Next Saturday, the company SpaceX is going to send into orbit two test satellites Microsat 2a and 2b, which will be distributed on the Internet, covering a floor area up to ten kilometers each. These two satellites — “a drop in the sea”, because a few years ago, the company Elon musk has proposed to launch a whole “constellation” of satellites, eleven thousand devices that will provide Internet coverage over the entire surface of the Earth. Their ambitious plans Elon Musk has notified the U.S. Federal communications Commission two years ago, and now received permission to run. Moreover, the head of the Commission announced the unexpected proposal — to make SpaceX global Internet service provider, giving the aerospace company status.
Ajit Pai, the head of the Federal communications Commission of the United States, has published via Twitter a statement in detail explaining the benefits of the project Starlink, and then called on to assign SpaceX a provider’s status.
To bridge the #digitaldivide esp. in hard-to-reach areas, we’ll have to be innovative. That’s why I’m proposing today that the @FCC approve an application by @SpaceX to provide high-speed Internet access using satellite technology. https://t.co/1pTTNoEO54 pic.twitter.com/7gHjDAQ8DZ
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) 14 Feb 2018
Pai stressed that the US government must keep pace with the times, using modern digital technology and actively introducing them throughout the country. Now in the United States over fifteen million people live in rural areas where there is no Internet access. Project Elon musk could solve this problem and would be saved for other regions of the world where there are similar problems, because the world has plenty of regions, in which providers simply can’t install a cell tower or stretching cable Internet.
Pai added that it is a question of prestige, too, because if the proposal is approved, SpaceX would be the first American company that provides Internet access through a network of low-orbit satellites.
Recall that SpaceX project Starlink plans to provide the entire Earth with satellite Internet already by 2027. The satellites will be placed at a height of 11-14 km, which will reduce the delay up to 35 milliseconds. Other satellites are flying above, and their delay is 600 milliseconds.
The Commission has not yet issued an official statement about the support initiatives of the unit, but some of its members have warmly supported the initiative, calling on colleagues as possible to consider the status of SpaceX and approve a full-scale launch of a new service.
The US government has offered to make a SpaceX Internet service provider
Vyacheslav Larionov