It has not yet arrived in Spain, but Starlink has already changed its antenna and its router . The cost of the equipment is one of the main drawbacks of this Spacex satellite Internet service, where the antenna and the router cost 499 euros . That cost is lower than it costs SpaceX to make it , since they are selling it at a loss. The first kits cost them $ 3,000, but the last we knew is that they were already approaching $ 1,000 in cost . Now, to reduce this cost in elements such as materials or chips, they have launched a new one that occupies less size than before.
This was announced by SpaceX this week, where now new Starlink subscribers will receive a new antenna and a new router. The previous antenna model had a circular design, but now the company has switched to a rectangular panel antenna . The weight of this antenna goes from 7.3 kg of the previous model to only 4.2 kg in the new model. The height is somewhat lower, going from 64.5 to 61 cm. There is also a new base with four legs instead of three. The IP54 certification, and the operating temperature between -30 and +50 ºC is maintained.
New rectangular antenna and WiFi 5 router
In addition to the antenna, Starlink now integrates a new router with the kit. This router continues to offer WiFi 5 , as the extra bandwidth of WiFi 6 is not needed yet with speeds reaching a few hundred Mbps. However, the new model has 3 × 3 MU-MIMO instead of 2 × 2 as the previous model, which will improve the speed and capacity of the WiFi network. In addition, the temperature at which it can operate has also been improved, going from 0 to 30 ºC to -30 and +50 ºC , just like the antenna.
The router also receives IP54 resistance , the same as the antenna, but Starlink recommends that it continue to be used indoors. This certification and better resistance to temperature will come in handy, for example, to use the router in areas exposed to extreme temperatures or conditions . For example, it can be installed in a barn that is not perfectly isolated from the outside, and where temperatures can drop below zero in winter.
But no Ethernet connector
The router now also integrates the power supply and the PoE connector that connects the antenna. With this, we save a cable, since we will only have to connect the router to the current to power everything. However, the previous model also incorporated an Ethernet connector in the router, which now disappears in the new model. In the case of wanting an Ethernet connector, you will have to purchase a separate adapter in the store. This adapter connects between the antenna and the router, with a cable that is one meter long. Therefore, it will have to be connected near the router and, from there, take it out and take it to the antenna.
The cables used are now removable, but the included ones are shorter. Instead of having a 30 meter PoE Ethernet, it now measures 23 meters . If we want a longer cable, the company will sell them in the store at an additional cost, with a 45.7 meter on sale at the moment. With all this, the total weight of the kit now drops from 13.6 to 8.5 kg , more than 5 kilos less.
As a curiosity, the router has a drawing on the front that is nothing more than the orbital transfer ellipse between Earth and Mars. The company already offers Internet to 140,000 households, and its next goal is to offer download speeds of 1 Gbps . From there, the next target will be 10 Gbps.
However, they still have 610,000 pending orders to fill. They used to make 5,000 kits per week, but with the new design they should increase production. Assuming a production of 10,000 a week, that means taking about 14 months just to fulfill all the pending orders. In Spain the arrival date has already been delayed to 2022.