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SpaceX's has introduced a new offering on its Starlink satellite internet service to deliver up to 10Gbps in broadband speeds. The 'Community Gateways' service, according to the company will be "able to deliver fiber-like speeds with local providers distributing connectivity to homes, businesses, and governments using last-mile fiber, fixed wireless and mobile wireless.”
At $1.25 million up front, and $75,000 per month, SpaceX will build for the customer, an entire facility dedicated to service such Gigabit speeds. Community Gateways is meant to appeal to internet service providers(ISP) trying to find ways to bring high-speed broadband to remote areas.
Images of the first Community Gateway at a town on an island near Alaska, show that the equipment looks very similar to Starlink’s existing ground station facilities, which are connected to fiber networks and beam internet to the company's orbiting satellites above. Local ISP OptimERA in Unalaska, is now using the satellite connectivity from the gateway which was revealed back in September, to bolster the broadband for most of its customer base.
“Our first Community Gateway on the remote island of Unalaska, Alaska, is able to provide 10 gigabits of symmetric uplink and downlink throughput, enough to serve thousands of new customers while operating at over 99% uptime,” SpaceX writes on its Starlink website.
ISPs interested in Community Gateways will have to provide the land, power, and “lifting equipment.”
The latest offering from SpaceX comes as the rocket company reports that close encounters(or near-collisions) between its Starlink satellites and other orbiting objects have not increased even as its constellation grows.
SpaceX submitted its latest "Semi- annual constellation status report" on Dec. 29, 2023, covering a period between June 1, 2023, and Nov. 30, 2023, to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC.).
Data shows that in that period, Starlink satellites had to perform 24,410 collision avoidance maneuvers, equivalent to six maneuvers per spacecraft. In the previous reporting period that accounted for the six months leading up to May 31, 2023, the constellation's satellites had to move 25,299 times. This suggests that even though the Starlink constellation has grown by about 1,000 spacecraft in the last six months, its satellites made fewer avoidance maneuvers in that period than in the prior half year.
Twice a year, SpaceX reports to the FCC how many times its satellites had to change their paths to avoid possible collisions with other orbiting objects.
Starlink satellites make autonomous decisions to maneuver based on information provided by the U.S. Space Force and U.S. commercial space situational awareness company LeoLabs. When the available data show that a Starlink satellite has a probability of less than 1 in 100,000 to hit another spacecraft or a piece of space debris, the satellite will move. SpaceX points out that it's approach is much more stringent than that of other operators who only move their spacecraft when the collision risk exceeds 1 in 10,000.
Orbital collisions poses a major threat to the safe use of space technology. Each collision can produce thousands of fragments, which may stay in orbit for a long time and threaten other spacecraft.
Experts commend SpaceX, for its rigorous attitude and for sharing information publicly with other operators.
The Elon Musk's company currently operates more than 5,250 Starlink satellites, and aims to ultimately expand its fleet to about 42,000 satellites.