand its service to trains, ships, and other vehicles, allowing it to reach a broader range of potential corporate clients. The company has already advertised its services to RV drivers.

Airlines, ships, and trains have traditionally relied on satellites in geosynchronous orbit, a region of orbit more than 22,000 miles away offered by companies such as ViaSat. Starlink from SpaceX provides a novel way of beaming internet from space, placing thousands of satellites in low-Earth orbit, or just a few hundred miles above the ground.

According to the corporation, this reduces latency, or lag times, for their service. It's unclear how much Starlink's mobile services will cost, but SpaceX is already marketing its service straight to businesses.

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