Seeing the stars? Musk said SpaceX 30B $ Starlink | Automotive News is ready to spend on

Starlink, a set of low-orbit satellites with high-speed, low-latency connectivity, is already offering a test service and aims to cover the world starting in August, Tesla CEO Ella Musk and SpaceX founder told the World World Congress.

Billionaire businessman Elon Musk said Tuesday that his Starlink business was growing rapidly as he estimated the total investment costs in the satellite Internet business to be between $ 20 billion and $ 30 billion.

Without elaborating on the details, Starlink said it has “significant significant partnerships with two major telecommunications countries” that the SpaceX division could help fill in the gaps in the fifth-generation mobile and cellular networks.

Tesla Inc. CEO and founder of SpaceX, the rocket launcher that wants to colonize Mars, said the investment costs would be between $ 5,000 and $ 10 billion before Starlink gets a fully positive cash flow.

“It’s basically a lot,” Musk said in a video interview from California with the Mobile World Congress, the largest annual meeting of the telecommunications industry in Barcelona.

Starlink, a set of low-orbit satellites that offer high-speed, low-latency connectivity, is already offering test service and wants to cover the world starting in August, with the exception of the North and South Poles, Musk said.

It has more than 1,500 satellites and operates in a dozen countries, adding more each month, Musk predicts that the number of customers will reach half a million in the next 12 months, up from 69,000 now.

Some analysts question whether satellite internet can be a viable business model, especially because it focuses on remote areas, where there may not be enough people able to afford the high rates needed to recoup investment costs.

Musk said he was talking to potential partners as several countries require operators to offer rural coverage as a condition of 5G licenses.

He also said that if telecommunications operators have cellular stations in remote regions, they can use Starlink to connect to major networks.

The rapid deployment of wireless and terrestrial broadband, along with high prices, were significant factors in killing previous satellite companies in Low Earth Orbit.

Musk said Starlink is selling the terminals at half price, adding that it expects terminal costs to drop between $ 1,000 and $ 300-500 over the next 12 months.

“If we manage not to fail, that will be great, and we can move on from there,” he said.

Starlink is competing with several players for Amazon.com Inc.’s Kuiper and OneWeb – a satellite operator rescued by the British government and India’s Bharti Enterprises.