New York (CNN Business)SpaceX's satellite-based Internet business, Starlink, is now approved by the U.S. government to expand its services to aircraft. Have received. Ships, cars, RVs and other mobile vehicles.
With this move, the company is ready to expand its customer base. So far, we've focused on providing homes with Internet services for about $ 100 a month, primarily in areas where traditional ground services aren't available. Based internet service. There are hundreds of thousands of subscribers around the world.
With regulatory approval inherited from the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday, SpaceX will be able to extend its services to trains, ships and other vehicles, opening up a wide range of potential corporate customers. can do. The company is already promoting services for RV drivers.
Traditionally, airlines, ships, and trains have relied on satellites in geosynchronous orbit (bands of orbit more than 22,000 miles away) provided by companies such as ViaSat. SpaceX's Starlink takes a different approach to beaming the Internet from space by placing thousands of satellites in low earth orbit, just hundreds of miles from the ground. According to the company, this will reduce service latency or lag time.
The price of Starlink's mobile service isn't clear, but SpaceX already sells it directly to businesses.
The FCC's decision is yet another chapter in the ongoing battle for spectrum rights. The spectrum refers to various radio frequencies. Federal regulators strictly protect which companies can use which frequencies so that the signals do not interfere with each other.
Companies such as ViaSat, Dish Network, and wireless company RS Access opposed the FCC's decision.
SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
