Elon Musk’s Starlink Internet is soon to be launched in Germany. The only problem is that access is limited at first, and you’d have to pay 660 euros to get in. Is that realistic?
For a conventional DSL connection, the costs in Germany are currently roughly between 25 and 50 euros – depending on how much data volume you book. For fast fiber-optic connections, the cost is around 70 euros.
But would you also pay 660 euros for your Internet connection? That’s how much it would currently cost to book the Starlink Internet package from Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX.
Starlink Internet: expensive, but fast
Admittedly, the price also includes one-off costs, such as the hardware (antenna and router), which makes up the largest part of the costs at 499 Euros. With shipping costs, another 59 euros are added. The Internet itself would then cost 99 euros per month. That would also be much more than many people currently pay.
However, Starlink Internet offers impressive speeds of 100 Mbit/s downstream and 20 Mbit/s upstream – with a latency of no more than 31 milliseconds for 95 percent of users, as Heise reports from the first beta tests in North America.
How the Starlink Internet works
Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX uses its own satellites, which it has already been sending into space in small fleets since 2019.
These satellites fly in close orbit to Earth and can therefore send the Internet signal to Earth particularly quickly (one and a half times as fast as fiber-optic cable Internet).
This means that users will not only get very fast Internet. SpaceX also wants to bring Internet to remote regions that have had inadequate or no Internet connections up to now.
The beginnings could be jerky
Now the super-fast Starlink Internet is also to come to Germany – before the end of the year. That’s what the company promises.
Users can look forward to data speeds of 50Mb/s up to 150 Mb/s in the coming months as we expand the Starlink network.
However, the offer is limited for now – possibly for capacity reasons. Also, Starlink Internet may well be a bit choppy at first.
The company admits that the connection may show speed fluctuations at the beginning. Users may also have to reckon with “short periods without connection”.
Pre-orders accepted for German addresses
Interested parties can already pre-order their connection on the Starlink website. Those who enter a German address will now receive a cost calculation and can then reserve a connection.
This involves another monthly installment as an advance payment. However, this is to be deducted again later. Starlink Internet will allegedly be launched in Germany in the middle to end of 2021.
Then we will see whether users are willing to pay the surcharge.
