SpaceX begins public beta testing of Starlink constellation at $99 a month | Hacker News Reader

SpaceX begins public beta testing of Starlink constellation at $99 a month

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27 pointstosh13 comments

I'm extremely disappointed by this pricing.

However, given the way Tesla Motors started out, maybe they're targeting the well-to-do rural and underserved clientele first, and then as more satellites are launched and in orbit, they'll reduce the price to more reasonable levels.

I'm paying $50/month for 10 down in a larger metro area to a provider who effectively has a monopoly. $100/month to help subsidize an alternative to that could be worthwhile.

They probably won't provide service in my area, but it'd be a nice alternative if they did.

> I'm extremely disappointed by this pricing.

What are you comparing it to? If you already have a broadband provider you aren't really in the target audience.

No mention of the upload speed. If it's symmetrical this is not bad. If it's <30 mbps - I guess it's still better than nothing.

Some high-end asymmetric cable internet packages in the US don’t even have 30Mbps. My gigabit only has 40Mbps and I got the gigabit for the upload speed.

In previously leaked speed tests the upload speed as between 6 and 17MBit/s with most of them around 15MBit/s.

I live in a major city in Florida, yet my only choice is Comcast, with $53/month for 25mbps down/5mbps up, but when I tested the speed, it was more like 2.3mbps up! I can pay for higher speed package like Xfinity Blast for $80-$100/month, but I still get meager 10mbps.

Crazy thing is there are many Elon fans out there who will shell out this cash just to say they have Starlink. Even if it’s slower than what they have currently.

I'm guessing $99/mo for 50mbit+ is faster and/or cheaper than a lot of people in rural (and even not-so-rural) America are paying.

It is more expensive than Australian NBN connections. But given the problems with the NBN (such as those speeds not being available at all to many people), it will be a game changer if similar prices become available in Australia.

Would be a massive upgrade for me.

I would just to check out the hardware and service..

You maybe underestimating the hatred for Comcast :)

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