SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has now crossed over 10,000 users across the world, the company revealed in a filing on Thursday. The company entered the beta stage just 4 months ago and promises on providing high-speed internet all over the world.
SpaceX filed a petition to the FCC where it mentioned that its service is being used by 10,000 users in America and around the world. They have also asked the FCC to be designated as “Eligible Telecommunications Carrier”(ETC).
By being as ETC the company will be eligible for federal cash, including the money from FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunities Fund (RDOF) which is a $20.4 billion effort to provide high-speed internet across America particularly in rural areas.
SpaceX said that ETC will help the organization to help spread its service quickly to new areas specifically Alabama, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Earlier SpaceX had been awarded $900 million from FCC as a part of the first phase of RDOF to expand its service in the US. However, SpaceX needs to clear more hurdles and need to come up with a more detailed plan for its service.
For now, the Starlink service public beta test named “Better Than Nothing Beta” is available in the northern US, Canada, and parts of Europe. So far SpaceX has launched more than 1,000 working satellites into orbit and plans to launch 42,000 satellites by mid-2027.
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