Page 61 - SAMENA Trends - January 2021

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Spacex Expands Public Beta Test of Starlink Satellite Internet to Canada

and the UK

SpaceX has launched more than 1,000 of its Starlink high-speed services company FSET to bring Starlink user terminals to the
internet satellites to date and, as it seeks regulatory approval Pikangikum community. “I hope that this gives them, the younger
in other countries, Elon Musk’s company is now offering early generations, a little bit of hope,” Pikangikum Health Authority
public access to the service in Canada and the U.K. “Earlier this victim services leader Vernon Kejick said in a video on SpaceX’s
month we expanded our ‘Better than Nothing Beta’ program to launch webcast. “We’re creating a pathway for the younger
include customers across the pond in the United Kingdom,” people.” The Starlink kits were delivered via airplane, which is the
SpaceX lead manufacturing engineer Jessie Anderson said during main way the community connects with more populated areas
the company’s launch webcast. “Within the northern U.S. and of Canada. “There’s still a lot of work to do, but at least we have
Canada, and now the U.K., we are focused on rural and remote access to technology and information, and hopefully that playing
areas where there is no easy access to fiber or cable,” Anderson field is at least a little closer to being level,” FSET CEO Dave Brown
added. SpaceX began the public beta program in October, with said on the launch webcast. Starlink recently received approval
service priced at $99 a month, in addition to a $499 upfront cost to begin operating in the U.K., where it is priced at £89 per month
to order the Starlink Kit, which includes a user terminal and Wi- plus the £439 cost of the kit. It’s unclear how many homes and
Fi router to connect to the satellites. Starlink is SpaceX’s plan offices are currently using Starlink’s service. SpaceX continues
to build an interconnected internet network with thousands of to look to expand Starlink internationally, with public records
satellites, designed to deliver high-speed internet to anywhere showing the company registered in Austria, Australia, Argentina,
on the planet. The network is an ambitious endeavor, which Brazil, France, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
SpaceX has said will cost about $10 billion or more to build. But Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South
the company’s leadership estimates that Starlink could bring in Africa and Spain. The company also requested market access in
as much as $30 billion a year, or more than 10 times the annual Japan, and Musk has talked about Starlink coming to India and
revenue of its rocket business. SpaceX launched its 17th Starlink the Caribbean as well.
mission from Florida on Wednesday morning, with a Falcon 9
rocket carrying another batch of 60 satellites to orbit. The launch
also marked a milestone for SpaceX’s reuse of its rockets, with
the Falcon 9 booster launching and landing for a record eighth
time. Musk has previously said that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets are
designed to launch and land up to 10 times without major repairs
or refurbishment. Anderson noted that, in addition to individuals
in rural areas of the northern U.S., SpaceX has signed up the town
of Marysville, Ohio, and Virginia’s Wise County Public School
District for Starlink service. In the Ontario province of Canada, the
rural indigenous community of Pikangikum First Nation became
the first in the country to receive Starlink service. Pikangikum is
about 300 kilometers northeast of Winnipeg and has a population
of less than 3,000 people, with about 400 to 500 households.
SpaceX partnered with Canadian information and technology

Globalstar to Provide Satellite Services for Smart Livestock Tag

Globalstar has signed an agreement to supply better performing animals at a greater
satellite services to Ceres Tag, a direct-to- profit. Globalstar David Kagan said animal
satellite animal tracking platform. The Ceres monitoring is an area in which Globalstar
Tag is a smart ear tag that weighs just over sees significant future growth: “We saw an
one ounce, that attaches to the animal and immediate match between Globalstar and
automatically sends the data to the cloud Ceres Tag to deliver this unique monitoring
via the Globalstar Satellite Network. Ceres capability to over 80% of the world’s livestock
Tag said this relationship with Globalstar that are located in remote locations where
allows it to supply an automated daily there is no infrastructure and where you may
recording of animals including pasture feed only see the animals once or twice a year,” he
intake. It is a low cost, scalable, plug and commented.
play option for ranchers designed to produce

61 JANUARY 2021