Musk Promises to Increase Starlink Capacity 100-Fold in Three Years
Amul Info ·
According to the head of SpaceX, the network’s total capacity could grow from 800 Tbit/s to 80 Pbit/s with V3 and V4 satellites.
SpaceX expects to increase the capacity of its Starlink satellite network about 100-fold over the next two to three years. Elon Musk said this in an interview with Ron Baron. If the forecast comes true, total capacity could grow from the current 800 Tbit/s to 80 Pbit/s.
According to the head of SpaceX, about 11,000 Starlink satellites are now in orbit, most of them version V2. The company has already begun launching V3 satellites, each of which is more than ten times as capable as its predecessors. SpaceX also intends to put ten times as many next-generation satellites into orbit.
The first 26 operational Starlink V3 satellites were deployed during Starship’s 14th test flight in September. The next stage will be a move to V4: Musk said these satellites will be about ten times more powerful than V3.
The 800 Tbit/s figure is the total capacity of the satellite constellation, not the connection speed of an individual subscriber. A hundredfold increase would let the network serve far more users and carry much larger volumes of data.
Musk also allowed that SpaceX might acquire a traditional telecommunications company in the future. This would give access to additional radio frequencies and allow more efficient use of the spectrum it already has. He did not name any specific candidates.