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Elon Musk says Starlink will provide faster internet speeds on airlines

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During a media event, Elon Musk, Tesla CEO stands in front of the Tesla Gigafactory’s foundry. Year.

picture Alliance | picture alliance | picture alliance | Getty Images

Elon MuskSpaceX spoke out Thursday about their plan to use Starlink in-flight Wi Fi. His company has been in contact with airlines in order to offer the high-speed satellite internet services.

Musk tweeted, “Please let them be aware if you would like it on your carrier,” and added that Starlink could provide “low latencyhalf gigabit connectivity” in the air.

Starlink is the company’s plan to build an interconnected internet network with thousands of satellites, known in the space industry as a constellation, designed to deliver high-speed internet to consumers anywhere on the planet.

SpaceX launched 1,740 Starlink Satellites so far. has more than 100,000 users in 14 countries who are participating in a public beta, with service priced at $99 a month.

SpaceX Vice President Jonathan Hofeller earlier this year said that the company is “in talks with several” airlines about adding Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi, noting that it has an “aviation product in development.”

“We have already performed some demonstrations so far. [are]Hofeller indicated that they are working to finalize the product so it can be fitted to an airplane in the near future.

For inflight Wi Fi, airlines work with satellite broadband companies. Viasat and Intelsat – the latter of which purchased Gogo’s commercial aviation business – two such companies that add connectivity on flights by airlines including DeltaJetBlueAmerican Airlines and United. But, while existing services use satellites in distant orbits, Starlink satellites orbit closer to the EarthAnd could boost the speeds that passengers see inflight.

Hofeller also emphasized that Starlink “provides a global mesh” so that “airlines are flying underneath that global mesh have connectivity anywhere they go.”

Shares of Gogo which now focuses on business aviation rather than commercial airlines, fell as much as 5% in trading Thursday.

A Boeing 737-200 prepares to land at the Jorge Newbery airport in Buenos Aires on August 21, 2008.

Juan Mabromata | AFP | Getty Images

Musk has previously said that “regulatory approval” is currently dictating the timeline for when Starlink can be used by airlines, as the service “has to be certified for each aircraft type.”

“Focusing on 737 & A320, as those serve most number of people, with development testing on Gulfstream,” Musk said in a tweet in June.

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