Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites officially brought high-speed internet services to Greece on Thursday.
Although the company’s plan to provide internet via satellite was approved by Greece in fall of last year, Starlink internet was made available on Thursday.
The Starlink project involves a fleet of flat-paneled broadband satellites flying over the Earth, which then beam down internet coverage to users who can access the service via a compact user terminal.
Nearly 2,000 SpaceX satellites have already been launched as part of Musks’ Starlink network, and the company hopes to send out around 10,000 more in the future.
Greek customers who had purchased the Starlink disk, cables, and router necessary to connect to the service began receiving their equipment.
Official maps showing areas covered by the company indicated that internet provided by Starlink is available throughout all of Greece.
Starlink has officially arrived in Greece. https://t.co/3a77T4pnGa pic.twitter.com/9Jghw8Lsd9
— The Greek Analyst (@GreekAnalyst) May 12, 2022
Starlink internet available in Greece
This is a major development in Greece, a country which is known for low internet speeds and areas where access to the web is limited.
Starlink’s entry into the local internet market is expected to radically change the existing landscape. Outdated infrastructure and low internet speeds still plague large areas of Greece even in the capital.
In fact, according to a 2022 study by the Speedtest Global Index, Greece ranks 31st out of a total 138 countries ranked in terms of mobile data speed.
Greece fares even worse in terms of internet speeds, as it sits at the 91st spot out of a total 178 countries listed.
In order to purchase the service, Greeks will have to pay a one-time fee of 499 euros for the equipment and around 60 euros for shipping, along with a fixed rate of 99 euros per month for internet access.
SpaceX launched its massive internet constellation to help provide internet coverage to the world, in particular to those living in remote and rural areas.
Musk has even used the Starlink satellites to provide internet to Ukrainians after attempts by Russian forces to block internet access to the country.
In February, Musk announced in a tweet that the internet service would be active in Ukraine some 10 hours after Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov urged Musk to provide Starlink services to Ukraine. This was days after Ukraine was invaded by neighboring Russia.
“While you try to colonize Mars—Russia [is] try[ing] to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space—Russian rockets attack Ukrainian [civilians]! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations,” Fedorov tweeted at Musk.