Today, about half of the world’s population (about 3.7 billion people) do not have the Internet. As during the recent novel coronavirus pandemic, connectivity can have a transformative impact on the lives of people around the globe. To that end, SpaceX has leveraged its experience building rockets and spacecraft to launch Starlink, the world’s most advanced broadband Internet system capable of delivering high-speed broadband Internet to areas where access is unreliable or completely unavailable.
This is from Elon Musk’s keynote at MWC.
JUSTIN SPRINGHAM: Ladies and gentlemen, it’s great to have the opportunity to meet with you this afternoon and thank you to all of our online audience. I’m Justin Springham, Executive Editor of Mobile World Live, and I’m delighted to be the moderator of this talk. I’m also honored to be the moderator of what is arguably one of the most anticipated keynote speeches of MWC21.
First of all, we would like to welcome Elon Musk to MWC. After breaking all the conventions of the banking, auto and aerospace industries, many people thought that the market could not make such a transformation. Mask tried to do the same for the Internet and communication industries. SpaceX is trying to use its experience building rocket aircraft to deploy the world’s most advanced broadband Internet system. Please welcome Mr. Elon Musk.
Justin Springham: Elon, I want to welcome you to MWC. First of all, on behalf of all of you, I want to welcome you to MWC21. Today is your fiftieth birthday. Happy birthday to you. I want to talk about SpaceX and its goals, and before I start, I want to mention Starlink, which we want to be able to use satellites to provide a broadband Internet system to the world, to build the Internet in the sky. How did you, as an engineer, come up with such a challenge?
Elon Musk: Actually, I think we can go further in terms of communication and connectivity. The cost of the Internet is still relatively high and the range of services that can be provided is still relatively narrow. Starlink is a project between 5G and fiber networks, and I think what we’re doing is the most difficult part of the three networks, and it’s a device that complements the other technologies.
Justin Springham: How far has Starlink come?
Elon Musk: So far we have successfully launched more than 1,500 satellites, and we are also providing satellite services with more than 5 megawatts of power consumption through very high performance satellites. What can be done now is an uplink of more than 30Mbps, which will unlock global Internet coverage (excluding the Arctic) within the next two months. We hope to reach remote areas as soon as possible. This service may not be suitable for high-density areas. The service that the network needs to meet mainly provides remote areas, which can provide adequate network support for many people in remote areas.
Starlink is up and running right now, and I think we’re well on our way to hundreds of thousands of users, maybe more than 500,000 users within 12 months, and we’re constantly innovating, designing new user terminals, and improving the performance of our ground reception devices. So far we provide service for 12 countries and regions, and on the rise, every month we are doing in 5 g and fiber optic network on the basis of complementary, because our main service users are in remote areas, these is a difficult area telecom company, can say is we are helping telecom company on the back door, complementary with telecom company business. In some ways, we are complementary to other satellite systems. Starlink, at an altitude of about 500 kilometers above the ground, is a high-component communication satellite near the earth. It has a lower latency and very fast data transmission compared to other satellites.
Justin Springham: You can even do something with Starlink that requires a quick response. It’s a very competitive market, and in the 1990s there were some big companies that wanted to do satellite-based broadband, but it didn’t work out. Amazon has plans for a satellite-based broadband system before. What makes Starlink so special and how does it stand out from the competition?
Elon Musk: I spoke a few years ago about Starlink and Starlink’s goals, and our goal was to “not go bankrupt”. As you said, many other satellite networking companies have gone out of business, and some of the newer ones are showing signs of failure. I want as many people as possible to benefit from satellite networking, and that alone makes it worth doing. The company has done well so far, and our minimum goal is not to go bankrupt.
We decided on this path after a lot of discussion. Starlink is different from other networking and deployment technologies, more advanced, and can provide network services on the ground without a ground station. Such technology has been proven in ground reception facility operations. We use a phased array antenna, which is more reliable than all the other technologies in orbit. We have started to prove the transmission speed, and the phased array antenna system we use is by far the most mature and advanced. It can maintain good communication between star link and provide easy access to terminal services for ground users. Switching from one satellite signal to another in milliseconds can be done in a few simple steps. Therefore, when the delay is very large, the switch from one satellite signal to another satellite signal can be completed, that is to say, the user receives a lot of satellite signals on the ground, not just one satellite signal. In the present digital society can bring better efficiency, so that people in remote areas can also enjoy the convenience brought by digital. I think it’s a really cool thing to do.
We have done a lot of satellite launches, the launch frequency is very high. SpaceX accounted for two-thirds of the world’s power in orbit last year; now it’s 80%, with 12% of the remaining 20% coming from China and the rest coming from elsewhere. Our rockets can be reused, so there’s a lot of cost savings that didn’t exist in the past, and SpaceX is arguably the lowest-cost means of launching rockets in NASA’s record, and so far it’s been working pretty well.
We think of this as a journey full of adventure, and satellites now provide very high speed data transmission, which is getting closer and closer to my goal. Starlink is being further organized and you are expected to provide continuous Internet connectivity to the polar regions, including some high latitude regions. A new batch of satellites are also being launched, which will give Starlink network coverage more fully. Coverage of major service centers allows services like YouTube, Netflix, or others to transfer data more efficiently from the end point to the center. Data transfers can be performed on the shortest possible link, which is great in terms of overall cost reduction and speed increase. I think the future is bright and worth full of confidence and optimism.
Justin Springham: As you mentioned earlier, we can look at Starlink as an infrastructure that fills the gap between 5G and fiber. How did Mr. Musk manage the financing of such a large project? How much money do you plan to spend on Starlink?
