Elon Musk’s SpaceX has announced that it has now achieved global coverage for shipping customers on its Starlink satcom service, following a rapid expansion in the number of satellites in its network since its initial maritime launch in July of last year.
The company’s most recent launch, on February 17, added another 51 satellites to take the total number of Starlink satellites launched to date to 3,981. Some 3,588 of these were already operational satellites prior to this most recent launch.
SpaceX has lived up to its claim that it would expand its maritime service coverage map to waters around the globe by the end of Q1 2023, having started with limited coverage close to shore in a small number of regional locations when the service was introduced. Since 7 July 2022 the company has launched some 1,275 satellites for the programme.
Starlink has also expanded the list of countries where the service is available to order directly by maritime users. In addition to its original initial order location of the United States, the list now includes Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Chile, Poland, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium.
As an example, a user ordering directly from Starlink via its website for delivery in Hamburg would pay approximately €5,600 per month for the connectivity service, with a similar amount payable up front for hardware, including two antennas.
Commercial shipping customers can also access Starlink through a wide number of maritime resellers offering additional installation and support services, a list which includes Anuvu, Castor Marine, Elcome International, IEC Telecom, Marlink, Navarino, NSSLGlobal, Speedcast and Tototheo Maritime.
