Starlink Tests Mobile Community Gateway Solution Capable of Delivering 8Gbps Download Speeds for Use Cases like Cruise Ships

Elon Musk's Starlink is currently testing a new satellite internet solution: the mobile community gateway feature. Starlink's Vice President of Engineering, Michael Nichols, recently conducted tests in the waters near Jacksonville, Florida, USA.

Nichols shared on X/Twitter, "Testing with Starlink's new mobile community gateway feature, no land in sight." A screenshot attached displayed SpeedTest results with a download speed of 8102.6Mbps and an upload speed of 2794.7Mbps.

The community gateway feature, launched by Starlink in January of this year, is a new solution primarily aimed at remote population centers or islands. Local operators can purchase Starlink's community gateway and build the infrastructure, then provide internet services to local residents, with the local operators responsible for organizing subscriptions, billing, and routine maintenance.

The above image shows a Starlink community gateway deployed on an island in Alaska, USA.

Unlike the Starlink user terminals, the community gateway feature is mainly targeted at businesses and operators, charging up to 75,000 per month for each Gbps of bandwidth. For relatively densely populated areas, local operators can opt for 10Gbps of bandwidth, which is 750,000 per month.

The newly tested mobile community gateway appears to be a scaled-down version of the community gateway, which can be used in scenarios like large cruise ships. If compact enough, it might also be integrated into commercial airliners, providing high-speed satellite internet service in the air.

Starlink has not yet released detailed information about the mobile community gateway feature, but given the already high bandwidth prices for the community gateway, it is expected that the mobile community gateway feature will not be cheap either. It is estimated that it will only be suitable for use in areas with a high density of users like cruise ships and airliners, where the cost can be more effectively distributed.