Elon Musk: Starlink does require a massive investment. If you calculate the investment, you can calculate the total investment first, and then you can also calculate when the cash flow will be positive. We’ve done a lot of preparation right now. We need about $5 billion to be positive cash flow. There’s a long way to go, there’s a lot of investment to be made. We will continue to expand our cellular network, and as the number of satellites increases and the cost of putting satellites into orbit goes down, we will also cover a larger geographic area with lower latency, making the entire service comparable to other satellites. That would require an investment of at least $5 billion to $10 billion and more over the entire investment cycle, bringing Starlink’s total investment to an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion.
Justin Springham: It’s a huge amount of investment. For a project this big, users have to pay $500 to use Starlink, right? How much would it cost per month to subscribe to this service?
Elon Musk: Now users who want Starlink have to pay $500 for the kit. The price is the same anywhere in the world. Of course, import duties, local taxes, shipping and exchange rate are also included. The subscription fee is $100 per month. Currently, due to a series of cost factors, Starlink is still losing money. We are making a lot of efforts, including the optimization of the development of the next generation terminal device. The function of the next generation terminal is not much different from the current one, but the cost will be significantly reduced. The price of the terminal may be reduced by half, making it more competitive, but it also depends on the size of the user. We have been working on reducing the cost of the terminal, for example, from $500 to $300, or even lower terminal price. In addition, the overall installation of the terminal will be very convenient. In remote areas or areas with low population density, they may not have fixed power supply, so they may use solar panels to generate electricity and power. We also hope to provide the equipment that is easiest to use and install for these users. We have received our terminal box so far, and the network can be realized within 5 minutes.
There are very clear instructions in the product, the terminal can be taken out to the sky, very simple, few steps, easy to carry and install, almost everyone can, do not need professional installation personnel.
JUSTIN SPRINGHAM: We have a lot of mobile web experts here today. What impact will Starlink have on the mobile web? Are they enemies or friends? You just mentioned that Starlink is complementary to 5G and fiber optic networks. Are there any potential operator cooperation opportunities to be considered?
Elon Musk: We have two very important partners, very large network providers. We’ll have our partners announce that, but I won’t go into details here, and we’ll be in discussions with other carriers, who will also get access to Starlink, mainly for data return. , of course, some countries have to say to want to get 5 g licences to must have very good broadband coverage, especially in remote areas, some operators network coverage in remote areas is difficult, need subsidies and pay a higher cost, then how to consider the network coverage in remote areas, get 5 g licences, in which we can do some work, This part of the country accounts for about 3 to 5 percent. 5G authorization in remote, agricultural areas with licensing restrictions or 5G base stations but data transmission difficulties, where we can have some opportunities for cooperation.
Justin Springham: We look forward to hearing from the carriers as they continue to announce their plans. SpaceX has been involved in space exploration for 20 years, and I’m sure you’re all familiar with your plans, such as going to the moon, and going to Mars. How does Starlink fit in with SpaceX’s ambitions?
Elon Musk: SpaceX’s original goal was to try to do something about outer space exploration, and in order for that to happen we had to improve our rocket technology. We want to have reliable, reusable rocket technology, hence the highly efficient recoverable rocket technology, the Falcon 9. SpaceX has flown 10 flights so far and could fly another 20-30. It’s a highly recyclable technology. From the perspective of the cost of the rocket, about 60% is in the initial manufacturing stage, followed by service and maintenance costs, each launch of the rocket will increase the cost of about 10%, and then there are recovery, repair and other costs.
Other projects, such as outer space exploration and rocketry development, will also require more money to expand SpaceX’s technological capabilities. The cost of fuel for rocket propulsion needs to be optimized. Current fuels, such as helium and oxygen, also account for a significant cost, especially helium. Thrusters and fuel were also topics that we focused on, and the overall idea was to optimize the cost of the Falcon 9. We have a very specific plan to get the cost down to $2 million, which was the goal we set during the Falcon 9. To refuel, the two ships would have to dock, much like an airplane doing mid-air refueling. The rocket ship is powered mostly by oxygen and weighs more than 200 tons, and Starship is a system that we developed that will help us with our mission to Mars. So far it’s going pretty well, you’ll see a lot of information on the web, South Texas is in the process of development. We hope to have the BOOST thrusters ready for several launches in the coming months.
Justin Springham: Is there going to be a rocket launch in a few hours?
Elon Musk: Yeah, it’s a Falcon 9 rocket, it’s a little satellite, it launches on Falcon 9, and it’s like a bus, and the bus with the little satellite will go up into space and it will be in low Earth orbit.
Justin Springham: So just to recap, we’ve brought you all together this week at the MWC Summit, and we’ve talked a lot about leadership. As a leader, you also have a strong sense of mission. What would you consider if you were asked to take on a new challenge? What are you excited about and looking forward to taking on challenges?
ELON MUSK: We want SpaceX to expand the boundaries, beyond the earth, beyond space; Hopefully Tesla will improve the happiness of life on Earth and use more renewable energy; Hopefully Starlink will bridge the digital divide and make the Internet accessible to everyone. We want to make the future better, brighter, we want to expand the boundaries of cognition. This is also based on my personal belief that sometimes we don’t even know the answer or what kind of questions to ask. This is our consciousness, our consciousness of ourselves is limited, and we want to extend the boundaries of consciousness, to the whole universe.
Justin Springham: Thank you again to Mr. Elon Musk for joining us online for the MWC keynote.
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