October 26, 2020
Starlink opens public beta
SpaceX invited early subscribers to its "Better Than Nothing Beta" on October 26, 2020 — the first public consumer satellite broadband service using a LEO constellation.
What it was for
Starlink ships a user terminal and Wi-Fi router that talks to hundreds of low-Earth-orbit satellites — targeting rural and mobile users where fiber and LTELong-Term Evolution — 4G cellular data standard delivering mobile broadband speeds. are weak. Developers testing offline-tolerant apps, high-latency links, and global field deployments gained a new real-world network profile beyond terrestrial ISPs.
Why it's here
Starlink's public beta made consumer satellite internet a shipping product, not a defense-only niche.
Why it mattered
It added a third access architecture (LEO satellite) beside cable, DSL, and terrestrial cellular.
What it solved
Rural homes and mobile workers lacked affordable broadband with usable latency for modern web apps.
Related
- First commercial LTE networks launchDecember 14, 2009
- MQTT inventedMarch 26, 1999