SpaceX Starlink 20ms latency is designed to run online games, claims Musk

Published , by Brittany Vincent

Elon Musk has spoken about his low-earth orbit (LEO) internet service as it prepares for beta access in terms of how you might benefit from the new high-speed internet connection as a gamer.

Musk stated that Starlink's 20ms latency is designed to run "real-time, competitive video games." He also stated that Version 2, at a lower altitude, "could be as lows 8ms latency." This means if you need faster internet to better your online gaming connection, Starlink could very well be a great option. Better than simply getting internet in rural communities or hard-to-service places, you could be fragging online every night with it as well. 

If that sounds interesting to you (and it very well might, because most of our ISPs are certifiably garbage, at least where I am), SpaceX will be opening up its beta very soon, around late summer or early fall.

Starlink is said to allow about a gigabit per second connection speeds, which is a step above older satellite setups. In comparison, satellite internet provider HughesNet only offers a paltry download speed of 25Mbps and an abysmal upload speed of 3Mbps. It isn't clear what kind of upload you can expect from Starlink.

The service is said to cost around $80 per month, with rollouts in the US and Canada first, then going global. It looks like your ISP is about to have to grapple with some serious competition. Stay tuned to Shacknews for additional updates.