Billionaire entrepreneur and founder of SpaceX Elon Musk speaks at the 68th International Astronautical Congress 2017 in Adelaide on September 29, 2017. Musk said his company SpaceX has begun serious work on the BFR Rocket as he plans an Interplanetary Transport System.
While most of us are still waiting around for our fibre connections in South Africa, Elon Musk is hatching a plan to offer internet from space.
No, this is not another April Fool’s joke – like Musk seemed to be the subject of on Sunday.
Bloomberg reported on Monday that SpaceX won approval from the US Federal Communications Commission to offer broadband service from space.
The project will use a constellation of 4 425 satellites racing around the Earth in low orbits.
If you’re responding with a big “huh” to all of that, don’t worry, we are too.
In simpler terms, the satellites will make it easier to offer broadband internet to people who live in remote or hard-to-reach places where fibre and cellphone towers do not reach.
Internet reach is high on the priority list in the USA and Donald Trump has previously said internet infrastructure is eligible for funding from the government.
SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies, requested authority to deploy and operate thousands of satellites operating about 1 110 to 1 325 kilometres above the Earth.
“This is an important step toward SpaceX building a next-generation satellite network that can link the globe with reliable and affordable broadband service, especially reaching those who are not yet connected,” Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president, said in an emailed statement.
There are challenges to this, of course, the satellites have to operate in a way that does not interfere with other uses. And then there is the risk of collision.
For now, reports suggest that the technology is only approved in the USA, but if the rollout is successful, it might eventually find its way to remote corners of South Africa, where internet access is equally challenging.
For now, though, we’re all just waiting to get our hands on some fibre.
Access to reliable and affordable internet is seen by many as a critical step in aiding with everything from education to aid programmes around the world.