SpaceX, owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has announced ambitions to blast as many as 12,000 satellites into low-Earth orbit.
Starlink, as Musk’s project is called, will begin launching satellites this year and according to the company will come online once 800 satellites are operationally orbiting.
Among the advantages of broadband internet derived from low-earth orbiting satellites are the costs — currently one satellite can be made for $1 million — as well as its ability to deliver loads of information faster than traditional wired networks.
Experts estimate such satellites will be able to deliver up to 500 MBPS to users.
Current average download speeds in the US average around 92 MBPS.
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