Google Cloud and SpaceX have partnered to enable satellite Internet connectivity for Google cloud services in remote areas of the world.
SpaceX, powered by Elon Musk, has announced a new partnership to promote the use of its satellite Internet connectivity. The US-based aerospace manufacturer has collaborated with Google Cloud to deliver data, cloud services, and applications to its enterprise customers.
Cloud services are often required by organizations with a wider footprint, such as public sector agencies, businesses with a network edge presence, or businesses working in rural or remote areas. Google Cloud will now try to leverage StarLink’s high-speed broadband Internet for its infrastructure to support such activities for its enterprise customers.
Under the partnership, SpaceX will locate Starlink ground stations within Google data center assets. The company’s more than 1,500 low-earth-orbit satellites will then enable secure, low-latency delivery of data via the Google Cloud.
“Google Cloud’s high-capacity private network will support the delivery of Starlink’s global satellite Internet service, bringing businesses and consumers seamless connectivity to the cloud and Internet,” Google stated in a recent blog.
For those unaware, Starlink is a satellite network by SpaceX that uses thousands of small satellites deployed in low Earth orbit (LEO). These satellites periodically communicate with designated ground transceivers to enable data transfer at high speeds.
The main objective of Starlink is to enable Internet coverage in remote areas of the Earth, where land-based Internet infrastructure cannot be built.
Starlink has started offering initial beta service internationally and will continue to expand to nearly global coverage in 2021. For now, Starlink is available to a limited number of users per coverage area. All future orders will be fulfilled on a first come first serve basis.
SpaceX’s collaboration with Google Cloud for the use of the Starlink constellations will lay a solid foundation for its future efforts. While it plans to enable Internet connectivity for customers around the world, enterprises are an important part of the business for any Internet service provider and SpaceX will welcome its new entry into that segment of the industry.