2nd International Conference on “Advancement in Electronics & Communication

Engineering (AECE 2022) July 14-15, 2022

Internet From Space Anywhere and Anytime -

Starlink

Anjali Yadav¹, Manthan Agarwal², Somya Agarwal³, Sachin Verma 4

1
Assistant Professor, 2,3,4Student,Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Raj Kumar
Goel Institute of Technology (RKGIT), Ghaziabad,Uttar Pradesh, India

anjali.yadavskb@gmail.com1, aggmanthan@gmail.com2,
somyaagar2001@gmail.com3, sachinverma2256@gmail.com4

ABSTRACT
This paper involves the issues related to the internet technologies that exist in recent times during COVID -19
and the technology that can fix these issues. The evolved internet technology that provides definitive, strong,
and widespread satellite-based networking has been discussed here.
At present, high-speed internet has become a necessity for people around the globe. In this era of Online work
and business, it is high time that everyone (offices and companies, their employees, school teachers, students,
etc.) in India requires a high-speed internet service for the smooth functioning of their work.
As a way out, India needs satellite-based internet that is received from the sky which can fulfill all the
requirements of the people in India. Currently, mobile network service provider companies like Bharti Airtel,
Reliance JIO, BSNL, and many more companies are providing services through FTTH Technology in India. At
this point when the speed of the internet is the main focus, the introduction of the satellite-based high-speed
internet connection like Starlink can prove to be a landmark move.
Though satellite technology is much more efficient in the present time of crisis where it is hard to get a secure,
stable job and cope with price rises, the foundation of this step is challenging. India has a sensitive economy and
launching technology that is as costly as $99 - $499 can become an obstacle. Thus, sky-based internet
technology is the solution to one of the modern problems but the critical analysis is required to establish it in
India keeping in view the market situation.
Keywords—Starlink, LEO technology, FTTH Technology, Indian Market, 5G Internet, Low Latency, ViaSat,
HughesNet, Reliance JIO, Airtel.

1.Introduction connected with a modem that connects all the

When we think of internet service, the first thing
that comes to our mind is that cell towers,
broadband, and fiberoptic but chances of a satellite
don’t initially come to mind because the same
could be said for satellite—it tends to get
associated with television programming and the
international space station, not with powering your
online connection. These days, the internet is like a
part of our daily life While it may seem
complicated and extremely technical, satellite
internet makes for a simple and wholly adequate
broadband solution for those who may live slightly
off the grid. As we know some parts of the world
even electricity is not there so imagining the
internet in those places seems to be impossible and
here this satellite-based internet came into action
with the help of this satellite-based internet
technology internet can be reached at every corner
of the world anywhere and anytime.
Satellite-based internet works by sending the fiber
internet signal from the system server to the
satellite in space. Then, the internet signal is
received through the satellite dish. The dish is
devices to the internet. Currently, two reputed
satellite internet providers ViaSat and HughesNet
provide good internet services to most people.
However, Starlink has stepped into the market
which is offering high-speed satellite internet
services and is aiming to start its services all over
the world shortly.
2. The Starlink technology
2.1 Starlink and how does it work?
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation project
that is operated by SpaceX aerospace company
founded by Elon Musk which provides internet
access with the help of satellites all over the earth.
The Starlink constellation consists of
interconnected satellites in the LEO
(Low-Earth-Orbit), which communicate with a
designated ground transceiver. Currently, the
company has launched over 1700 satellites in the
orbit and is planning to increase the number with a
great speed. However, Starlink can provide satellite

