Starlink has launched Community Gateway, a new product, which allows local internet providers to distribute high-speed connectivity to homes, businesses, and governments. This product utilizes last-mile fiber, fixed wireless, and mobile wireless technologies to transmit connectivity from Starlink’s low earth orbit satellite network to remote communities. To benefit, ISPS would pay $1.25 million upfront cost and monthly costs of $75,000 per gigabit per second. 

ISPs that participate will provide space, power, and lifting equipment, while Starlink’s Community Gateway Kit includes all required Starlink hardware for installation.

According to Emmett Fitch, the CEO of OptimERA, an Alaskan ISP, the Community Gateway is a significant development that will bring gigabit-per-second (Gbps) speeds to areas that previously did not have access to such capabilities. OptimERA owns a cell tower next to the first community gateway deployed in Unalaksa, Alaska, which distributes the signal from Starlink’s gateway to the town’s 4,000 residents.

Starlink promises download and upload speeds of up to 10Gbps and latency of less than 99ms with this new service. 

With a data allocation of 10MB per user, the average cost for end-users benefiting from Community Gateway would amount to approximately $75 per month, which is slightly higher than the currently available options. Starlink’s Community Gateway holds promise for enhancing internet access in underserved populations across Africa. However, the substantial setup cost of $1.25 million poses a significant challenge, rendering it less competitive for many local Internet Service Providers (ISPs).