US space company SpaceX plans to start providing Voice over IP (VoIP) services, Ars Technica reports, referring to the corresponding application to the US FCC.
The document specifically notes that “[Starlink systems] users will be able to use a regular third-party telephone connected to a standard analog session protocol terminal adapter, or a telephone with its own IP address selected from a list of certified models.”
It also notes that this service is planned to be provided mainly to residents of rural areas with low incomes “at prices reasonably comparable to urban rates.”
Ars Technica recalls that currently more than 10 thousand people in the United States and abroad are SpaceX users of the Starlink global satellite Internet system.
In January, SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon 9 heavy rocket with a record number of satellites (143 spacecraft).
In August 2020, Ars Technica reported that, according to Ookla’s Speedtest, Starlink’s internet speed is 11-60 megabits per second for downloads and 5-18 megabits per second for downloads. In this case, the signal delay time is 31-94 milliseconds. Some beta users of the system had ping times of 20-21 milliseconds.