By
Temitope Olatunji
April 16th, 2024
To gain access to the SpaceX Starlink satellite service, normal consumers will need to pay $110 while the enterprise customers are charged about $500 a month for full access.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) has signed a new deal with semi-private airline company JSX to provide Starlink satellite internet to the latter company’s fleet of planes. According to a CNBC report, the financial details of the deal remain unknown, and it is subject to approval from the United States Federal Communications Commission.
The partnership is a significant one for both companies as JSX will be the first airline operator to integrate Starlink’s high-speed internet broadband for its users. According to JSX CEO Alex Wilcox, the WiFi connectivity will cover up to 100 planes, even though JSX currently has 77 30-seat Embraer jets in its fleet at the moment.
As Wilcox affirmed, the Starlink-powered WiFi service is billed to come at no cost to the customers, and it will be accessible without the many complexities of other traditional in-flight internet service providers. This means there will be no passwords or login screens before users can gain access to the in-flight WiFi.
The JSX CEO is at best enamored by the ingenuity of the Starlink engineers, describing them as ‘unbelievable’ according to the CNBC report. He noted that Starlink on JSX “will be just like home, only faster.”
While awaiting regulatory approval, one of the Starlink satellite antennas is being installed on a JSX aircraft for testing purposes. The service is expected to go live in the fourth quarter of the year, even though Wilcox is optimistic the necessary approvals may be secured before then.
Advances in the SpaceX Starlink Satellite Business Model
Starlink is a relatively new offshoot of SpaceX that hopes to bring high-speed internet to everyone, even to those in the most remote part of the earth. The push into the aviation industry is what the company’s officials have identified as necessary as Jonathan Hofeller, Starlink’s Vice President said the aviation WiFi market “is ripe for an overhaul.”
The overhaul is kickstarted with JSX with Elon Musk, the brain behind the project is reportedly in talks with a whole lot more airlines to partner with.
The operational model of the Starlink internet broadband involves a network of satellites hovering in low-earth orbits. To date, SpaceX has launched as many as 2000 satellites as a way to cushion its global expansion drive. To date, Starlink has signed up as many as 250,000 subscribers into its network, and this figure also includes a number of enterprise customers.
To gain access to the SpaceX Starlink satellite service, normal consumers will need to pay $110 while the enterprise customers are charged about $500 a month for full access.