Starlink & Global Internet

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Carlos Slim orders to cancel his collaboration with Elon Musk’s Starlink

February 24, 2025

In a significant business development, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has decided to cancel his collaboration with Elon Musk’s Starlink. The decision comes after a series of tensions between the two magnates, culminating in Slim’s choice to invest in his own infrastructure rather than relying on Starlink’s satellite technology.

Slim’s company, América Móvil, announced plans to invest $22 billion over the next three years to enhance its telecommunications infrastructure. This move is seen as a strategic effort to strengthen its position in the market and reduce dependency on external partners like Starlink. The decision is expected to have a substantial financial impact on Musk’s company, which had anticipated a lucrative partnership in Latin America.

The fallout between Slim and Musk was further exacerbated by a controversial tweet from Musk, which implied connections between Slim and organized crime. This accusation, although unproven, added fuel to the already strained relationship between the two business tycoons.

https://mexicodailypost.com/2025/02/24/ ... -starlink/

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Starlink Competitor Eutelsat Says It Can Deploy 40K Terminals in Ukraine Within a ‘Couple of Months’

Mar 07, 2025 | 12:12 PM UTC
By James Morales

President Donald Trump’s order to pause military aid to Ukraine has sparked a conversation about shifting away from American communications technology.

Against that backdrop, the French aerospace firm Eutelsat is in advanced talks to replace Starlink as Ukraine’s primary satellite internet provider, CEO Eva Berneke confirmed on Thursday, March 6.

Discussing the role of Eutelsat’s satellite communications service, Berneke said OneWeb is already providing “a lot of capacity to Ukraine.”

However, as European leaders move to reduce their dependency on American military support, she said discussions about increasing coverage “have intensified over the last couple of weeks.”

“Until now we have been together with Starlink there,” she said, adding that the prospect of OneWeb completely replacing Starlink has taken on new urgency. “That’s something we’re looking very actively at,” Berneke observed.

https://www.ccn.com/news/business/eutel ... ock-surge/

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Amazon gears up to rival Starlink this year with a satellite launch
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
April 03, 2025

Amazon is launching 27 satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) next week, kicking off its years-in-the-making plan to set up a massive constellation and deliver internet access anywhere on the globe – similar to SpaceX's Starlink service.

As part of the company's Project Kuiper initiative, this will be the first batch of more than 3,200 satellites it plans to deploy via 80 and some launches over the next few years.

Amazon previously launched and tested two prototype satellites back in October 2023. This time around, the satellites are being sent into space aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

https://newatlas.com/space/amazon-rival ... ct-kuiper/

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[firestar464]

More on that by Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mu ... 025-04-13/

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Amazon launches its first internet satellites to compete against SpaceX's Starlinks
https://phys.org/news/2025-04-amazon-in ... links.html
by Marcia Dunn

Amazon's first batch of internet satellites rocketed into orbit Monday, the latest entry in the mega constellation market currently dominated by SpaceX's thousands of Starlinks.

The United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket carried up 27 of Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites, named after the frigid fringes of our solar system beyond Neptune. Once released in orbit, the satellites will eventually reach an altitude of nearly 400 miles (630 kilometers).

Two test satellites were launched in 2023, also by an Atlas V. Project officials said major upgrades were made to the newest version. The latest satellites are also coated with a mirror film designed to scatter reflected sunlight in an attempt to accommodate astronomers.

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More on that by Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/science/starlin ... 025-05-04/

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SpaceX launches largest batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites to date

May 3, 2025

SpaceX launched its largest batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites to date in a predawn Falcon 9 flight on Sunday.

Onboard the Starlink 6-84 mission are 29 of what the company calls Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites, which were first publicly mentioned in the company’s 2024 Progress Report. These satellites are about 225 kg lighter than the previous versions of the Starlink V2 Mini.

Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center happened Sunday, May 4, at 4:54 a.m. EDT (0854 UTC). The rocket flew in a south-easterly trajectory once it left the pad.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/05/03/l ... ace-cente/



Credit: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now

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Starlink Is Turning Out to Be a Terrifically Fast Option for In-Flight Wi-Fi
Recent tests claim the service offers smooth streaming, web surfing, and even video calls.
By Adrianna Nine May 13, 2025

It is a truth universally acknowledged that purchasing in-flight Wi-Fi doesn't necessarily guarantee a connected flight. Frequent fliers are all too familiar with the reality of purchasing an $8 to $20 single-flight Wi-Fi pass only to discover that the airline's Intelsat or Panasonic Wi-Fi partnership isn't prepared to deliver. If you were eager to work or stream a movie on your way to your destination, too bad—it's 2025, and analog entertainment still reigns king when you're in the air.

But if Starlink has anything to say about it, that might not always be the case. Last year, SpaceX's satellite internet subsidiary signed a slew of deals aimed at replacing airlines' shoddy in-flight Wi-Fi with Starlink Wi-Fi. A handful of flights have already begun to offer the service, and according to early testers, it isn't half bad.

https://www.extremetech.com/aerospace/s ... -in-flight

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ULA Successfully Launches Second Batch of Amazon Kuiper Satellites On Atlas V
Starlink competition starts ramping up.

The United Launch Alliance has successfully deployed the second batch of Amazon Project Kuiper satellites to low-Earth orbit, expanding the constellation as part of the deployment of Amazon's future satellite internet service, designed to rival SpaceX's Starlink. The satellites flew on an Atlas V rocket, which continues its 100% mission success rate.

The launch took place at 6:54 a.m. ET at Space Launch Complex 41 in Cape Canaveral, and went off without a hitch. Later, the Kuiper satellites were all successfully deployed, making it the second successful deployment, with six more planned launches for the LEO satellites on Atlas V rockets. The next-generation ULA Vulcan rocket will then take over deployment duties, with a further 38 "high-cadence, rapid" launches planned to get the rest of the constellation into orbit, with a planned 3,200 satellites for the complete network.

https://www.extremetech.com/aerospace/u ... s-on-atlas

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Musk's Starlink gets India licence to offer satcom services, sources say

NEW DELHI, June 6 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's Starlink has received a licence to launch commercial operations in India from the telecoms ministry, two sources told Reuters on Friday, clearing a major hurdle for the satellite provider that has long wanted to enter the South Asian country.
The approval is good news for Musk, whose public spat with President Donald Trump threatens $22 billion of SpaceX's contracts and space programmes with the U.S. government.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media- ... 025-06-06/

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