Whether you’ve been a Starlink customer since the company’s inception or you’ve been thinking about signing up for the satellite internet service, there’s never been a better time to get networked via the cosmos. Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a SpaceX request to boost the Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) for two of the brand’s products: the UT3-V1 and the UT3-V2, which could be the standard dish and Mini models, respectively.
It took a year for the FCC to give Starlink the go-ahead, which allows the manufacturer to increase the EIRP of the V1 unit from 42.1 to 43.4 decibel watts, and to boost the V2 unit from 33.2 to 39.2 decibel watts. The endgame is providing SpaceX users with faster and more reliable internet speeds, and the FCC’s thumbs-up couldn’t have come at a better time.
For those who are unfamiliar, Amazon has been developing its own satellite internet service, known as Project Kuiper, to compete with Starlink since 2018. And with Amazon planning on having the service up and running in five countries by early 2026, it won’t be long before it joins companies like Viasat as a viable alternative to Starlink.
The FCC was ultimately satisfied with Starlink’s safety tests
As part of SpaceX’s FCC filing, the company provided documentation to prove that an EIRP increase wouldn’t introduce an abundance of radio interference, and that the boosted reception also wouldn’t create harmful levels of radiation.
Interestingly, the FCC’s formal approval applies to both stationary and in-motion SpaceX devices. While the Gen 2 Actuated version of the Starlink receiver used electric motors to align its antenna, the Gen 3 Standard and Mini switched over to an electronic phased array antenna. This allows the antenna beam to be adjusted without the dish needing to physically rotate, but requires subscribers to manually fine-tune the antenna’s positioning via the Starlink app, which is made particularly easy with some handy Starlink accessories on Amazon.
With the “in-motion” wording used in the FCC’s approval, perhaps we’ll be seeing a future version of Starlink terminals rolling back to mechanized dishes, or maybe the FCC just wanted to cover all its bases when green-lighting Starlink’s EIRP boost. It’s also possible that the FCC was merely referring to vehicular-mounted Starlink equipment (e.g., antennas mounted to RVs, trains, boats, etc.).
What does this mean for Starlink users moving forward?
An increase in EIRP translates to stronger signal strength for Starlink customers, both for download and upload speeds. Considering Starlink’s average download speed ranges between 45 and 280Mbps, with most people achieving over 100Mbps, we’re curious to see just how much faster the EIRP boost will make Starlink’s existing equipment. Or maybe the company plans to roll out this improved bandwidth for the next generation of Starlink’s receivers.
Nonetheless, an EIRP boost may be the godsend that super-off-the-grid parts of the country have desperately needed. It also means boosted connectivity when taking the Mini on your next camping adventure. And if the optics match the intentions, it looks like SpaceX is taking the recent rise in competition pretty seriously, too.
It’s going to take some time to see how this Starlink upgrade will truly affect users, but we wouldn’t be surprised to hear reports of improved internet speed and connection, both at home and on the go. This could enhance everything from video calls and file transfers to Netflix streaming, while giving Starlink its own boost in marketability and trend-setting benchmarks.
