--- title: "SpaceX Is Now Taking Requests for Starlink Beta Testers" description: "SpaceX is moving ahead with its internet service, StarLink, and is now taking requests for beta testers to become early adopters." date: "2020-06-16" modified: "2020-06-25" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/spacex-taking-requests-starlink-beta-testers" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "starlink" --- # SpaceX Is Now Taking Requests for Starlink Beta Testers ![With over 500 Starlink broadband-beaming satellites already in orbit, SpaceX is looking to move swiftly ahead with rolling out its internet service.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* With over 500 [Starlink]() broadband-beaming satellites already in orbit, SpaceX is looking to move ahead with rolling out its internet service. The Elon Musk-led company is now seeking beta users to test it out, [*ZDNet* reports](). The service's [website]() now invites users to apply to become early adopters of the service. "Get updates on Starlink news and service availability in your area," it reads. Once signed up, users get an email: "Starlink is designed to deliver high-speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable. Private beta testing is expected to begin later this summer, followed by public beta testing, starting with higher latitudes." SpaceX's latest batch of 58 Starlink satellites were launched into low-Earth orbit on June 13, bringing the total up to 540. That's enough for ["minor" coverage](), according to Musk. 800 satellites will upgrade that to "moderate" coverage. The company has Federal Communications Commission (FCC) permission to launch [up to 30,000]() satellites to build out its broadband constellation. The news comes after the [FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said]() he had "serious doubts" about SpaceX delivering enough broadband service to rural areas in the US to meet requirements of a federal subsidy program to bring internet to remote areas. The problem with satellite broadband is that it often isn't as responsive, with a latency in the upper hundreds of milliseconds — wired broadband services at home usually have a latency in the single or double digits. But Starlink might be far more responsive than traditional satellite internet. Musk claimed during a conference earlier this year that "we're targeting latency below 20 milliseconds," as [*Ars Technica* reported](). **READ MORE:** [SpaceX Starlink internet prepares for beta users]() \[*ZDNet*\] **More on Starlink:** *[DARPA Is About to Launch a Military Version of SpaceX’s Starlink]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()