According to Elon Musk in an email to SpaceQ, invitations to beta test the Starlink internet service in Canada will begin to be sent out this week.
The “Better Than Nothing Beta” is coming to Canadians a little earlier than we had thought based on previous emails with Musk.
Musk had hoped to get Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) approval for Starlink by mid-to-late November which would allow the beta program to start in December. Now, with ISED approval in-hand, it’s possible that some Canadian beta testers could have access to the service this month.
Beta testers in the U.S. have reported a variety of speeds that indicate that download speeds are better than what most had hoped for and for most in excess of 50 Mbps, more than fast enough to stream video. The highest reported download speed was been 205 Mbps. Upload data rates though have been ok, with many reports over 15 Mpbs.
So how many beta test invitations will be sent to Canadians? Musk said there could be a “few hundred initially, but increasing rapidly.” He also cautioned that “there is still a lot to do to make the system (a) real production vs beta.”
SpaceX currently has 884 satellites in orbit according. Another 51 have been deorbited.