Starlink is already official in Ecuador, but its launch will take place in a special ceremony in the Galapagos in the coming days, the Ministry of Telecommunications indicated.
Referential image. Starlink receiving antenna, on the roof of a house.
Since April 1, the Starlink connection is available in Ecuador, as confirmed by the Ministry of Telecommunications and the company itself.
This April 13, the Minister of Telecommunications, Vianna Maino, indicated that the official launch of the Internet system will take place in the Galapagos on a date yet to be decided.
Why will it be done in the Galapagos first? It will be promoted in the archipelago, because it is a region that lags behind in internet coverage and where Starlink technology fits perfectly.
What is Starlink? The first thing you should know is that it is an almost personal project of Elon Musk, with the idea of bringing the Internet to remote places, especially rural ones.
To do this, the system uses more than 4,000 satellites placed in orbit and thus brings the Internet to areas where fiber optic cables do not reach due to the geography of the place.
How many satellites will be in Ecuador? Initially, it is known that there will be 15 to cover the connection between Ecuador and Peru.
According to Minister Maino, there will be no environmental impact in the Galapagos once the service is up and running.
How does Starlink work?
For the tycoon Elon Musk, Starlink will not replace the fiber optic connection or 5G mobile technology, but rather complement it.
Another important detail is the level of connection that a user will have. The service provides download speeds between 50 to 200 megabits, and with a latency of between 20 and 40 milliseconds.
Latency measures the speed or delay in the arrival of data packets to their destination. The better the latency, the better the connection.
A kit, the antenna and the price
When the user contracts the service, they will receive an installation kit that includes an antenna and the WiFi router.
This antenna, as recommended by the company’s portal, should be placed on top of the house or on a pole, and free of trees. It must also point towards the sky, since it must receive the signal sent by the satellites.
These signals will be sent to the router, and you will have the connection at home, that is, it only works within the home, it is not a mobile signal.
How much does it cost? The service isn’t cheap, starting at $60 a month, without a 30-day contract. After this you must sign a contract for a certain time.
And the equipment costs USD 355, plus courier shipping. Shipping times to Ecuador are calculated between one to two weeks.
But, according to Minister Maino, these values, as has already happened in Chile and Mexico, could go down over time.
Maino even pointed out that the presence of the Starlink service in Ecuador motivated other operators to announce their intention to work in Ecuador.
Echostar, E-Space, Viasat and Intelsat offered to provide internet for ships and aircraft as well.
*News originally published on March 31 and updated on March 13, with information from the Ministry of Telecommunications.
