SpaceX receives FCC support to launch satellite broadband service

Elon Musk’s SpaceX may be considering the possibility of building a satellite-based internet network after successfully sending the world’s most powerful rocket out of Earth’s atmosphere. The company now plans to send a pair of Internet Beam satellites into near orbit , with launch scheduled for the weekend.

The company has already received approval from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for this proposal. Pai said SpaceX’s satellite broadband will likely bring internet to Americans living in rural and remote areas where there is limited or no access to fiber-optic networks or cell phone towers. The proposal awaits a vote of confidence from other representatives on the committee, but Pai is optimistic about this development.

The satellite broadband business is likely to add $30 billion to SpaceX’s revenue by 2025 , and it expects to have 40 million subscribers by then. The company has a vision of launching 4,420 more satellites into low-Earth orbit by 2024, and if it gets permission from the FCC, it will launch satellites low in Earth orbit to send beams to the Internet. Become the first American company to do so. Google also uses Project Loon balloons to beam the internet from the sky, but they do so from a height of about 20 kilometers above the ground.

In 2015, Musk announced his company’s plans to launch satellite internet that would be faster than traditional internet practices and fund urban development on Mars . But the big challenge now is providing access to the 37% of rural Americans (as of May 2017) who don’t have broadband access at home. Other companies vying for this feat include OneWeb Satellites, which is currently working with Airbus to launch internet-providing satellites into space.

Satellite internet is also attracting a lot of interest in other countries, including India. In India, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) recently partnered with Telesat to launch a similar satellite into orbit to provide cost-effective, high-performance satellite internet to not just the region but all regions. all over the world. Telesat plans to conduct tests using the satellite later this year.

There is no guarantee that these efforts will be harmoniously accepted or that a spirit of competition will take over. But for now, SpaceX plans to fly these satellites back and forth aboard one of its Falcon 9 rockets scheduled to launch this Saturday.