Tuesday 5 July, 2022
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States approved Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites for use on moving vehicles yesterday.
Currently the Starlink constellation network comprises of 2,700 individual satellites and is already in use in 32 countries. The new ruling now allows for cars, planes and ships to begin using the network. For the superyacht industry and yacht owners, it presents a unique opportunity to implement the use of Starlink aboard yachts, maintaining connection with the internet almost anywhere in the world.
Starlink is still not quite ready for use aboard however: - “while our teams are actively working to make it possible to use Starlink on moving vehicles, Starlink is not yet configured to be safely used in this way,” reads Starlink’s FAQ page on its website, noting that using the terminal whilst moving will also void its warranty.
This ruling however helps pave the way for Starlink and other constellation networks soon to launch, like Oneweb, to be implemented aboard superyachts. Amazon’s Project Kuiper, another soon to be satellite constellation network, attained FCC approval in 2020.
SWM Yachts looks forward to seeing how the high-speed low latency broadband offered by constellation networks will help change the future of yachting. Speak to the yacht management team at SWM Yachts about upgrading your yacht communications today.