Elon Musk says the Starlink internet service will exit beta in October

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband may no longer be considered a test. Elon Musk told Twitter users that Starlink should leave the beta “next month” – sometime in October. In theory, you could get the service faster than normal in more countries, or at least without the stigma of beta testing.

The company had sought full global coverage by September. So far, the beta has been largely restricted to North America and parts of Europe, with notable exceptions such as Australia, Chile, and New Zealand. Planned expansions are so far limited to Mexico and Japan, but SpaceX has registered subsidiaries in countries such as the Philippines and South Africa.

The formal start could be crucial. SpaceX said it had shipped 100,000 Starlink terminals by the end of August, but that number is likely to increase as the beta label goes away and more countries gain access. And while satellite services are far from new, Starlink’s high bandwidth and low latency could help bridge the broadband gap in rural and developing countries where traditional internet access is either unavailable or too slow to be practical .

This is of course provided that Starlink arrives as promised. Musk and his companies have a history of optimistic project schedules stalled by technical hurdles and other practical realities. A start in October is certainly not ruled out, but you may not want to plan your schedule around that start just yet.