We posted a blog just about a year ago about Elon Musk and SpaceX getting into the satellite Internet business. What impressed us most – not disregarding the amazing amount of bandwidth they planned on providing – was their awareness of the importance of low latency.

In our last blog’s “Technology This Week” we referenced the term “vaporware.” It refers to tech products that are announced but never delivered or take much longer to roll out than expected.

For an undertaking like world-wide, high speed, low latency Internet service, it looked like this could have been a case of vaporware for SpaceX. The goal is to eventually launch 4,400 satellites and Elon Musk has successfully launched over a thousand so far. Starlink is offering the beta service to customers where the Internet is not available or really, really slow.

Though the price seems steep – $99 a month and $499 for the Starlink kit  – for people here, and all over the world with little or no Internet, it seems like it’s better than nothing. And like most new technologies, those prices will most likely go down over time.

The technology relies on LEO – Low Earth Orbit – (see our blog from February 24, 2020.) It looks like, a year later, Starlink can improve performance by placing their satellites even closer to the earth. But Amazon (who is trying to get into the satellite Internet space with their Project Kuiper) and the FCC are against the move. Amazon has requested that lower outer space. (Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?)

The early returns on Starlink’s performance are positive. We have to wonder though, if they are already up and operating and can improve performance by having their thousand plus satellites floating a little closer to earth, why are they being denied that opportunity?

They are providing a service to an enormous percentage of the world’s population.

In response to the FCC’s reluctance and Amazon’s objection, Elon Musk tweeted: “It is not useful for the public to paralyze Starlink today because of an Amazon satellite system that, in the best of cases, is several years away from working.”

Sorry, but we have to agree. Amazon hasn’t started manufacturing satellites. And they don’t have the resources that SpaceX has to launch them. That task will have to be farmed out. This also looks like it may be a case of vaporware at this point. Starlink is well ahead of the game.

Obviously, the jury is still out on whether or not Starlink can meet the performance levels they predict. Maybe they need an independent network performance assessment service – like JitterWorks can provide – to verify their claims. (We wouldn’t turn down the opportunity.) If you or anyone you know are participating in Starlink’s beta program, please let us know.