Starlink broadband expands coverage across the UK

Charlotte Whyatt • 16 Mar 2021

It's now available in a number of areas across Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Starlink has announced that it’s to expand its coverage across more regions of the UK.

In addition to being available in certain locations in Southern England, the satellite broadband service from Elon Musk’s SpaceX can now be purchased throughout Northern England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.  

To check Starlink’s availability in your area as well as order the service, customers will need to visit their website. 

Starlink is currently still in beta meaning that customers should expect to receive broadband speeds of between 50Mbps to 150Mbps over the coming months. 

Currently, around 1,200 Starlink satellites are orbiting around the earth. It is the company’s aim to launch another 3,225 by the end of 2024.
 
As the number of active satellites increases so too will its download speeds. Musk said back in February that these should reach around 300Mbps by the end of the year.  

In comparison to other satellite broadband providers, Starlink’s technology sits over 60 times closer to the earth. This results in significantly lower latency which is essential for seamless video calls and online gaming. 

Starlink will be particularly useful to those in the UK’s hard to reach rural areas as their satellites aren’t affected by its terrain or distance from the green street cabinet like standard broadband.

“This will transform rural WiFi,” said Nathan Hill-Haimes, the co-founder of Compare Fibre. “We are really keen to stress the impact this can have on connecting rural locations with high-speed internet.”

Source: Telecoms Tech News