Australians can now pre-order Elon Musk's space internet

Elon Musk is known for a lot of things - dating Grimes, founding Tesla, and making problematic tweets - but he's also developing a satellite internet system known as Starlink. Starlink launched in "beta" in the US in October last year, and Australians are now able to get in on Musk's space internet action.

Starlink has started accepting pre-orders for Australian addresses, with the goal of delivering services in mid-to-late 2021. The company does however note that availability will be limited (satellite internet has limited capacity) and orders will be fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis.

During beta, Starlink is targeting download speeds of 50Mbps to 150Mbps, with latency of 20ms to 40ms. Starlink plans will also have unlimited data during the beta period, but this could change at a later date. While those download speeds are in-line with what you can expect from a fixed-line NBN service, they represent a significant improvement over Sky Muster Satellite NBN, where plans max out at 25Mbps.

Sky Muster NBN plans also have fairly modest data caps. For example, $54.95 per month will get you a SkyMesh Satellite NBN plan with 65GB of anytime data and 135GB of data for use in off-peak hours.

Of course, a Starlink plan will cost you a whole lot more. The provider has just a single option billed at $139 per month. You'll also need to pay $709 in setup fees, and $100 in shipping and handling. You'll also need to pay a $139 deposit upfront. It is fully refundable however. The Starlink website does however note that placing a deposit does not guarantee a service.

For comparison, most NBN 100 plans will set you back between $80 and $100 per month when you exclude promotional discounts. Here are a few popular NBN 100 plans:

#1	Tangerine Telecom	XXL Speed Boost UNLIMITED	Tangerine Telecom Unlimited Data $74.90/mth Min. cost $204.80 Deal: Special Price Offer: $74.90/month for first 6 months, then $89.90/month	100%	Go
#2	Aussie Broadband	100/40 Unlimited – Build your own nbn™	Aussie Broadband Unlimited Data $89/mth Min. cost $89 Deal: $20 off for the first 6 months, save $120! Promo code FAST20. $109/mth after promo ends	3%	Go
#3	Kogan Internet	Gold Unlimited	Kogan Internet Unlimited Data $78.90/mth Min. cost $78.90 Deal: Special Offer: $78.90/mth for first 6 months and revert back to $88.90/mth thereafter. Offer available until withdrawn	3%	Go
#4	MATE	NBN #soulmates	MATE Unlimited Data $79/mth Min. cost $79 Deal: Bundle a Mobile and Internet Plan to save $10/month on your Internet. Mobile plans starting from $20 a month.	3%	Go
#5	Belong	NBN Premium – Unlimited	Belong Unlimited Data $95/mth Min. cost $155 Deal: Choose any Belong home broadband plan and receive a free Belong mobile SIM loaded with $80 credit.	3%	Go

$139 per month is also enough to get an NBN 1000 plan on most providers. Of course, NBN 1000 plans are only available to those with an FTTP NBN connection and a small number of HFC connections. If Musk is able to deliver on his promise of unlimited satellite internet with speeds of around 100Mbps, it could be a boon for those in regional and rural Australia forced to deal with Sky Muster or Fixed Wireless - even if the service itself is more expensive.

Starlink orders include a Starlink dish, mounting tripod for ground level use, and a WiFi Router.

Pre-orders can be made through the Starlink website.

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