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 2nd International Conference on “Advancement in Electronics & Communication
Engineering (AECE 2022) July 14-15, 2022
internet services all over the world but Starlink can
offer its services only in the countries that have
permitted or provided a license to SpaceX to
provide services in their region. As of 2021, the
Starlink public beta services are currently available
in 19 countries and recently the Starlink scored
$885.5 million in grant funds from the US Federal
communications commissions.
SpaceX’s Starlink hardware includes a satellite dish
and router, which will be set up at home to receive
the signal from the Satellite which will be moving
in the LEO (Low Earth Orbit). Unbounded by the
traditional ground infrastructure, Starlink can
deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations
where access has been unreliable or completely
unavailable.
2.2 Is Starlink Fully Mobile
In April 2021 Elon Musk revealed that their service
is ready to go “fully mobile”. But keep in mind,
currently, Starlink customers can’t move their
existing hardware from address to address. As a
beta member, you have to submit your location
information at checkout and then put the equipment
in. Elon Musk is admitting that Starlink's receiver’s
antenna terminals are too big for Tesla’s vehicles
but he assured us that they could work in planes,
RVs, trucks, and ships.
The SpaceX CEO later clarifies that Starlink
“should be fully mobile later this year, as a result,
user can move it access Starlink internet during
traveling or in motion” However, he said the
company still needs a few more launches to enlarge
the network coverage and some software key
upgrades.
2.3 Speed of Starlink Internet Services
It is the most advanced broadband internet system
in the world. Starlink internet broadband works by
sending information through the vacuum of spaces
through which it travels much faster than in the
fiber optic cables and can reach far more people
and places in the minimal time while most of the
satellite internet services today work on single
geostationary satellites that orbits around the earth
at about 35000km while Starlink is a constellation
of multiple satellites that orbit much closer to the
earth at about 550 km and covers the entire earth.
Because Starlink satellites are present in the low
orbit region, the round-trip data time between the
user and the satellites - also known as latency is
much lower compared to those geostationary
satellites. Users can expect to see download speed
between 100 Mb/s to 200 Mb/s and latency as low
as 20ms in most of the locations on earth. This
enables Starlink to deliver excellent services like
online gaming that are usually not possible on other
satellite broadband systems.
Raj Kumar Goel Institute of Technology, Ghaziabad
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4160260
2.4 Starlink Internet Services Cost
Starlink as a beta service is offering internet
services to its customers for $99 (Rs 7300) per
month. On top of that users have to pay one time
cost of $499 (Rs 37000) for the installation kit
which consists of an Antenna, mounted tripod
stand, power supply, and Wi-Fi Router. Starlink is
expected to provide the download speed between
100 Mb/s to500 Mb/s and upload speed up to 20
Mb/s – to 50 Mb/s.
2.5 Starlink availability and services in
India
The company is planning to start its internet
services in India by 2022. On 1 Nov 2021 Starlink
successfully registered its business in India as it
opened a subsidiary in the country for its satellite
internet division named SSCPL – Starlink satellite
Communications Private Limited. The company
will now start applying for a license to start its
broadband service as it applies for regulatory
approval. Starlink is aiming to focus on “catalyzing
rural development” in India. Firstly, it will offer
100 free devices for free to schools in Delhi and
nearby rural districts. Then it will target other 12
rural districts across India. The company is aiming
to have 200,000 devices in India by the end of
2022. The company has already received 5000
preorders for its devices.
2.6 Starlink is best for villages and rural
areas
In the 21st century still, there are some places in
the world where electricity is not there so
imagining wired broadband internet seems to be
impossible and it is the time when this satellite
internet came into action with the help of this
Starlink project we can provide Internet to every
corner of the earth no matter what is the location of
the user on earth it can access fast internet
anywhere and anytime. And at the same time, we
realize that the no. bank branches in villages and
rural areas seem to be negligible as there is no
proper and consistent internet supply in these
regions due to which villagers have to move
towards the city and urban regions for bank-related
work. But with the help of this satellite-based
internet, there will be high-speed internet in every
village and rural area and which will help in setting
up of banks in villages and rural areas which also
employ them.
2.7 Starlink better than 5G Internet
At the moment, Starlink is considered better than
5G internet because at present 5G is considered
slightly faster than 4G LTE, as carriers continue to
work out their millimeter-wave (mmWave)
spectrum. However, when 5G will reach its full
potential the speed and bandwidth for each will be
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likely equal, although the 5G will surpass Starlink satellite internet providers and have a good
in terms of cost. reputation in the market and cover a large number
of customers for their service. Starlink has to face
2.8 Starlink Competition with Other tough competition at the initial stage. However,
Satellite Internet Providers there is a huge difference between Starlink and
Other players in the market are providing Satellite ViaSat, HughesNet, when compared with services
internet and have established a large market share. and facilities.
HughesNet and ViaSat are considered as best

2.9 Starlink vs ViaSat and HughesNet

Table 1: Various Satellite internet provider’s plans and details

Satellite Speed Price Data Cap Equipment
Provider Details
$499 (approx.)
Starlink 100-500 Mbps $99.00/mo. Unlimited One time
installation
ViaSat 12-100 Mbps $30.00- 12-300 GB $9.99/mo.
$169.00/mo. equipment lease
HughesNet 25 Mbps $64.99- 15-75 GB $14.99/mo.
$159.99/mo. equipment lease

