Photo: @DimaZeniuk via Twitter
The Starlink internet service was battle-tested in Ukraine, proving itself immensely valuable and hard to crack for Russian counterintelligence. But what started as a fixed internet service soon expanded as a mobile solution and proved surprisingly good.
Starlink’s internet service left many telecom companies in the dust with a reliable and fast connection available in the most remote areas of the globe. But the true revolution started with the launch of the mobile internet service dubbed Starlink for RVs. People would soon install Starlink dishes on every vehicle they could get, be it a car, SUV, camper, boat, or even plane. That despite SpaceX specifically prohibiting using the equipment on a moving vehicle.
Recently, SpaceX acquired a license to operate Starlink on moving vehicles, and soon it launched the Starlink Maritime service. But even the old Starlink equipment can work on vehicles in motion. This has been proved before, but the ultimate test comes from the battlefields in Ukraine. The country relies on the Starlink service to keep critical infrastructure connected to the internet. Around 12,000 Starlink devices are said to operate in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s telecom team shared on Twitter a video testing the Starlink service in a car moving at highway speed (130 kph/80 mph). The test was meant to identify new use cases for the Starlink internet service, which has become essential for keeping the country at war connected to the internet. The team placed the dish on a car tire, which played the role of a shock absorber. The makeshift antenna was then attached to the car’s roof, and the team proceeded to test the internet connection.
The test showed that Starlink internet has a 93% connection stability with less than 7% of internet packets dropped, which is easy to correct in software. The maximum download speed was 295 Mbps, averaging at 111 Mbps. The upload speeds were lower, at 28 Mbps maximum and 12 Mbps average. The interesting results were also shared with SpaceX to help improve the service and the hardware.
Recently, SpaceX acquired a license to operate Starlink on moving vehicles, and soon it launched the Starlink Maritime service. But even the old Starlink equipment can work on vehicles in motion. This has been proved before, but the ultimate test comes from the battlefields in Ukraine. The country relies on the Starlink service to keep critical infrastructure connected to the internet. Around 12,000 Starlink devices are said to operate in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s telecom team shared on Twitter a video testing the Starlink service in a car moving at highway speed (130 kph/80 mph). The test was meant to identify new use cases for the Starlink internet service, which has become essential for keeping the country at war connected to the internet. The team placed the dish on a car tire, which played the role of a shock absorber. The makeshift antenna was then attached to the car’s roof, and the team proceeded to test the internet connection.
The test showed that Starlink internet has a 93% connection stability with less than 7% of internet packets dropped, which is easy to correct in software. The maximum download speed was 295 Mbps, averaging at 111 Mbps. The upload speeds were lower, at 28 Mbps maximum and 12 Mbps average. The interesting results were also shared with SpaceX to help improve the service and the hardware.
"Our telecom team made Starlink test drive on the road at a speed of 130 km/h." - @FedorovMykhailo ?????????????@elonmusk @SpaceXStarlinkpic.twitter.com/tnQ1iAZSIO
— Dima Zeniuk ???????? (@DimaZeniuk) July 25, 2022
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