2.9.1 Data shape. So Starlink gains an upper hand in

In terms of data allotment services, Starlink has the
upper hand. ViaSat and HughesNet
The monthly internet services plan has a data cap
(fixed amount of internet per month) whereas
Starlink is offering unlimited data in its monthly
plan. Although ViaSat and HughesNet also offer
unlimited data as well, the internet speed will be
significantly slowed after the customer hit the data
cap of the monthly plan. However, Starlink’s
internet speed will always be above average
broadband speed and it is the most intriguing
feature of Starlink by far.
2.9.2 Equipment
For Satellite internet connection some devices are
required such as a satellite dish, router, base, etc.
These devices are required to be set up at home to
receive the signal from space. Starlink requires
$499.00 (approx.) for the Starlink kit whereas
ViaSat and HughesNet provide the equipment kit
on lease for about $9.99 - $14.99 per month but the
contract for equipment lease should be of at least 2
years. However, Starlink requires no contracts and
it also doesn’t charge an installation fee. Starlink
also has a policy of full refund if the equipment is
returned or canceled within 30 days and is in good
equipment services against ViaSat and HughesNet.
2.9.3 Speed
Speed is the main feature of internet services and it
is the main requirement that attracts customers.
Starlink claims to provide internet speed of
100-500 Mbps which can reach up to 1 Gbps
whereas ViaSat and HughesNet offer internet
services at speed rates of 12-100 Mbps and 25
Mbps respectively.
2.9.4 Availability
ViaSat and HughesNet have established a
nationwide satellite coverage as compared to
Starlink. Starlink is regularly launching satellites to
increase availability over the world. To provide the
services all over the world Starlink still requires
some years. Starlink has provided signup services
for customers if the services are not available in
your area yet. Customers have to pay a $99.00
deposit to secure their place for the connection
request. But as compared to Starlink other
companies ViaSat and HughesNet services are
more reliable in terms of availability.

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Engineering (AECE 2022) July 14-15, 2022

2.10 Analysis of Competition in the Indian Market

Fig.1: Telecommunication Subscribers in India by 2020 in millions

India is one of the biggest Internet consumer
countries in the world and requires data on a very
large scale. Many reputed companies in India are
currently providing Internet services through
Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) technology. Reliance
JIO Fiber, Airtel XStream Fiber, BSNL, etc. are
currently covering the major portion of the Indian
market.
From a survey, at the end of 2020 Reliance JIO was
covering a total of 35.05 % of subscribers all over
India and Airtel was covering about 29.24% of
subscribers. Starlink will face tough competition
from these major telecom companies.
Starlink offers its service for $99(Rs 7300) per
month whereas other companies offer internet
services ranging from Rs 499 - Rs 8499 per month.
Price variation may become a big challenge for
Starlink but Indian companies are providing
internet services through FTTH technologies and
they are unable to provide connectivity in remote
areas even when there is demand for connection in
many regions as they have limited reach because of
using Optical Fiber cables. Here Starlink service
can gain an advantage as it can provide the internet
to the regions where other providers are unable to
do so.

Fig.2: Number of internet subscribers in India by 2022 and estimated to 2025

The above graph represents estimated data about the year 2010 to 2025. By January 2022, India has
the total internet services subscribers in India from about 932.22 million internet users out of which

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 2nd International Conference on “Advancement in Electronics & Communication
Engineering (AECE 2022) July 14-15, 2022
930.57 million users are using mobile phone a large number of internet users and a great
internet. So it represents that the Indian market has opportunity for Starlink to enter the Indian market.

Fig.3: Fixed wireless internet Subscribers in India by 2022 in millions

In India, there are various types of internet services
available out of which two main services Wireless
and VSAT-based internet are the most popular and
commonly used internet services. In wireless-based
internet services, networks use radio signals to
broadcast the signals and Vsat-based internet
services use geostationary satellites or MEO
(Medium Earth Orbit) fleet of satellites to provide
internet services. Satellite internet is available
anywhere, as it connects ta o satellite orbiting earth
whereas to access fixed wireless internet the user
has to be within the range or line of sight of tower
broadcasting signals.Fig.3 and Fig. represent Fixed
wireless internet and VSAT-based internet service
subscribers in India by 2022.
However, Starlink technology is better than both of
these internet services as it is reachable anywhere
or every corner of the world and it is also better
than VSAT internet because it uses LEO (Low
Earth Orbit) satellites which provide low latency,
high-speed internet as compared to geostationary or
MEO (Medium Earth Orbit) satellites. Starlink
latency range is 30ms -2sec. Starlink offers internet
with a latency of 90ms and latency of 50 ms with a
performance percentage within the range of 77% -
98%. So, Starlink will prove to be an emerging
technology in the Indmarketaket and will hold a
good market sharIndiaInida in a few upcoming
years.

Fig.4: Percentage of VSATbased internet subscribers in India by 2022

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 2nd International Conference on “Advancement in Electronics & Communication
Engineering (AECE 2022) July 14-15, 2022
3. Features and requirements of Starlink
Satellite-based internet technology is not a new
form of technology and also has some flaws but it
is reachable and can be accessed by rural areas
people where broadband-based internet can never
reach in a few years. Due to the wide-ranging
advantages of satellite internet, it is preferred over
the usual mobile internet and broadband. Some of
these are listed below:
3.1 High Speed and Low Latency
Broadband Internet
As the network is received directly from the
satellite and not from the towers the speed is
unexpectedly high. Moreover, the satellites move in
low orbit and enable us to perform activities like
online gaming, live streaming, video calls, etc. that
require data at a high rate. Also, the bank servers
that usually go down due to poor latency will work
properly.
3.2 Easy setup
For experiencing high-speed data via Wi-Fi
networks a big installation process is required. On
the other hand, we do not require a special staff for
the installation and we just need to follow some
easy steps to make it work.
3.3 Starlink Internet Plans
Starlink is currently offering two internet plans:
Starlink and Starlink Premium. Starlink Premium is
also known as Starlink Business. Starlink Premium
is offering double the speed as Starlink and also
five times the cost. Starlink’s Premium will be
offering 24 X 7 support and assist features through
a mobile app.

Table 2: Starlink internet plans

Plan Price Equipment Fee Speed Data

Starlink Internet $110.00/mo. $599.00 100-500 Mbps Unlimited

Starlink Business $500.00/mo. $2,500.00 200-800 Mbps Unlimited

3.3 Advantage for Rural Areas 3.4 IT Industry Booster

India is a country where most of the population
resides in rural areas and many of those countryside
areas do not electricity. So in such places, accessing
the internet is still a dream. Satellite internet can
make this dream come true as these signals from
the sky can also reach remote areas. Rural areas
willalso get better facilities for banks, education,
and health with the help of satellite internet.
Internet is the priority of all multinational
companies because of the complex networks, and
online storage, and most of the work is done online.
Here, high-quality internet has become a necessity
and if we use satellite internet the networks will
reduce their complexity because traditionally, LAN
networks are used for this purpose.

Table 3: Key performance parameters of Starlink

Parameter Performance
Average download throughput ~170 Mbps
Maximum download throughput ~330 Mbps
Average upload throughput ~17 Mbps
Maximum upload throughput ~60 Mbps
Latency 30ms-2s
The percentage of time latency is below 98%
90ms
The percentage of time latency is below 77%
50ms

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Engineering (AECE 2022) July 14-15, 2022
Downtime
Average power consumption
Peak power consumption
3.5 Satellites requirement for Starlink
Services
Starlink has claimed that initially, it will require
around 30000 satellites in the sky to complete its
Starlink constellation to go “fully mobile”.
Currently, the US Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) has permitted the company to
launch about 12000 satellites in the sky.
In Feb- 2018 Starlink satellite program was
initiated by sending a prototype of two test flights
Fig.5: Starlink Satellite launch status graph
The above graph displays, the number of satellites
deployed in Orbit from Feb-2018 to Sep-2021and
another line represents the number of satellites that
are currently working efficiently. Starlink is aiming
to reach a total of 1900 satellites in orbit by the end
of 2021. Starlink currently provides its beta
services in 19 countries, mainly North America,
South America, and Europe. Soon Starlink is
planning to introduce its public beta services in
Greece by late 2021 and in India, Japan,
Philippines by the end of 2022.
4. Conclusion
Every technology has pros and cons. However, if
the advantages of technology outweigh the cons,
we should embrace that technology. Starlink also
has pros and cons. It has one major disadvantage
Raj Kumar Goel Institute of Technology, Ghaziabad
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4160260
2.4%
105 W
190 W
in the orbit. Then on 24-May-2019 60 operational
satellites and additional satellites were launched
into the orbit. SpaceX Falcon9 rocket is used to
launch up to 60 Starlink satellites into orbit at a
time. Each satellite weighs about 230-260 kg .51
Starlink satellites were launched into orbit on Sep
2021, bringing the total number of Starlink
satellites the company has launched to 1735. Till
now the total number of working satellites is about
1659.
over cable internet. Starlink has a fixed number of
satellites over fixed locations. All the users in that
spot share the same bandwidth. so due to the
increased number of users in cities speed of
Starlink internet will be slower compared to rural
areas. However, Starlink has more benefits than
conventional satellite, cellular and cable internet. It
can provide high-speed internet with low latency as
its satellites are placed in LEO (Low Earth Orbit)
and the Majority of the people in this world do not
have high-speed internet. Many providers are
unable to fulfill or overcome this problem. It is
where Starlink succeeded It can provide internet all
over the world as it covers all of the earth from
Antarctica to the middle ocean. Starlink can face
challenges in the Indian market because of the cost
difference compared to the Indian Internet Service
Providers. Despite the disadvantages, many
consumers are opting for Starlink services. Starlink
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services need some marketing strategies to
challenge companies like Reliance JIO and Airtel
and capture the market at an early stage. India is
one of the biggest Internet consumer markets in the
world. Starlink has great scope and growth
opportunities in the Indian market. By devising a
market strategy Starlink can have the desired result
in the Indian market.
By all count and analyzed results we concluded that
Starlink is an emerging satellite internet provider
which will overcome all the obstacles and
companies by the next decade. It is ideally suited
for areas of the globe where connectivity has
typically been a challenge.
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